On March 15 2011, the civil war in Syria broke out. The war began with peaceful protests against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, which later turned to violence. Now, it is partially a civil war between the people and government, along with a religious war between two Islamic sects. Since then, as of December 2018, there has been an estimate of nearly 560,000 deaths of civilians, rebels, and government forces (Hansler). Those who have survived have fled their homes in hopes of avoiding the repression and violence. These people are refugees: individuals who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or a natural disaster. As of January 31, there are as many as 5,681,901 total registered Syrian Refugees (Hilal). The majority of refugees have fled to neighboring countries in the Middle East such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Even after being admitted into neighboring countries, the hardship for refugees doesn’t end. Syrian refugees are people who are placed in refugee camps and live in tents, where the access to medical care, medical supplies, sanitation, and nutritional sustenance is extremely limited.
The Syrian Civil War has taken an immense toll on refugees, effecting their long-term physical and mental health. A vast majority of refugees are injured, sick, starving, and traumatized. Without access to medical care, they only endure more suffering. With such poor sanitation, refugees and specifically children are susceptible to diseases such as cholera. Furthermore, weather conditions consist of extreme heat or extreme cold which detriment the immune system even more, increasing the risk of pneumonia and other respiratory infections. There is also a lack of educational opportunities, with millions of children out of school (Gilsinan). A vast amount of refugee children are forced to work to help support their families and are often working in dangerous environments. Perhaps the rest of society should imagine living in a camp with 80,000 other extremely ill people with no electricity, no fresh air, and no opportunity or hope before closing their doors to assistance.
One refugee in particular spoke out regarding his experience. Bassam Alhamden recalls not having food for weeks and how the experience was especially hard on his children (Costanza). His children didn’t go to school, lost an extreme amount of weight, and often got sick. For months, his family lived off of grains of rice for food and would sometimes even eat the food for animals. After about nine months of suffering, the Alhamden family decided to flee from their village to Jordan’s Za’atari refugee camp. There, they would live amongst 80,000 others. Nearly eight months later, Bassam and his family were gifted the opportunity by the United Nations to move to Seattle, Washington, where they currently reside. The Alhamden family is one of the very few families to escape the horror in the Middle East. However, billions of families with small children still endure the pain each day.
In recent years, the United States government has developed a stigma against refugees and has neglected to provide aid to refugees, under the administration of President Trump. Trump has referred to refugees as “Trojan horses,” claiming they are attempting to undermine the United States government and stating, “We cannot let them into this country, period,” (CNN). Additionally, Trump has eliminated the Central American Minors Program, which allowed refugee children to enter the United States to live with their parents who are residing here legally. Under the Obama administration, however, the United States had attempted to prioritize Syrian refugees and the number of refugee admissions into the U.S. greatly increased. As soon as Trump took the oath of office, the administration quickly shut the door on refugees and issued a temporary travel ban which banned anyone from Syria to enter the country. The development of such a negative connotation to refugees and relating them to criminals and terrorists has only been further detrimental to the millions of innocent refugees.
Many people are reluctant to admit refugees, often mistakenly relating all refugees to terrorism. The recent terrorist attacks over the past few years in Paris, Brussels, and Berlin have resulted in a great deal of anti-refugee sentiment and Islamophobia (Hansler). Many refugees have been convicted for suspected terrorism and links to ISIS with little and more often no evidence. With influence by right-wing politicians, more people are starting to believe this new idea that the refugee crisis has increased terrorism and more and more countries are hesitant to help refugees due to their anti-Muslim sentiment.
Refugees are people who can contribute greatly to the American economy and community, if allowed the opportunity to do so. According to The Center for Migration Studies of New York, the labor force participation of refugees was 68%, the employment rate was 64%, and studies showed that they were more likely to be skilled workers than non-refugees (Bahar). Although some may be worried that job opportunities could be lost for natives, the fact of the matter is that refugees have a different set of skills and often seek different types of jobs, typically ones that are less desirable, than natives. Refugees are also able to share their diverse culture with the rest of us and contribute their knowledge. After all, America is historically known for being the “melting pot,” immersing a vast amount of cultures together and blending as one.
The Syrian Refugee crisis is a tremendous issue around the world that cannot be left ignored. The unrest in Syria has left billions of people homeless, ill, and helpless and has only been worsened in recent years. The planet is one big community that fosters inclusion, and it is time we all lend a helping hand around the world and take a step toward change in hopes of dissolving the stigma against refugees that society has recently created.
Works Cited
Bahar, D. (2018, June 20). Why accepting refugees is a win-win-win formula. Retrieved from https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/06/19/refugees-are-a-win-win-win-formula-for-economic-development/
Costanza, K. (2018, February 27). From Syria to Seattle: When worlds collide. Retrieved from https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/seattle-syria-worlds-collide
Gilsinan, K. (2015, November 16). The Confused Person’s Guide to the Syrian Civil War. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/10/syrian-civil-war-guide-isis/410746/
Hansler, J. (2018, October 03). US admits lowest number of refugees in more than 40 years. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/02/politics/us-refugees-fy18/index.html
Hilal, M. (2018, November 15). America’s Role in the Refugee Crisis. Retrieved from https://ips-dc.org/americas-role-in-the-refugee-crisis/
Lind, D. (2018, April 13). The US has all but slammed the door on Syrian refugees. Retrieved from https://www.vox.com/2018/4/13/17233856/syria-attack-refugees-war-assad-trump
Newton, C. (2018, September 20). Hungary upholds ‘terrorism’ conviction against Syrian refugee. Retrieved from https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/09/hungary-upholds-terrorism-conviction-syrian-refugee-180920134344758.html
