The Syrian Refugee Crisis

Lately the news has covered a lot about the Syrian Refugee Crisis. With  connections to Syrian friends and news about the crisis, the conditions seem to worsen day by day. In the past, the Arab world has been rife with revolutions against their government systems. Syria, however, has been undergoing unrest longer than Egypt, Libya and other countries in the Middle East. For this reason, the citizens have been trying to escape the persecution and find refuge in other countries.

Germany has let in many refugees and is very generous in doing so. However, Germany is still 1,815 miles away from Syria. It is not very convenient to travel that far with high security measures in the countries that the people may be passing through and in Syria itself.

An article from Al -Jazeera by Simon Marks said that “As countries in Europe tighten their borders, access to the continent through Hungary has essentially been blocked and routes through Serbia and Slovenia are also being denied.” This shows the difficulties in even reaching Germany. As a result of the lack of a common strategy in Europe, there are different practices occurring. Additionally, it takes a good amount of money to travel to other places and dodge security.

Turkey is also helping take in the refugees. Turkey is about 492 miles from Syria, which is closer than Germany but still far from convenient. Marks also mentioned that “Refugees leaving Syria and arriving in Greece express a mixture of relief after having left their war-stricken countries and apprehensions towards the uncertainty that lies ahead.” There are still more struggles that the refugees have to face. Finding a job and home is still another challenge.

It’s important to know that this could have happened to anyone. Therefore, the refugees should not be denied a home in other countries.

One frustrating thing is that other surrounding countries that are wealthier are not assisting much in this problem. Some of those countries have sufficient resources to help the refugees yet they don’t seem to be lending a helping hand.

Most of this issue could be solved if each country were to help in one way or another. The United States of America has contributed by pledging to give $34 million to this cause, which makes it a great example for other nations to follow.

Seeing photos of the Syrian people fleeing to other lands to find security is heartbreaking. There was a story written about how a well-educated man could not even afford a banana for his own son. Additionally, there are countless stories of people drowning in attempted ocean crossings and other sad stories. The most popular statement was made when an image of a Syrian toddler who drowned and was washed up on a Turkish beach started spreading all over social media. All of a sudden, people started to realize how horrific the situations are, not only in Syria, but the journey to safety as well.

Organizations have also been playing an important role in the refugee crisis. Different groups have been trying to aid the struggling Syrians.

Last weekend, one of the mosques in the Puget Sound area collected about 36,000 pounds of clothing to sell and then donated the money earned to the refugees. Another local group that has been starting up and trying to reach out is the Washington Rescue Committee for Syrian Refugees.

All of these projects are a great start to combatting this issue. Community involvement is an essential aspect to productivity in this area of service.