• World
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Central & South Asia
    • Europe
    • Latin America & Caribbean
    • Middle East & North Africa
    • North America
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
    • US Election
    • US politics
    • Joe Biden
    • Brexit
    • European Union
    • India
    • Arab world
  • Economics
    • Finance
    • Eurozone
    • International Trade
  • Business
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Startups
    • Technology
  • Culture
    • Entertainment
    • Music
    • Film
    • Books
    • Travel
  • Environment
    • Climate change
    • Smart cities
    • Green Economy
  • Global Change
    • Education
    • Refugee Crisis
    • International Aid
    • Human Rights
  • International Security
    • ISIS
    • War on Terror
    • North Korea
    • Nuclear Weapons
  • Science
    • Health
  • 360 °
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice
  • About
  • FO Store
Sections
  • World
  • Coronavirus
  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Sign Up
  • Login
  • Publish

Make Sense of the world

Unique insight from 2,000+ contributors in 80+ Countries

Close

Close to Combustion: Syrian Conflict Inflames Regional Refugee Crisis

By Yasmeen Sami Alamiri • Jun 19, 2013

Syria’s neighboring countries are increasingly running out of resources to care for the masses of refugees.

As the White House continues to mull over what it means, exactly, to breach the “red line,” Syria seems to be falling apart at the seams.

The seams, in many regards, are what the world is watching. The continued, growing violence in Syria is steadily spilling over to its bordering countries (Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Israel), particularly in the form of its fleeing citizenry.

Unfortunately, the region is not new to refugee crises. Not long ago, Syria was home to about a million Iraqis seeking refuge from their war-torn country. Now, those refugees, and Syria’s own, are making their way out of the country, seeking safer territory.

Syria’s continued crisis is now well into its third year. Since the beginning of the armed rebellion against Bashar al-Assad and his Ba’ath Party, the conflict in Syria has been dubbed a civil war. Yet, the crisis in Syria does not conform to the insular nature that the term “civil” implies.

From early on, regional spectators worried that the conflict in Syria would spill over to Iraq, Damascus’ now not-so-stable neighbor. Since 2011, several of Syria’s neighbors have also fallen into instability: Hezbollah’s increased military involvement in the situation in Syria has flared up tensions in Lebanon; Turkey, a staunch backer of the Syrian opposition, is currently dealing with sustained protests against Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the government.

The margin of error for Syria’s neighbors is slim, and the idea of a sustained flow of refugees into countries already worn thin is not very promising.

The Regional Dimension

By all accounts, the crisis in Syria is joining an overwhelmingly crisis-riddled region — which becomes increasingly problematic, given that Syrians, en masse, are fleeing their country’s growing instability.

As of mid-June 2013, there are more than 1.6 million Syrian refugees, around 1 million of them in Lebanon and Jordan. On average, 8,000 Syrians are crossing into Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey each day. The refugee numbers are a rough account of both registered and unregistered people crossing over porous borders into the neighboring countries.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Antonio Guterres, this month noted that since the beginning of 2013, over 1 million Syrians have registered as refugees. Most alarming is that women and children make up three quarters of the refugee population. In a region that increasingly can barely sustain itself, it is unimaginable where, and how, millions of displaced persons will end up.

The stress that the refugee exodus from Syria is putting on its neighbors is not easily overlooked. This month, the United Nations, as a global body, launched the largest humanitarian appeal ever — asking donor countries for $4.4 billion to help those suffering, both within, and outside of, Syria.

“We expect that we might reach 3.5 million refugees by the end of the year,” the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told a news conference in Geneva. Around 1.6 million people have already sought refuge in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt.

“One in three Syrians (are) in need of urgent humanitarian assistance,” said UN Humanitarian Chief Valerie Amos.

“If the fighting doesn’t stop, we risk an explosion in the Middle East for which the international community is simply not prepared,” Guterres said, noting that Lebanon and Jordan in particular have shouldered the greater burden, hosting about 500,000 Syrian refugees each.

In recent weeks, Lebanon and Jordan both joined the United Nations in their appeal to donor countries for around $400 million each in an effort to guarantee proper care for the refugees, while they take up residence in their countries.

The Socio-Economic Costs

The conflict in Syria is a taxing one: along with the blatant humanitarian crisis it is leaving in its wake, it is also causing significant socioeconomic strain both in Syria and outside it. The Zaatari refugee camp on Jordan’s northern border with Syria is thought to be the largest camp for Syrian refugees. It is “home” to around 130,000 people.

While Jordan has an official policy of not turning away refugees entering the country, their accommodation is causing significant strain domestically. Jordan was already home to Iraqi and Palestinian refugees (Jordan was hosting 750,000 refugees before the Syrian crisis), and now with the steady flow of large numbers coming from Syria, Jordanian authorities worry about how they will provide for their citizenry, as well as the refugees they are hosting.

“This crisis is affecting Jordan on every level, healthcare, economically, education, all our sectors are being stressed,” said Jordan’s interior minister, Hussein Majali.

The Syrian crisis, and its fueling of the number of refugees, is “threatening the country’s national security,” according to Jordan’s prime minister, Abdullah Ensour. Within the next six months, the number of Syrian refugees entering Jordan could grow to the equivalent of one-fifth of Jordan’s population.

Eventually, by nature of refugee camps, some, if not all refugees try to make their way into the main cities to seek work and stable living accommodations. It is important to note that refugee camps are thought more of as holding spaces, rather than permanent areas of residence — although many do end up living in these camps for several years.

While some are able to find jobs and housing within their host country, the rise in people seeking work, in turn, increases the pool of competition per job that the country has to offer. Jordan, along with other countries in the region that have opened their borders, is now looking at its ability to properly absorb these new refugees. Funding — particularly the $400 million asked of each UN donor — would be of great assistance with providing necessary food, shelter, and medical attention for the refugees.

Mutual Frustration

Yet, it does not, and will not alleviate the mutual frustration amongst both the Syrian refugees who likely knew a better life back home, and those native to the host countries (Jordan, Lebanon, etc). It is not hard to imagine that a Jordanian or Lebanese worker, who has been struggling to find a job, would become resentful once they have to share the job market with a large number of Syrians fleeing their country. Jordan already has a 12% unemployment rate — the influx of refugees will no doubt only exacerbate the problem.

In fact, just this month, a Jordanian official said that nearly 60,000 Syrian refugees that were living in the Zaatari camp in Jordan left to go back to Syria, citing the harsh living conditions in the camp as the reason. The return is seemingly part of an unfortunate new thinking among a certain number of refugees — returning to Syria and all of its instability is a better option than living in the unsustainable limbo in a refugee camp.

The Middle East has been slowly unraveling — accelerated primarily by the spark ignited by the Arab Spring. The situation in Syria has unarguably turned up the heat. The social and economic strains are only another added part to the grave humanitarian situation that the violence in Syria has created.

Sooner, rather than later, something must be done. The violence in Syria must be addressed at the top and the violent, tyrannical regime at the hands of Assad must be ended. It seems that to do so, it will take more than rhetorical threats of a moving “red line.” Action, past rhetoric from podiums, must be taken.

Greater political pressures should be placed on countries that are aiding the Assad regime — particularly those that are US allies, such as Russia. The United States should take the lead in providing such pressures (diplomatic and economic).

Tactical measures should also be taken in an effort to ensure that Syria’s neighbors do not succumb to the pressures of hosting refugee populations. NGOs, as well as allied governments (including the United States), should also provide both specific civil, as well as economic, assistance to those countries. It is imperative that the host countries’ infrastructure does not dissolve in an effort to absorb the influx of refugees.

Very few things are certain in these circumstances; yet, what is blatantly clear is that the region is in crisis and the world must help in whatever way possible to lessen the pressure, before it explodes.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.

Share Story
Categories360° Analysis, Global Change, Middle East & North Africa, Politics TagsAbdullah Ensour, Antonio Guterres, Bashar Al-Assad, Hussein Majali, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Refugee Crisis, Refugee Week, Syria, Syrian Civil War, Turkey, UN, Unemployment, UNHCR, Valerie Amos, Zaatari Refugee Camp
Join our network of more than 2,000 contributors to publish your perspective, share your story and shape the global conversation. Become a Fair Observer and help us make sense of the world.

READ MORE IN THIS 360° SERIES

Refugees: Stopping the Madness
By Harun Yahya • Sep 01, 2014
Jordan: Local Perceptions on Syrian Refugees (Part 2/2)
By Hana Asfour • Mar 19, 2014
Lebanon and the Syrian Refugee Crisis
By Lana Asfour • Mar 19, 2014
Jordan: Local Perceptions on Syrian Refugees (Part 1/2)
By Hana Asfour • Mar 16, 2014
A History of Violence: African Asylum Seekers in Israel
By Natasha Roth • Jan 29, 2014
Syrian Refugees in Yemen: Left to Their Own Fate
By Anita Kassem • Sep 29, 2013
Cutting Borders: Ethnic Tensions and Burmese Refugees
By Sophia Akram • Sep 18, 2013
(Dis)integration: Palestinian Refugees in the Syrian Civil War (Part 2/2)
By Matthew Coogan • Sep 17, 2013
(Dis)integration: Palestinian Refugees in the Syrian Civil War (Part 1/2)
By Matthew Coogan • Sep 10, 2013
Roma: Europe's Dispossessed
By Anna Pivovarchuk • Jun 23, 2013
Stateless in Jordan: The Life of a Refugee (Part 2/2)
By Siraj Davis • Jun 23, 2013
The Uncertain Future of Rohingya Refugees
By Kira O'Sullivan • Jun 22, 2013
Protecting Refugee Rights: The Role of Religion
By Amjad Saleem • Jun 22, 2013
Life in the Kakuma Refugee Camp
By Qaabata Boru • Jun 22, 2013
Afghan Refugees: A People Without Home
By Nishtha Chugh • Jun 21, 2013
Stateless in Jordan: The Life of a Refugee (Part 1/2)
By Siraj Davis • Jun 21, 2013
Protracted Refugee Situations: Stuck in Limbo
By Annika Schall • Jun 20, 2013
Registering Refugees: A Game of Numbers
By Anna Birawi • Jun 20, 2013
Kashmiri Pandits: The Forgotten Refugees
By Mayank Singh • Jun 20, 2013
Sri Lanka: The Uncertain Future for IDPs
By Amjad Saleem • Jun 20, 2013
Refugees and Borders
By David Holdridge • Jun 18, 2013
UK Asylum Seekers: At the End of the Line
By Still Human Still Here • Jun 18, 2013
Refugees in Africa's Great Lakes Region: A Perpetual State of Exile
By Lucy Hovil • Jun 16, 2013
The Struggle of Twice-Displaced Refugees
By Dina Amer • Nov 14, 2012
Iraqi Refugees: Desperately in Search of Leonor
By Siraj Davis • Nov 02, 2012
The Plight of Syrian Refugees in Turkey
By Murat Onur • Jul 30, 2012
22 Years Later and Still Waiting
By Amjad Saleem • Jun 22, 2012
A New Influx: Syrian Refugees in Turkey
By Marian Strand • Jun 18, 2012
The Plight of Refugees
By Natasha Smith • Jun 17, 2012

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Post navigation

Previous PostPrevious The Egyptian Revolutionaries’ Self-Inflicted “Coup”
Next PostNext Build, and They Will Come – New Entrepreneurship in Singapore
Subscribe
Register for $9.99 per month and become a member today.
Publish
Join our community of more than 2,500 contributors to publish your perspective, share your narrative and shape the global discourse.
Donate
We bring you perspectives from around the world. Help us to inform and educate. Your donation is tax-deductible.

Explore

  • About
  • Authors
  • FO Store
  • FAQs
  • Republish
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact

Regions

  • Africa
  • Asia Pacific
  • Central & South Asia
  • Europe
  • Latin America & Caribbean
  • Middle East & North Africa
  • North America

Topics

  • Politics
  • Economics
  • Business
  • Culture
  • Environment
  • Global Change
  • International Security
  • Science

Sections

  • 360°
  • The Interview
  • In-Depth
  • Insight
  • Quick Read
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • Interactive
  • My Voice

Daily Dispatch


© Fair Observer All rights reserved
We Need Your Consent
We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Learn more about how we use cookies or edit your cookie preferences. Privacy Policy. My Options I Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Edit Cookie Preferences

The Fair Observer website uses digital cookies so it can collect statistics on how many visitors come to the site, what content is viewed and for how long, and the general location of the computer network of the visitor. These statistics are collected and processed using the Google Analytics service. Fair Observer uses these aggregate statistics from website visits to help improve the content of the website and to provide regular reports to our current and future donors and funding organizations. The type of digital cookie information collected during your visit and any derived data cannot be used or combined with other information to personally identify you. Fair Observer does not use personal data collected from its website for advertising purposes or to market to you.

As a convenience to you, Fair Observer provides buttons that link to popular social media sites, called social sharing buttons, to help you share Fair Observer content and your comments and opinions about it on these social media sites. These social sharing buttons are provided by and are part of these social media sites. They may collect and use personal data as described in their respective policies. Fair Observer does not receive personal data from your use of these social sharing buttons. It is not necessary that you use these buttons to read Fair Observer content or to share on social media.

 
Necessary
Always Enabled

These cookies essential for the website to function.

Analytics

These cookies track our website’s performance and also help us to continuously improve the experience we provide to you.

Performance
Uncategorized

This cookie consists of the word “yes” to enable us to remember your acceptance of the site cookie notification, and prevents it from displaying to you in future.

Preferences
Save & Accept