Syrian Refugee Crisis

The Start of the Crisis

The crisis began in March of 2011. Anti-government demonstrations started
occurring, part of the Arab Spring. The Arab Spring was a series of democratic
uprisings that spread across the Arab world. The peaceful protests quickly
escalated after the governments violent suppression. By July, army defectors
had organized the Free Syrian Army and many Syrians joined the opposition.
War Affecting Syrians
Five years after this crisis became a full-blown civil war, over 220,000 people
were killed. Half of these people were believed to be civilians. Bombings
destroyed crowded cities and many human rights were violated. Food and
medical care were sparse. As it states in the the Mercy Corps article, the U.N
estimates that 6.6 million people are internally displaced. It is mind blowing to
think about the obscene amount of people that were impacted by this crisis. More
than half of the countrys pre-war population of 23 million were in need of urgent
assistance. Although, large parts of the population have either fled or escaped
across the borders. In October 2015, Russia began launching airstrikes at ISIS
targets in Syria. Russias goal was to likely prompt even more Syrians to flee for
safety with the airstrikes as warnings. Mercy Corps have said that their ability to
provide lifesaving aid throughout the region is severely jeopardized as they are
balancing the urgent need to both protect valuable supplies for emergencies or
save distributions to those in need. Mercy Corps are stocking supplies in areas
where civilizations may be cut off.

Where are Syrians fleeing to?

The majority of Syrian refugees are living in either Jordan or Lebanon.
Mercy Corps has been addressing their needs since 2012. In August 2013,
Syrians escaped into Northern Iraq due to the newly opened border crossing.
However, Iraq is struggling to meet the needs of the Syrian refugees. Also, Iraq
has more than one million internally displaced Iraqis. There is an influx of Syrian
refugees fleeing across the border into Turkey. Many refugees are also
attempting the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to
Greece. They are hoping Europe can offer them a better future. Although, many
Syrians do not cross the Sea to Greece and make it out alive. Thousands of
Syrians, in general, flee their country every day. More than four million Syrians
have registered or are anticipating registration with the United Nations. The U.N
predicts there could be over 4.7 million registered Syrian refugees by the end of
2016.
How Are Others Responding?
About 1,500 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States
since the start of the crisis in March of 2011. The United Arab Emirates have
taken in the most refugees compared to any other country in the world. The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) has allowed more than 250,000 Syrian refugees
since the crisis began. The UAE expresses their opinion and perspective on the
refugees saying, We would like to see the Syrian refugees stay close to their
homeland and to support them while they are there, so they can eventually return
to their homeland. The Gulf nations including, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and

Bahrain, have taken in no refugees. Although, the United Nations claims that
each Gulf nation has given millions of dollars to help the refugees. Why arent
Gulf countries taking them in?
What Can We Do To Help?
The violence continues and the number of Syrian refugees continues to
increase. Every single contribution made to help the Syrian refugees can help aid
the refugees. So, if possible, donate to help the Mercy Corps provide more food,
water, shelter and support for the Syrian families and children in this crisis. This
is only a temporary solution to the problem. In order to wipe out all violence
across the board, countries need to take extreme measures. This could mean
sending military troops into the area to fight ISIS. Others feel that the government
and Assad (the president) needs to be overthrown before ISIS is overthrown.

Websites- https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syriaturkey/quick-facts-what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/09/world/welcome-syrian-refugees-countries/