Syria is a perfect example of how costly war can be. Syria is paying for the war in human life, infrastructure, and economy. These costs of war are not going to just hurt the country during the war, but even after the fighting stops. The Syrian infrastructure and economy is falling apart and there have been over 115,000 people killed and millions have been displaced inside and outside of the country (Barnard 1-2). People are unable to go to work and go to school because of the violence and military blockades. According to the New York Times, Syrian children have not been in school for over a year and this can cause there to be a “lost generation” in Syria (Barnard 1-2). The New York Times quoted, ““It is as if we are living on Jupiter or Mars,” said Qusai Zakarya, a spokesman for an opposition council in Moadhamiya, south of Damascus, where the government has not allowed aid convoys to enter for nine months” (Barnard 1-2). What is going on inside the country is devastating, but what is going on outside of the country is what is starting to become a concern for the international community.
According to the New York Times, there are over 504,000 refugees that have fled into Turkey (Addario). Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister in an article to the New York Times, expressed his ““deep disappointment and frustration because of the absence of a proper reaction by the international community” to the humanitarian crisis” (Barnard 1-2). One of the organizations that are aiding the Syrian relief crisis is the Mercy Corps. They estimate that 2.1 million Syrian refugees have fled the country, mainly to Jordan and Lebanon. More than half of them being children. They estimate that by the end of the year the number will reach over 3.5 million (Keny-Guyer).
But what do millions of refugees in neighboring countries mean for the rest of us? Refugee spillover can have a number of consequences within Syria and in the neighboring countries. First being the economy of the haven country. A country that suddenly has an influx of half a million people or more, means that there is going to be a drastic increase in cheap labor. Meaning that the price of labor will go down for people in that country and there will be more competition for jobs. This can cause internal conflict and even ethnic conflict within a country. The French President Francois Hollande in an address to the European Union warned neighboring EU countries that the spillover of Syrian refugees could pose a risk of them coming into Europe ("World Bulletin"). With the current economic crisis in the EU and the soaring unemployment rates in countries like Spain, an influx of refugees may push the EU economy over the edge. While in Syria, after the fighting ends, will have lost millions from their population. Then causing them to feel the consequences of war, making rebuilding the infrastructure and economy of Syria nearly impossible.
New York Times Estimations of Syrian Refugees:
IRAQ 197,000 Syrian refugees
LEBANON 790,000 refugees
TURKEY 504,000 refugees
JORDAN 543,000 refugees
Addario , Lynsey. "The Historic Scale of Syria’s Refugee Crisis." New York Times. 16 OCT 2013: n. page. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/10/16/world/middleeast/syrian-refugee-crisis-photos.html>.
Barnard, Anne . "Hardships Mounting for Refugees Inside Syria." New York Times. 24 OCT 2013: 1-2. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/world/middleeast/hardships-mounting-for-refugees-inside-syria.html?hpw&_r=0>.
"France sees Syrian refugee risk to Europe." World Bulletin . 26 OCT 2013: n. page. Print. <http://www.worldbulletin.net/?aType=haber&ArticleID=121551>.
Keny-Guyer, Neal . "Syrian humanitarian crisis demands new perspective on emergency response." Mercy Corps. 10 OCT 2013: n. page. Web. 26 Oct. 2013. <http://www.mercycorps.org/articles/jordan-lebanon-syria/syrian-humanitarian-crisis-demands-new-perspective-emergency-response>.
I found this post extremely interesting, and very sad. I can't imagine what it would be like if children here in America had to miss school for a year, or what would happen if we were to face problems like Syria. (Obviously this is very, very unlikely to happen in America, but still). I also had no idea there were so many refugees leaving Syria, though that only makes sense. We can only hope that other surrounding countries are ready to brace the influx of people coming in, and that people will be sensitive to the issue and know that many of these people do not have a choice. Hopefully, something will change soon and allow Syria to stop destructing, and start to rebuild instead. However, like you said, it is beginning to look less and less possible.
ReplyDeleteThis post I thought was very interesting and it taught me a lot about the humanitarian problem going on in Syria today. The children in this country are suffering the most and I am praying that the Red Cross and other organizations can help out before their future is ruined versus just being in jeopardy. With all of these refugees and the conditions of refugee countries we talked about during class on Wednesday, the surrounding countries might be in hot water as well. Not only is Syria in trouble economically and politically (as discussed in this post), but with the amount of refugees fleeing, I will not be surprised if more countries discover economic trouble with Syria because their infrastructure just simply can not support all of the refugees.
ReplyDeleteQuite saddening when you take into account that Syria's population is about 22 million. That is quite a high proportion of refugees to total population. As for the children missing school for a year, this is why countries that have bloody civil wars usually have a hard time prospering after the war. The future generations will be haunted by this civil war for the rest of their life which might lead to some future instability.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to note that Jordan has a swarm of other problems already present-high unemployment, inflated prices, rampant corruption, etc. The huge influx of Syrian refugees will unfortunately only add stresses to an already weak economy and political system.
ReplyDeleteThe issue about the massive amount of refugees including children crossing over into neighboring countries from Syria is astonishing. I think it was interesting to bring up problems with competition in the job market, but I think a bigger issue may be rising crime in countries with large refugee population in the future. Since most of the children in the refugee setting will likely never get a proper education or proper parenting because of the civil war, many will never be able to get jobs in the countries that they reside. They will live in a cycle of poverty where many rebel groups find their recruits. This could be dangerous to those neighboring countries in the coming years as that misplaced, "lost generation" of children grows up and increasingly go to terrorist or insurgent groups in order to find legitimacy. It all seems like a lose lose situation.
ReplyDeleteThe refugee issue is certainly a huge consequences of a war. With neighboring countries nearby they have experienced a huge flood of refugees coming into their countries. When refugees come into a country their is a large economic burden due to supplying refugees with essentials such as water, sanitation, vaccines, and other services. It also may cause ethnic tensions inside another country due to many refugees coming into countries and taking jobs of natives. It becomes easier to hire a refugee due to the huge numbers of them fleeing into other countries and will take jobs for lower wages compared to natives. Not only is Syria experiencing turmoil, but also nearby countries are feeling the economic burden of Syrian refugees coming into their countries.
ReplyDeleteThis is astonishing to me to see that many people in refugee camps. The long term effect of civil wars such as this aren't just the lives lost during the war, but also many other factors that many people don't take into consideration. The amount of time lost during work and schooling that could have taken place is something that people will never have a chance to get back. The amount of money and income for families will also take a detrimental hit. The hardships many families will be faced with during this time will certainly be put to the test and will have an impact on many generations to come, especially those who are on the unfortunate end of living it and experiencing it every day.
ReplyDeleteEconomic tensions in nearby states most likely won't be the only consequence of mass refugee movements. Refugees will likely be stigmatized by the native citizens of those nearby states. This in-group out-group concept may lead to an increase in crimes. With a shortage of job opportunities will most likely come increased poverty. Poverty itself is associated with many different societal problems. The tricky part about this situation is trying to figure out how to solve it. From my knowledge, there's not much that can practically be done. Even when the fighting in Syria ends, I'm sure many refugees will not return to the wreckage that was once their home. It's definitely a puzzling and problematic issue and it will be interesting to see how these nearby states act to mitigate the damage.
ReplyDeleteThe issue of refugees is one that I find extremely interesting. The sheer number of people fleeing Syria is incredible and the impacts that this could have on the countries hosting them could be numerous. One facet of the refugee issue that I have questions about and I am particularly concerned about is what is going to happen with all of them once this conflict ends? As is becoming increasingly clear, unfortunately this conflict is unlikely to end in the extremely near future. What is reintegration in to Syria going to look like for this large displaced population? I wonder what kind of issues will arise when these large numbers of people who have lived outside of their country for extended periods of times in an environment such as these refugee camps, and how is this going to affect the future of Syria?
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