Understanding The Syrian Refugee Crisis

For the past year, there has been nonstop news about the growing amount of people seeking refuge from Syria. All over the world, Syrians are trying to get into other countries and seek asylum. A lot of the news coverage of this event has been typically negative. Surprise, surprise, Western media run negative stories about refugees. It’s not a shock because news outlets employ this tactic all the time with events like this. The best way to create a buzz around a story is to get people caught up in it. And, the best way to ensure people are really engaged in your story is to make it personable to them. How do you make the Syrian refugee crisis feel personal to people thousands of miles away from the country? By telling them, their country is at risk. Time and time again there are news stories about their being too many Syrian refugees flooding into a country. People start getting riled up and jump on the ‘no more refugees’ bandwagon.

Why Are Syrians Fleeing?

 

 

The trouble with this line of thinking is that it’s not only immoral, but downright stupid too. A lot of the people that are against Syrians seeking asylum in their country have no idea why they’re seeking asylum. They just think a bunch of immigrants are coming over to try and steal work from the locals. This is complete and utter nonsense. The reason Syrians are seeking refuge in other countries is because they have no choice. Their country is a war zone. They aren’t safe in their home anymore. If they were to stay in their homes, there’s a high chance they’ll die. What a lot of people aren’t aware of is that there’s been an ongoing civil war in Syria since 2011. Over 200,000 people have been killed in Syria since that war, and fighting continues to this day. In addition to this, other countries have started attacking Syria too. The terrorist group ISIS had bases set up in Syria. Naturally, countries such as Russia and France launched airstrikes to try and destroy any ISIS camps. The problem with this is that it puts civilians at risk. Imagine living in a place where you fear for your life every day. Imagine not being able to sleep at night because you’re afraid that a bomb might explode any second. So yeah, it’s pretty damn understandable that Syrians want to flee this country.

 

Although the civil war has been going on for years, it’s only recently we’ve seen mass amounts of refugees fleeing Syria. As you can now see, they’re fleeing for an extremely good reason. They want a chance at a new life, a life free from war. Which is why it’s important countries start accepting refugees and giving them a new opportunity to live their life. Many countries have welcomed Syrians through their borders. Canada is the latest to accept Syrian refugees with open arms. This is good, it’s something that should be encouraged and backed, not frowned upon.


Put yourself in the shoes of a Syrian and picture the life they’re trying to flee from. Wouldn’t you want to get away too? The more people that understand the refugee crisis, the better. Hopefully, you’ve gained some knowledge from this article and can sympathize a little better.