Syrian Refugee Crisis

BackgroundPro-democracy protests erupted in March 2011 in the southern city of Deraa after the arrest and torture of some teenagers who painted revolutionary slogans on a school wall. After security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing several, more took to the streets. The unrest triggered nationwide protests demanding President Assad's resignation. The government's use of force to crush the dissent merely hardened the protesters' resolve. By July 2011, hundreds of thousands were taking to the streets across the country. Opposition supporters eventually began to take up arms, first to defend themselves and later to expel security forces from their local areas.

Violence escalated and the country descended into civil war as rebel brigades were formed to battle government forces for control of cities, towns and the countryside. Fighting reached the capital Damascus and second city of Aleppo in 2012. By June 2013, the UN said 90,000 people had been killed in the conflict. However, by August 2014 that figure had more than doubled to 191,000 - and continued to climb to 250,000 by August 2015, according to activists and the UN.The conflict is now more than just a battle between those for or against President Assad. It has acquired sectarian overtones, pitching the country's Sunni majority against the president's Shia Alawite sect, and drawn in neighboring countries and world powers. The rise of the jihadist groups, including Islamic State, has added a further dimension.

The CrisisThe Syrian Civil War since 2011 has created a major humanitarian crisis as it affects more than 12 million people. This figure is more than any of those affected by natural disaster such as Indian Ocean Tsunami, Haiti Earthquake, or Hurricane Katrina.

About 4.3 million Syrians have fled their country since 2011, while 6.6 million are displaced within Syria who lives under constant threat of life. Most of the people have taken refuge in the neighbouring countries – Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and Egypt whereas about 10% have taken shelter in Europe and beyond. In these staggering numbers half of them are children who have faced the worst affect of this crisis, as they are at the risk of becoming ill, malnourished, or exploited.

No one wants to leave their home country until it is not safe for them to live there anymore. But Syrians are facing everyday violence of bombs, sniper, and gunfights between rebels and government forces. Moreover, the infrastructure has collapsed and the whole economy has shattered as there are no means for people to earn their livelihood to survive this deadly conflict and they are wholly dependent on the foreign aid, which is not sufficient and it doesn’t even reaches

to all the victims because the major parts are engulfed in deadly fights that makes it impossible for the humanitarian workers to access all the areas. Lastly, the safety of children is at stakes – they have lost loved ones, suffered injuries, missed years of schooling, and witnessed violence and brutality. Warring parties forcibly recruit children to serve as fighters, human shields, and in support roles, according to the U.S. State Department.

In September 2015, a three-year-old boy Aylan Kurdi of Kurdish decent created uproar among people all around world when he washed ashore on Turkish coast in an attempt to migrate to the Europe with his family. But unfortunately, their boat met an accident due to rough sea and the little boy drowned. The pictures of his little corpse appeared on the social media and instantly his story became viral. It largely shaped the public opinion in favor of Syrian migrants, who until then were not largely welcomed particularly by the European countries and west at large. But after that incident many western countries opened their borders for the Syrian refugees including Germany, UK, and Canada.

Many efforts are being made to help the refugees but those efforts are not as much as compared to the magnitude of the refugees as they are increasing day by day. The only permanent solution to this humanitarian crisis is peace in their country. Although, Western countries, Arab countries, and Russia are making efforts to fight off the monstrous ISIS, but those are not sufficient and until now they prove to be counterproductive.