Running head: SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS IN EUROPE

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

Naomi K James
University of Arkansas at Little Rock

REFUGEE CRISIS IN EUROPE

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. It shouldnt be a
journey that needs to be made. On the morning of Wednesday September 2nd 2015, the world
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 (Wall Street Journal, 2015).
Mr Kurdis story isnt unique. Last year The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
reported 76,000 deaths in 2014, 3,500 of those being children. (Syrian Observatory for Human
Rights, 2014). With statistics like these, its no surprise as to why 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 with the hope of reaching the safe haven of
Europe (CNN, 2015). 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.
This begs the question why are these people, many of whom lived a comfortable life in Syria

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before the eruption of the civil war, now being found, fighting to stay alive after their boats have
capsized in the Mediterranean? 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 (Wall Street Journal, 2015).
After hearing these accounts of people so desperate to leave their homes, we must ask
ourselves what it is that is causing such desperation to leave Syria. 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. (The Washington Post, 2015).
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

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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 (CNN, 2015). If this is the case, it's no wonder as to why there is such
an influx of refugees into Europe.
So what now? With what has been described as the worst refugee crisis since WWII
(The Huffington Post, 2015), 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 (The Guardian, 2015). 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. (The Guardian, 2015).
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

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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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References
Alfred, C. (2015). What History Can Teach Us About The Worst Refugee Crisis Since
WWII. The Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/alexanderbetts-refugees-wwii_55f30f7ce4b077ca094edaec
Harding, L., Oltermann, P., & Watt, N. (2015). Refugees welcome? How UK and
Germany compare on migration. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/02/refugees-welcome-uk-germany-comparemigration
Martinez, M. (2015). Syrian refugees: Which countries welcome them - CNN.com. CNN.
Retrieved 14 September 2015, from http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/09/world/welcome-syrianrefugees-countries/
Parkinson, J., & George-Cosh, D. (2015, Sep 04). 'Daddy, please don't die' --- syrian man
recounts deaths of his family at sea in their bid for refuge in europe. Wall Street Journal
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accountid=14482
Pop, V., & Thomas, A. (2015, Sep 06). Two migrant families on a long and winding road
to Germany; Mohammed and Juanosso lead their respective relatives on odysseys to escape the
fighting in syria. Wall Street Journal (Online) Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.iiiserver.ualr.edu/nationalnewscore/docview/1709992821/8C911EBDC9424D96PQ/2?
accountid=14482

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Sly, L. (2015, Sep 15). Syria is driving refugee crisis. The Washington Post Retrieved
from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/syria-is-emptying/2015/09/14/2b457a86-534f11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. (2014). 76021 people killed in Syria in 2014.
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Retrieved 21 September 2015, from
http://www.syriahr.com/en/2015/01/76021-people-killed-in-20014/
Wintour, P. (2015). UK to take up to 20,000 Syrian refugees over five years, David
Cameron confirms. The Guardian. Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/07/uk-will-accept-up-to-20000-syrian-refugeesdavid-cameron-confirms