Why Syria Needs George Clooney

Editor’s note: Jeremy Barnicle is chief development and communications officer at aid organization Mercy Corps. He has just visited Lebanon, where he met with a number of Syrian refugee families. Follow @JeremyBarnicle on Twitter. The views expressed in this commentary are solely his.

Beirut, Lebanon (CNN) — Syria needs lots of things right now. One of them is George Clooney.

Let me explain. As the Geneva II talks this week made clear, there is no end in sight for the bloody three-year war in Syria. In the meantime, more than 100,000 people have been killed, the country is destroyed, and millions of Syrians have fled their homes, half of them children.

This is the defining war and humanitarian crisis of this decade, which was underscored by my visit to Syrian refugees here this week.

Why Syria Needs George Clooney
http://www.cnn.com/OPINION/ | By Jeremy Barnicle | January 14, 2014