In 2010, the Arabic revolution began
It brought about numerous changes in the Middle East region. Syrian civilians who had been banished from their country sought sanctuary in neighboring countries where there was calm. This was one of the most serious crises since World War II (Al-Salem, Waleed et al. 931).
The lives of Syrian civilians were jeopardized by the violence
The atrocities resulted in the loss of life and the displacement of people from Syria. Furthermore, the movement caused terror and dread among millions of Syrians, forcing people to choose between leaving their homes and fleeing. Syrians number 7.6 million. were forced to move from the country while 220,000 individuals were killed. Of the 7.6 million, 1,805, 255 migrated to Turkey, 249, 726 to Iraq, 132,375 to Egypt while 24,055 migrated to North Africa (Sharp, Jeremy and Christopher Blanchard 403). These figures do not include the more than 270,000 people who resettled in other parts of Europe. The refugees experienced challenges such as lack of food, hostilities, and lack of fundamental rights in the countries they migrated to.
The above shows how the Syrian civilians were distributed across the neighboring nations
Internal Security of Neighboring Countries
There were many cases of insecurity in Jordan because of the high flow of refugees from Syria. There were increased attacks thus leading to spread of military forces across the nation. Moreover, countries such as Gulf which prohibited entry of refugees citing the fear of causing instability and chaos (Refaat, Marwan and Kamel Mohanna 764). Such nations opted to support the refugees with money claiming that hosting refugees would threaten their security. Furthermore, the Syrian refugees went through a lot of suffering and troubles when some nations in the European Union decided to close their borders because of safety. Research by pew research showed that 59% of the European countries linked refugees with terrorism (El-Khatib, Ziad, et al. 18). For example, in 2015 Hungary and Serbia decided to close its borders.
Failures of Security Councils
Failure by the security councils led to the war crimes. It is claimed that the United Nations ignored calls to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected Syrians. This is the reason why the United States and the United Kingdom did not allow Syrians to migrate to their countries. Therefore, refugees had to live with no hope because the human rights organizations did not provide international protection. Approximately 200,000 Syrians had to continue living in Syria despite the insecurity (Gabiam, Nell 100). Good response by the security councils would have helped control the adverse effects of the conflict through the initiation of peaceful negotiations.
Response to the Refugees Crisis
Building walls and houses to accommodate the refugees did not provide the best solution to the refugee crisis. Instead, humanitarian assistance should help solve the crisis problem by saving the dignity of individuals. Moreover, nations are supposed to provide support to countries which held refugees such as Lebanon, Turkey, and Jordan by giving food, money and other appropriate facilities (Murshidi, Mujalli Mhailan et al. 207). This is because most of these countries did not have adequate resources to hold the refugees. Provision of support to these countries would encourage those remaining in Syria to move away.
Recommendations
The refugee crisis in Syria showed that international cooperation is necessary to help solve the colossal crisis. In this case, the international community failed to provide Syria with international protection which is stated in the Geneva 1951 convention (El-Khatib, Ziad et al. 18). Secondly, security agencies need take actions after they are warned of security threats. Human rights organizations did not timely respond to the conflict thus making many people lose their lives because of lack of care.
Works Cited
Al-Salem, Waleed S., et al. “Cutaneous leishmaniasis and conflict in Syria.” Emerging infectious diseases 22.5 (2016): 931.
El-Khatib, Ziad, et al. “Syrian refugees, between rocky crisis in Syria and hard inaccessibility to healthcare services in Lebanon and Jordan.” Conflict and health 7.1 (2013): 18.
Gabiam, Nell. “When “humanitarianism” becomes “development”: the politics of international aid in Syria’s Palestinian refugee camps.” American anthropologist 114.1 (2012): 95-107.
Murshidi, Mujalli Mhailan, et al. “Syrian refugees and Jordan’s health sector.” The Lancet 382.9888 (2013): 206-207.
Refaat, Marwan M., and Kamel Mohanna. “Syrian refugees in Lebanon: facts and solutions.” The Lancet 382.9894 (2013): 763-764.
Sharp, Jeremy M., and Christopher M. Blanchard. “Armed conflict in Syria: US and International response.” Current Politics and Economics of the Middle East 4.3 (2013): 403.
