Solving the Syrian Refugee Crisis
A Refugee is defined by Oxford Dictionaries as “a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster”. The Syrian refugee crisis has become a consistent cause for concern for the international community, resulting in the highest influx of refugees in Europe since the second world-war. To some people this crisis may seem a relatively new phenomenon, however in actual fact it has been ongoing for the past five years. The war in Syria commenced on the 15th of March 2011, as a result of the conflict between the Syrian government, led by the Al-Assad family and the pursuit of the Syrian people for democracy. In critically analysing the statement ‘Solving the Syrian Refugee Crisis’, a noticeable bias becomes directly apparent in the use of the word ‘solving’. Solving an issue refers to finding an answer to, explanation for, or a way of dealing with a problem. This would suggest there are approaches that could be taken to help the Syrian people. Therefore, this essay will discuss the evolution of the Syrian refugee crisis, current control measures in place, and possible suggestions which I feel would significantly help in resolving this crisis.
Since March 2011, the Syrian civil war has inflicted great human casualty with over 240,000 people killed, 7.6 million people internally displaced and approximately half of the pre-war population in need of urgent assistance (Jonson, 2015). The Syrian civil war reached its pinnacle when the extremist terrorist group, ISIS used the civil unrest as an “opportunity to enter the country and create a totalitarian Islamic caliphate” (Agency, 2015). The arrival of this organisation brought terror on an extreme scale and Syrian people were subject to fatal war crimes. These people found themselves trapped between the regime, rebel groups and the religious extremists and many fled to the neighbouring countries of Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Turkey and Iraq. Syrian refugees found themselves housed in makeshift camps in the deserts of these countries where food and resources were scarce and overcrowding was rife. With no political solution in sight, host countries implemented new measures to alleviate the burden placed on their economies by incoming refugees. For example, “Lebanon announced a restricted six month visa for displaced Syrians” (Balsari, 2015) and Jordon has repealed free health care for refugees, charging them a nominal fee. These conditions forced many Syrians to face the harsh reality that their situation was not going to improve and many made the decision to travel to mainland Europe and seek refuge. The scenes at ports and borders across mainland Europe showed these people at their most desperate and vulnerable. Human beings exhausted and raw, many with only a single bag containing all their most treasured possessions. When one flees their homeland and becomes a refugee they do not lose their human quality.
The European border countries saw the highest influx of refugees and as per European Union rules a refugee must stay in the state they arrive in (Peers, 2015). This put enormous pressure on these countries, most notably Greece who are in the midst of a financial crisis. While these countries struggled to maintain the flood of refugees entering, the rest of the world stood idly by. It wasn’t until photos circulated throughout the world of a three year old Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi, washed up dead on a beach in Turkey that the “sensitivity of the crisis became more apparent” (Lee, 2015). This image of Aylan was the top story on every news station around the world, the plight of these people was thrust into the limelight, and while many countries vowed to take action, little has been done by the political powers of the world. In the paragraphs to follow I will lay out solutions as to what I feel can, and possibly should be done to solve this crisis.
In my opinion, the first issue that needs to be addressed is the abolishment of barriers to entry in countries who can provide assistance to these people. Weaker EU countries in terms of wealth such as Slovenia and Croatia have seen refugees arrive at its borders at an alarming rate. Some 60,000 Syrian refugees landed in Slovenia in just a few days this October and Croatia had 11,500 enter the country in one day this November. These figures prove that the crisis is not slowing down but more importantly the “economic, social, and human cost of caring for refugees and the internally displaced is being borne mostly by those who are least able to afford it” (Kuvadia, 2015). It is the wealthy nations in Europe and across the world who can stimulate aid for these people, but we have yet to see these countries unite and assist in solving what the UN Refugee Agency has called the biggest humanitarian disaster in decades. Nearby super-wealthy Gulf nations such as Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain have refused to offer sanctuary to a single Syrian refugee.
It is my suggestion that the world’s most powerful and economically stable countries play a more prominent role in solving this crisis. Enhanced international solidarity is a must if we want to avoid the risk of more and more vulnerable people being left without proper support. Countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, Norway, Denmark, Ireland and England should step forward and welcome these refugees. Based on wealth, availability of housing and the possibility of work I feel countries should impose larger, binding quotas to spread the so called burden of hosting these refugees. This has been discussed by EU interior ministers with the suggestion that “EU countries take a share of 40,000 Syrian refugees.” (Bennett, 2015).
It is a common misconception that these refugees will become a financial burden on their host country’s resources and that they will alter the countries demographic significantly and therefore many are reluctant to admit them. However research has shown that refugees, many of whom are professional people can actually add value to potential host countries. “Refugees are proven to be positive actors in economic growth. The OCED has estimated that in this last half of 2015, refugees will boost economies by 0.2%.” (Martinez, 2015). For example, Ireland in recent years has seen a decline in our professional workforce with many of our young graduates departing due to the recession. We are a country whose economy is thankfully on the rise, and now we are trying to entice our graduates to return home. Many have settled in warmer climates and have shown no signs of returning. This has left gaps in our workforce, a great example being the nursing sector. Could Syrian nurses looking for refuge become the answer to this problem? I feel that if countries participate in this potential solution it would not only significantly reduce the Syrian refugee crisis, but it may also reduce the demand for labour in certain parts of the world. It is proven “that refugees are several times more entrepreneurial in their host countries and in most cases extremely well qualified professionals adding value to a workforce and economy.” (Martinez, 2015).
My second suggestion is to put Military groups from countries who possesses these resources such as the US, France and Britain on the ground in Syria to protect safe havens. The idea behind this proposal is not only to protect Syrians who are present in the country but also to reduce the number of refugees making the potentially fatal journey across the Mediterranean Sea. It would also show that the international communities are willing to fight to protect innocent people who are at risk. “It is time for the international community to accept its moral responsibilities and create a safe zone in Syria using its military capabilities” (May, 2015). If this was incorporated successfully it is my opinion that the people of Syria would feel more secure and would be more likely to stay in their homeland, which ultimately is what these people desire. It would also reduce the number of refugees in poorer countries such as Jordon who are struggling with the large inflow of people. The recommendation of former Tory party minister Andrew Mitchell shows support for my proposal above, he suggested, “safe havens should be built in Syria near its border with Turkey or along its southern border with Jordan, which could protect millions of refugees from the conflict that has engulfed the country over the past four years” (Dathan, 2015).
There are currently safe havens in Syria, however they are protected by military defectors and locals who do not possess the ammunition or man power to fight off potential attacks. We have seen safe havens used during the Bosnian civil war in the early 90’s, however just like the current situation in Syria, these areas were protected by locals with inferior resources. “Similar to Bosnia in the 1990s, the civilian-defence units and any future liberated areas in Syria will be outgunned by the superior army” (Tabler, 2012). For safe havens to become an effective contributor in solving the crisis, these areas must be fully furnished with international soldiers who are fully trained and equipped to deal with such conflict.
Throughout history, there has been many documented civil wars. The initial solution is usually the same, provide financial aid, food, clothing, supplies and raise awareness. While this helps in the short term, it does not produce a long-term solution. Time and time again, history seems to repeat itself, what is needed is an uncommon approach, one we have not seen before that goes way beyond the norm and produces a solution that will not only solve this current refugee crisis but possibly future similar emergencies. While researching this topic, I came across one possible solution that I feel is truly distinct from anything that has come before. The Washington Post has described this as an example of a truly breakout idea for solving the Syrian refugee crisis. This solution is a concept known as “Refugee Nation” devised by Jason Buzi. “Under the Refugee Nation concept, money would be used to create an artificial state to house all the world’s refugees and stateless individuals” (Basulto, 2015). Admittedly this idea would be a costly solution and one that would need to be implemented correctly in order to ensure this “Refugee Nation” is not stigmatised and is seen as a place where refugees can live in safety and start over. This idea has gathered its fair share of support, For example, Oxford academic Alexander Betts, a specialist on refugee flows, has noted that ‘Refugee Nation’ has the potential to work, so long as it’s not seen as creating a type of “leper colony” of the world’s refugees. While this idea may seem a far-fetched, costly solution to some, it is this kind of ‘out of the box’ thinking that in my opinion offers a real long term solution that goes beyond fund raising and aid package solutions that are currently used.
Finding a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis is a very complex and sensitive task. As I have discussed above this crisis affects not just Syrians but also those countries which the refugees are fleeing too. This crisis has been touched on daily in news, media and by political leaders, yet we are still inundated with stories of the struggles of the Syrian people and no concrete solution has been put forward. In this essay I have discussed three possible solutions which I believe if implemented correctly would go a long way in solving this crisis. It is fair to say the third possible solution “Refugee Nation” is the most thought provoking and it is in my opinion, ideas such as this one which offer a long term solution to the current Syrian crisis and possible future refugee emergencies.

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