WORLD HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY TUESDAY DECEMBER 1ST, 2015

WARM UP:

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA?

VOCABULARY Refugee—A person who leaves his or her country due to a well-founded fear

of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership in a particular social group. People fleeing conflicts are also generally considered to be refugees since they are seeking

refuge (safety). Refugees have specific rights and protections under international law.

For example, refugees have the right to not be forced to return to the unsafe situation that they fled.

Refugees have the rights of security and freedom of movement. They have the right to keep their family together.

Similarly, countries that have refugees seeking asylum in their territory have specific responsibilities under international law for the treatment of those refugees.

VOCAB

Migrant—A person who moves to a foreign country for various reasons—for example, for employment, education, or to reunite with family—usually for a year or more. Unlike refugees, migrants do not face a direct threat of persecution

or death in their home country. Internally Displaced Person (IDP)—A person who is forcibly

uprooted within his or her country but who has not crossed an international border. IDPs may be forced from their home as a result of armed conflict, human

rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, yet remain in their country.

Host Country—The country to which a refugee relocates.

VOCAB Asylum—Shelter or protection from danger granted by a

country to someone forced to leave their home country. Asylum Seeker—A person who has moved across international

borders in search of protection and filed a claim for asylum with the host country’s government. While the government reviews the claim, the person remains an asylum seeker. If the claim is accepted, the person becomes a “refugee” in the eyes of the government. For example, someone from Syria who is living in Germany and waiting to hear the

outcome of his or her asylum application would be considered an asylum seeker. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—Established by the

United Nations, the UNHCR is an international organization responsible for the protection of refugees worldwide.

SYRIA

DEMOGRAPHICS Full country name: Syrian Arab Republic

Area: 185,180 sq km (72,150 sq mi) Slightly larger than North Dakota

Population: 22 million (pre-war)

Capital city: Damascus (pop 6 million)

DEMOGRAPHICS

Terrain: primarily semiarid and desert

plateau Narrow coastal plain Mountains in west

DEMOGRAPHICS

People: Arabs (90%), Kurds, Armenians, Circassians, Turks

Language: Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, Turkish, English

Religion: 74% Sunni Muslim, 16% other Muslim, 10% Christian

DEMOGRAPHICS

Government: Military republic

President: Bashar al-Assad

SYRIA HISTORY

Syria has been a country of conflict.Syria has been under the rule of many ancient empires.

Rome, Persia, Egypt, and BabylonCame under Turkish rule in 1516 and remained under their

control for four centuries.Came under French occupation in 1919.Finally gained independence in 1946.

SYRIA HISTORY

The country lacked political stability and experienced military coups.

They united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic.

In September 1961 they separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished.

In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country.

President al-ASAD died in July 2000, his son, Bashar al-ASAD took power.

THE SYRIAN CONFLICT

The Arab Spring-democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in 2011. The movement originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria,

Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. Began in Syria in March 2011

peaceful protests quickly escalated after the government's violent crackdown, and rebels began fighting back against the regime.

12 years of oppression by Bashar al-Assad (president) Demanded reforms Lead to protests around the country

Military killed hundreds and imprisoned thousands created to rebel groups

Divisions between secular and Islamist fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict

60,000 Syrians in the first 18months of conflict

THE SYRIAN CRISIS: WHO IS FIGHTING

Beginning of the war: Assad VS Rebels Assad’s army fired shots on peaceful protestors march 2011 beginning the war Free Syrian Army-Defectors from Assads army and rebels

Kurds enter the war By 2013 the Middle East is split between Sunni powers supporting rebels and shiit powers supporting Assad

2012-Iran begins to back Assad 2012- Saudi Arabia backs rebels through Turkey 2013- Hezbollah-Lebonize Shiit group fights along side Assad

USA Involvement April 2013- CIA trains Syrian Rebels September 2013- Syria uses chemical weapons and US threatens air strike (major turning point in war)

ISIS Involvement February 2014-Isis begins fighting rebels and Kurds

Russia’s involvement Russia intervenes in sept 2015 to back Assad to fight rebels

Many disagreements between allies on who to fight and how to do it

THE SYRIAN CRISIS-REFUGEE

THE SYRIAN CRISIS: REFUGEES Half the country’s pre-war population — more than 11

million people — have been killed or forced to flee their homes.

Bombings are destroying crowded cities and horrific human rights violations are widespread.

Basic necessities like food and medical care are sparse. The majority of Syrian refugees are living in Jordan and Lebanon In August 2013, more Syrians escaped into northern Iraq at a

newly opened border crossing. Now they are trapped by that country's own insurgent conflict, and Iraq is

struggling to meet the needs of Syrian refugees on top of more than one million internally displaced Iraqis — efforts that we are working to support.

HOW TO GAIN REFUGEE STATUS IN THE USA Apply through the UNHCR

Collects data Preforms interviews Recommends for asylum

Recommends 1% IF recommended by UNHCR you are recommend for the vetting process

More interviews and background checks from FBI, National Counter terrorism center, Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Begin screening by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Interviews, fingerprinting, health screening, cultural orientation classes Takes 18-24 months once UNHCR recommendation

As of Thursday November 19th, 2015 the House voted for additional screening procedures including the FBI director has to sign off on each and every refugee –American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act

“The United States has resettled 784,000 refugees since September 11, 2001. In those 14 years. Three resettled refugees have been arrested from planning terrorist activities..” –Migration Policy Institute (none of which resulted in attacks in US)