What is happening in Europe in regards to the Syrian refugee crisis?

The journey from the Turkish town of Bodrum, to the Greek island, Kos, supposedly only takes
94 minutes. It sounds like a simple journey. It should be a simple journey. But it shouldnt be a
journey that needs to be made. On the morning of Wednesday September 2 2015 the world
nd

awoke to the chilling image of a 3 year old's body that had been found washed up on the shore of
a Turkish beach. It was later reported that this boy had a name, Aylan Kurdi. He also had a
family, consisting of a five year old brother, Galip, a mother, Rehan, and a father, Abdullah.
Aylan and his family, originally from the Syrian town of Kobani, were attempting to make this
journey from Turkey to Greece in the hope of beginning a new life in Europe. Unfortunately,
what was once Mr Kurdis dream, to make it to Europe, soon became his worst nightmare. A
terrible turn of events saw their boat capsize. Leading to the premature death of 12 passengers on
the boat, including Mr Kurdis wife and children, leaving him to be the sole survivor of their
family.
Mr Kurdis story isnt unique. With The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reporting 76,000
deaths Syria in 2014, 3,500 of those being children, its no surprise that families such as the
Kurdis are so desperate to flee their war torn homes. His family is just one of 4.1 million who, in
the past 4 years, have attempted to leave their lives in Syria in the hope of reaching the safe
haven of Europe. Many of these families have been met with the same fate as the Kurdis. Some,
however, have successfully made this journey, despite many obstacles thrown their way. One
man, Mohammed, described his familys journey across numerous European countries after
leaving his home, a refugee camp in Damascus, Syria where he had lived for 9 years.
Mohammed too, like the Kurdi family, made the voyage from Turkey to Kos which he described
as the scariest part of the journey. After barely surviving the boat trip (which in many cases is a

rubber dinghy), Mohammeds journey was not complete. Now began the hike through
Macedonia, Serbia and Hungary, with his final destination being Germany.
After hearing these accounts of people so desperate to leave their homes, we must ask ourselves
the question, why? Why are these people, many of whom lived a comfortable life in Syria before
the eruption of the civil war, now being found, fighting to stay alive after their boats have
capsized in the Mediterranean? The reasons differ. For some, extremist groups such as The
Islamic State have taken control of towns, killing people in the areas it controls with
beheadings and other brutal punishments. For others, the only way to avoid conscription into
the Syrian army, which many claim has turned on its own people, is to abandon their daily life, in
the hope that Europe has more to offer them. No matter the specific reason, the common
denominator in most cases is that these refugees desire one thing, safety.
Many people believe that there is no good side to this crisis. The Islamic state militants who
execute innocent civilians are as bad as the Syrian government, who have been accused of
attacking whole towns with chlorine gas, a toxic chemical, and are also as bad as the smugglers,
who promise desperate Syrians a safe passage out of the war zone, only to abandon ship when
they are proved wrong, leaving families to drown in the Mediterranean sea. Governments, from
both European and Gulf Countries also have a role to play in this refugee crisis. If these countries
are not willing to help put an end to the conflict, the least they can do is open their borders to
Syrians who have been displaced due to the fighting in their home towns. In September 2015
CNN reported that the Gulf countries of Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have taken in a
total of 0 Syrian refugees. If this is the case, it's no wonder that there is such an influx of
refugees into Europe.

So what now? With what has been described as the worst refugee crisis since WWII,
something must be done. The saying better late than never can be used to describe the slight
change in policy of many European countries who in early September, following the death of
Aylan Kurdi, have said that they will take in more Syrian refugees. Of all the European countries,
so far Germany has welcomed the most refugees. Recently, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel,
announced that Germany are expected to take at least 800,000 asylum seekers this year. Other
sources claim that this figure will increase and may hit 1 million asylum requests. Other
European governments have been facing pressure from their countries to take in more refugees.
Protests and petitions in the United Kingdom eventually lead to Prime Minister, David Cameron,
to change Britains stance on its border control in regards to this refugee crisis. He announced
that Britain will take up to 20,000 refugees from the camps on the borders of Syria over the next
five years This change in countries policy to help Syrian refugees is a step forward, a temporary
solution, however it doesn't solve the problem.

It seems that nobody knows how to, or is willing to put an end to the conflict in Syria. By
allowing it to continue, it is clear that the refugee crisis in Europe will continue to worsen. While

the death toll of innocent people in Syria and those who are fleeing the conflict increases, the
world watches. If the image of a lifeless 3 year old, who had only known war and terror, washed
ashore, after a failed attempt to escape the fighting in his home, isn't enough to cause
governments to make a change, what will be?

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