1

Rosh Chan
Analysis
The Syrian Refugee Crisis
The syrian refugee crisis is currently a problem on a global scale. Most countries are
currently implementing new policies for refugees. With no end in sight for the Syrian war only
more refugees will be escaping from Syria looking for protection. Some countries like Germany,
Austria, and Hungary are letting refugees enter. Today the world is divided in what to do with
Syrian refugees. On the one hand, some say that refugees should not be allowed to enter a
country because they are dangerous and will damage a country they enter. On the other hand,
some say that refugees will not damage a country they enter and that more refugees need to be
allowed into a country. My own view is that both sides have flaws in them and Syrian refugees
should be allowed to enter different countries, but should be more regulated. This can be
supported by how refugees affect the social, economical, and political aspects of a country. The
decisions made today will affect how future refugees are treated if a similar situation arises.
The Syrian refugee crisis is a term to describe the civilians caught in the crossfire of the
Syrian war. The conflict in Syria began when the government shot and killed peaceful arab
springs protesters, protesting against Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in March 2011(The
Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica). After the shootings some of Assad's soldiers defected and
join forces with some of the surviving protesters to form the rebel group called the Free Syrian
army. To support the cause muslim extremists joined the cause to fight Assad while also making
it hard for foreign countries to support them. At the same time another group started to rebel
against Assad. This group was the kurdish people or the Kurds. Due to the large influx of rebels
in Syria, Iran one of Assads biggest supporters started to help Assad out by sending troops and
supplies to aid him. Since Iran got involved rich countries along the Persian Gulf started to send

money and weapons to help aid the rebels by sending it to Turkey, who is against Assad for
redistribution among the rebels. Due to Turkey sending the supplies over Lebanon to Syria the
Hezbollah, who are a militant group supported by Iran, invades Syria to combat the rebels. Since
the intervention of Lebanons Hezbollah the Persian Gulf states relocates the route of supplies
through Jordan who is against Assad. The Syrian war remains contained in the middle east until
august 2013 when Assads soldiers used chemical weapons against the rebels killing 1429
civilians ("Syria Chemical Attack: What We Know - BBC News." ). Since chemical weapons
were used the United States declared to help respond against Assad. A few days later Russia told
Syria that they should surrender their chemical weapons in which they did and the United States
ultimately backed down.
In February 2014 a new group who called themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
or ISIS attacked the rebels, captured territory, and established a mini state within Syria that they
call their caliphate ( "Syrian Profile - Timeline."). In the following September the United States
started to use airstrikes against ISIS demeaning ISIS a bigger threat than Assad. In response to
the United States air strikes Turkey also began to bomb the Kurdish rebel along their borders.
These Kurds were fighting against ISIS directly for territory in Syria but was forced to Turkey's
borders due to ISIS growing strength. Turkey during this time period does not bomb ISIS directly
causing much internal conflict between allied countries. During the past 2 years while the Syrian
war has been proceeding Assad has been losing political power over his supporters. To aid Assad
and to disrupt the United States usurping Syria's control from Assad Russia comes in to support
Assad by bombing ISIS and the rebels, who are anti-Assad supporters some of which the United
States are supporting. During all this time civilians have been getting caught in the crossfire of
both the rebel groups and Assad's soldiers. Due to the large civilian casualties and destruction of

civilian homes many Syrian people are escaping to neighboring countries leaving everything
they had and walking thousands of miles seeking protection as refugees.
The decision of letting Syrian refugees enter a country can affects the lives of both the
Syrian people and the lives of the people who live in that country. For countries who allow
refugees in, the matter of safety for the refugee arises. In August 2015, Germany made a plan to
accept 800,000 refugees from Syria by the end of the year. At the end of the year over 1 million
refugees has entered into the country (Salhani, Justin.). Due to a large amount of refugees
entering Germany the condition in a refugee camps tends to be poor. Havel Aram a refugee in a
German refugee camp states They gather people in horrible camps with no space to sleep, bathe
or relax. There is no hope here in Germany. I hope nobody will leave their home to come
here,( "Migrant Crisis: Iraqis Return Home, Disenchanted with Life in Germany."). Disease
and illnesses have emerged in the refugee camps. Since there is a shortage of non-branded
medication refugees are forced to buy branded medications which is over priced. The
government is unable to give more money to the Syrian refugees, forcing the refugees to remain
sick and without medication. The conditions in these refugee camps allow for illnesses to spread
easily within the refugee camp. Refugees are not just exposed to bad living conditions but are
also victims of violence and sexual abuse. Due to the larger amount of refugees in a small area
the ability for the police to enforce the law becomes harder. Due to the difficulty to enforce the
law criminal activity has increased in these areas.
In countries that have allowed Syrian refugee into its own borders the safety for the
native population has become a heated topic especially after November 2015, when Parris
experienced several terrorist attacks. The paris terror attacks claimed 129 civilian lives when 8
armed attackers armed with explosives and assault rifles attacked 6 locations in paris. ISIS

claims that the attack was caused and directed by them. On one of the dead bodies of the terrorist
a Syrian refugee passport was found. The passport was identified to be fake but the same
information found was being used by other illegal Refugee who have been caught ( Kingsley,
Patrick.). The fake passport found during the terrorist attack made the people of paris start to
doubt whether Syrian refugees are safe to be allowed into the country. After the Paris terrorist
attacks there is constant fear that ISIS members can disguise themselves as a refugee and
infiltrate any country. In European countries this fear is justified. When entering a country as a
refugee, the refugee is registered and identification has to be shown. Since there is so many
refugees no in depth background check is performed and refugees are admitted into a country.
Identification is usually used to show that the refugee is from syria and not from Lebanon or
Iraq. This is due to some refugees seeking asylum are not Syrian and come from neighboring
countries.
Economically there is a stigma when discussing refugees impact on the economy. Some
fear that by allowing refugees into a country they would take our jobs and waste our tax dollars.
Since the Syrian refugee crisis is a relatively new occurrence there is not much data recorded on
the effects on refugees on the economy over a long period of time. There is however short term
evidence that allowing refugees into a country will positively affect the economy of that country.
In Are refugees a burden or benefit? Roger Zetter finds,
By linking humanitarian and emergency interventions with development programmes, the
Guidelines indicate ways in which more positive social and economic impacts might be
promoted that improve the longer-term situation of both the displaced people themselves
and the host population. ( Zetter, Roger.)

In the quote by Zetter refugees are benefits for a country outweigh the costs. Also, Refugees do
not take jobs away from the native people. This is due to taking jobs that the native people are
not interested in or do not have the skills for. In a study conducted by the FEE or Foundation for
Economic Education it was found the 44 percent of Syrian have a high school diploma or less
and 39 percent have a bachelor degree or higher. While comparing to the United States which has
38 percent of the population has a high school degree or less and 30 percent with a bachelor
degree or higher. (Nowrasteh, Alex.) Which can also be seen in the graph constructed below.

(Nowrasteh, Alex.)

Policies and laws concerning refugees vary among different countries. In Germany the
refugee policy is better than most countries. In Germany refugees are interviewed based on the
results of the interview refugees are allowed to enter germany or is denied entrance. If the
refugee is allowed entrance the german government will provide for many benefits. The benefits
refugees are entitled to are listed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior:

If the asylum application is accepted, persons granted asylum status and those granted
refugee status receive a temporary residence permit and are given the same status as
Germans within the social insurance system. They are entitled to social welfare, child
benefits, child-raising benefits, integration allowances and language courses as well as
other forms of integration assistance ("Asylum and Refugee Policy in Germany.").
In the United States refugee policies stand divided. Presidential candidates in the democratic
party are in support for refugees and thinks that the United States Should allow refugees into the
country. For the presidential candidates in the republican party they consider refugees as terrorist
and should not be allowed into the country at all.
Refugees should be let into a country but should be regulated. By regulating the
refugees coming into the country the issue on enforcing the law becomes easier to handle and the
economy still profits. Crime rates will decrease and will overall benefit the country. The refugees
will be regulated by tests and full background checks to screen out potential ISIS members. By
improving background checks the countries people is able to be kept safe and overall quality of
life improve. This is because refugees entering a country improves the local economy.

Works Cited
"Asylum and Refugee Policy in Germany." Bundesministerium Des Innern. BMI, n.d. Web. 18
Apr. 2016.
The Editors of Encyclopdia Britannica. "Syrian Civil War." Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
Encyclopedia Britannica, 12 Aug. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.

Kingsley, Patrick. "Why Syrian Refugee Passport Found at Paris Attack Scene Must Be Treated
with Caution." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 15 Nov. 2015. Web. 11 Apr.
2016.
"Migrant Crisis: Iraqis Return Home, Disenchanted with Life in Germany." RSS. N.p., 23 Jan.
2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Nowrasteh, Alex. "Who Are the Syrian Refugees?" FEE Freeman Article. N.p., 19 Nov. 2015.
Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Salhani, Justin. "Refugees Subjected To Sexual Abuse At German Shelters As Authorities Turn A
Blind Eye." ThinkProgress RSS. N.p., 11 Oct. 2015. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
"Syria Chemical Attack: What We Know - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web.
11 Apr. 2016.
"Syrian Profile - Timeline." BBC News. N.p., 29 Mar. 2016. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.
Zetter, Roger. "Are Refugees an Economic Burden or Benefit?" Far Eastern Survey 4.3 (1935):
23-24. Forced Migration. Dec. 2012. Web. 11 Apr. 2016.