The Syrian refugee movement, which began in 2011 after civil war broke out in the country, has created a worldwide crisis due to the large influx of Syrians into European nations who seek asylum and safety.

Nearly 12 million Syrians have been forced to flee their homes; 7.6 million remain in Syria as internally displaced persons (IDP) and 4 million are living in neighboring countries. The 4 million refugees have relocated to Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, with more attempting to enter Europe in order to escape their country’s ongoing civil war. Many are living in crowded and unsanitary dwellings in abandoned community buildings.

Members of the Upper school students and faculty express their opinions on the Syrian refugee crisis.

“I think it’s incredibly tragic that this issue of refugees is being dealt with in a negative way by a lot of countries,” Upper School History teacher Roxana Pianko said. “But I do think that it is really beautiful that countries like Germany and like Iceland have been opening up their countries to refugees, and I think that is encouraging a lot of other countries to be more considerate of the situation and the needs of these individuals and their families.”

Since the Syrian government refuses to help their citizens escape the country, smugglers and human traffickers will. Dangerous attempts of crossing the border have resulted in an increasingly higher death toll.

Enya Lu (9) talks about her mindset regarding the crisis.

“I do understand both sides that they do have troubles with keeping the immigrants in and [the refugees] also want to escape the war and I feel that it’s really sad,” she said. “One thing that is really immoral is that people who are doing the trafficking are often deceiving the immigrants in hopes of a better future.”

Almost half of the 12 million refugees are children who are at risk of becoming ill due to poor sanitation, malnutrition, abuse and exploitation. Many are disabled without access to medical facilities and a shortage of medicine means that those who are ill are unable to be treated. Health workers are also being pushed to increase their capabilities in order to prevent future communicable diseases.

According to UNICEF, “the decline in education in Syrian children has been the sharpest and most rapid in history in the region” since millions have quit school.

“Education is so important because if we live in an uneducated society we’re more vulnerable to the kinds of things that are causing the Syrians to flee,” Calvin Kocienda (12) said. “I believe that a source of a lot of terror in this world is ignorance, so if people learn to cooperate and work together then there won’t be as many problems in the world.”

The fourth year of the Syrian civil war devastated the nation, with more than 240,000 deaths, including those of 12,000 children. One million more Syrians have been wounded or permanently disabled.

Jacqueline He (10) gives her view on how she believes the death toll caused by the crisis could benefit our country.
“With so many deaths reaching the media concerning the Syrian crisis, I think people are becoming more aware that the world is not just a utopia and that there are actual problems going on,” she said. “I think people are starting to have their eyes open and hopefully that’s a good thing because it prompts the world to wake up and begin taking action.”

Humanitarian organizations such as World Vision or Mercy Corps have aided almost two million Syrians, both children and adults, since the beginning of the crisis by providing food, water, clothing, health care facilities and education.

Harker students believe that people should aid Syrians who are lacking the bare necessities.

“Donate money to some cause,” Shreya Neogi (11) said. “[We can] bring awareness to the school; you can have fundraisers for them.”

People can help support this crisis by donating, fundraising, or signing a petition telling Congress to ensure that the basic essentials of refugees are being provided.

The U.S. is one of the largest donors of humanitarian assistance to Syrians. They plan to accept up to 70,000 more refugees this fiscal year and are working on increasing the annual number of refugees who are granted entry into our country for the future.