E110 SCARY STORIES

 

The Civil War in Syria has caused complete turmoil in the state, taking the lives of thousands of innocent citizens and causing massive amounts of human rights violations. Escape from hopelessness is nearly impossible for these people, most citizens are displaced to overcrowded refugee camps and surrounding countries refusing to let the oppressed inside their borders. The lengths at which displaced Syrian citizens go, to escape the conflict are phenomenal. Most fearful Syrian’s simply drop everything and leave on the spot with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the money in their pockets. They then pack into overcrowded vans and boats, where whole families make the treacherous  and terrifying journey to better lives to surrounding Syrian countries and to Europe.

 

It’s March of 2011 and political unrest in Syria is at an all time high, public protests of the nations government and radical leader, Bashar al-Assad began to be put down through violent force by the nations police and military forces. The level of brutality used in putting down these demonstrations outraged the Syrian public and violence was imposed by protestors as well. Opposition soon escalates pitting two factions against each other in all out civil war, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) consisting of rebel opposition groups against the Syrian government. The country of Syria became a war zone, and the world set its focus on the arising conflict.

 

The United States agreed to back the FSA and provide support through supplies and intelligence while the opposing Syrian Army received support from the Russian government. In a New York Times Article discussing other countries involvement in the conflict authors Anne Barnard and Karam Shoumali write, “With the enhanced insurgent firepower and with Russia steadily raising the number of airstrikes against the government’s opponents, the Syrian conflict is edging closer to an all-out proxy war between the United States and Russia” (Barnard, Shoumali). The evolution of political protests to the makings of complete world war puts real fear in the hearts of the everyday person not involved in Syria.

 

In the middle of this civil war are the citizens of Syria. Many of these people have no idea what to do or how to escape this civil unrest. Imagine going to work one day and out of nowhere, a firefight between rebel and government fighters  begins inside the building. Government forces soon begin shooting into peaceful crowds and using bombs and chemical weapons against the rebels with no concern, whatsoever, for collateral damage. Everyday life for these people is now completely turned upside down and their future seems very bleak. Life for the Syrians has now become and still is about one thing, survival. Food, Water, and other very basic needs of life are now quite limited, due to the fighting and the only thing to do is run from it all; run for your life has now become their way of life. In an article discussing the lives of those remaining in Syria the authors state, that during the day most citizens escape the terrors of the cities by running to surrounding fields and taking shelter, but even this does not save them. Constant air strikes by governmental forces reach even those fleeing, taking the lives of innocent civilians almost every day (Samaan, Barnard).

 

 

 

 

 

 

As of today, there are more than a staggering 7.6 million Syrians who are displaced from their homes and forced to fight for survival and/or flee to wherever they can possibly find safety for themselves and their families. Refugee camps in the surrounding countries of Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan have filled quickly and have become miserably overcrowded, thus making living conditions, for the Syrian refugees inside incredibly dismal. The overcrowding in these camps leaves many refugees with only one option for safety, which is to build makeshift communities surrounding the official camps. Time Magazine author Naina Bajekal in his article on life inside the camps says, “84% of Jordan’s refugee population live outside the official camps.The conditions are undeniably harsh in these unofficial desert camps, with high temperatures during the day and extreme cold at night. Muheisen says he was especially aware of the lack of sanitation and medical care in the camps.” (Bajekal) Those not seeking refuge in the camps look for other places for freedom, thousands of Syrians have begun the treacherous journey of entering into countries surrounding Syria and further into European countries.

 

As you can imagine, jobs in Syria are extremely scarce. People literally have no means of supporting themselves and their families. Just how scared would you be, to not  have the means to buy food or water for yourself and your children? Those looking for work turn to the surrounding countries, with the hope of obtaining at least a low paying laborious job, in order to pay for life’s basic necessities. Some Syrians are able to find work, but most often the violence and unrest of the war soon reaches them, through radical groups like ISIS who play a dominant role in this civil war and whose influences reach outside of Syria.

 

Desperation often leads people to spend what very little money they have on smugglers. These smugglers promise to transport these Syrian refugees out of the country but have absolutely no concern for their well being or the well being of the small children who may be in toe. Many refugees are packed into either automobiles and/or boats and many men, women and children loose their lives while desperately trying to make the journey out of Syria to safer places to live, anywhere but Syria.  The unimaginable fear that must be instilled in these refugees is completely unfathomable. Trusting an unknown person, who takes all your money and packs you and your family into a van a truck or a boat, with so many others, with the promise of a safe and free life, which we all deserve. Nick Squires in his article on the brutality used by smugglers gives an account of a man escaping Syria,“There were 30 people on the truck. I didn’t eat for four days because the food was dirty. I saw people die. They were pushed off the truck by the smugglers. A Somali man broke his leg when he was shoved off the truck” (Squires). This gives you a moment to pause, does it not?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Many Syrians seek refuge in Greece where travel by boat is necessary for a quick journey. Many refugees who travel by boat are overcrowded in dilapidated vessels making disaster inevitable. Many people die as a result of drowning and most always include many infants and very young children who accompany their parents who are making this “safe” journey to a better life; a life of freedom. The most recent and devastating example being the 38 people who drowned, mostly consisting of children, off the coast of Greece  in early September of 2015. So, if by chance you are fortunate enough to survive the journey to freedom; you are now faced with arriving in Europe, with nothing and you are scared. Scared from where you came, scared from your journey and scared for your future. You are now a Syrian refugee who has made it out of your war-torn country, with the hope of finding peace and hope for the future and that of  your children and/or your unborn children as well. Or have you?  Now you are free, you have found the peace and the refuge of a neighboring country and yet you have nothing; you have no money, no food, nor water. Now what? Certainly thoughts of you and your family being in danger come rushing back to you.  While this fear may look different; it is not. Fear is about the only thing all refugees know and escaping from it is seemingly impossible.  This fear, the fear of not being able to feed yourself and your family, well this fear is constant; it looms around every corner and runs through your mind every minute of every day.  Again, can  you imagine not ever being able to escape such fear; being scared all the time? How could this fear not ultimately ruin your life and those of your family, this is a real life scary story.

 

The problem of providing and supporting these displaced Syrian refugees in the countries in which they seek asylum is another fearful and complicated issue affecting the world as a whole. The neighboring Syrian countries of Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan are all taking the brunt of the refugee crises. Kemal Kirişci reports in a Newsweek article that, “4.2 million out of the 7.6 million refugees are currently taking refuge in these three countries” (Kirişci). These countries provide as much support as they can to these refugees but they are no where near suited to be dealing with the massive influx of  these people into their countries. The flow of this many people into countries like Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan all currently dealing with internal political unrest threatens the stability of the entire middle east and surrounding countries as a whole. Countries around the world have pledged assistance in helping displaced refugees find places to live.

 

Many countries in the United Nations have all vowed and created plans to take in these refugees; however, many people believe they are not appropriately addressing the situation. Many European countries and the United States vowed to take in displaced peoples but only a very limited number, many less than 10,000. This is staggering, the richest countries in the world vow to take in thousands of refugees yet they leave millions of them to be dealt with by unorganized government lacking the funds to supply these people with the ability to live normal lives. The resettlement of refugees is a joint effort between the worlds countries as Kemal Kirişci writes, “the international refugee system was set up on the shared understanding that refugees are an international responsibility, not just the responsibility of the country where they happen to arrive” (Kirişci). The delay in action and the minor amount of refugees many of these countries are taking in can be rationalized. The mass amount of refugees seeking asylum in other states can and already has put a strain on the stability of the housing country. Although many countries have the funds to support these people, questions of national security come to play. Syria is a place where violence runs rampant and radical terrorist cells like ISIS house themselves. The possibilities of an undocumented refugee a part of a terrorist organization coming into a country invokes fear in its citizens and leaves politicians debating on how to respond to the crisis. In my opinion, the refugee crisis shouldn't be focused on political correctness rather its focus should be on taking action in protecting the citizens of the housing country. So, now one can see first hand, how fear can and does so easily spread.  

 

Fear is both paralyzing and destructive to the well being of any human being. It is safe to say we all experience fear at different times in our lives but rarely do we experience fear on a daily basis. The refugees of Syria live in fear, true fear every minute of everyday. It is unfathomable to most everyone reading this article. This is real life for the refugees of Syria, this is real life fear.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Bajekal, Naina. "Inside the Syrian Refugee Camps Where Childhood Doesn't Exist." Time. Time, 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Barnard, Anne, and Karam Shoumali. "U.S. Weaponry Is Turning Syria Into Proxy War With Russia." The New York Times. The New York Times, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Kirişci, Kemal. "Why Syrian Refugees Are Resorting to People Smugglers." Newsweek. Newsweek, 10 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Samaan, Maher, and Anne Barnard. "For Those Who Remain in Syria, Daily Life Is a Nightmare." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Sept. 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Squires, Nick. "The Shocking Abuse Refugees Endure at the Hands of People Smugglers in Libya." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.