Author: jayna44

It’s hard for me to say what level of support is appropriate for the US and/or Western European countries to offer to the Syrian refugees. There are so many pros and cons to providing too much support or too little, so it’s very difficult to find the right level of support that would be appropriate.

www.forbes.com/sites/unicefusa/2019/02/08/for-syrian-refugee-children-poignant-reminders-of-home/#3b3def432088.

This article focuses on different individual Syrian refugee children and what reminds them of their home in Syria. They share what their favorite toy is, a memory they hold on to, their favorite blanket. After experiencing such traumatic violence and chaos, these children hold on to what reminds them of a more peaceful time. Each of these children who are sharing their stories in this article also share what they remember about the first time they heard an explosion, or gunfire, or people screaming. Many of the Syrian refugee children in this article share that they don’t remember much about what Syria was like before the war began, all that they remember is being scared and seeing the people around them die. These children who have kept a memorable item will always connect the item to a memory they have, good or bad.

Younes, Abi E. “Displacement, Deprivation and Hard Work among Syrian Refugee Children in Lebanon.” Relief Web, 13 Dec. 2018, https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/e001122.full_.pdf

This very informative article provides information about Syrian refugee children who are involved with child labor in Lebanon. The article provides useful statistics collected from cross-sectional studies done. They randomly selected 153 informal tented settlements and interviewed many working Syrian refugee children living in the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon.  The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has registered 5.6 million Syrian refugees, half of them are under the age of 18. Hundreds of Syrian children, as young as just four years old in Lebanon are being forced to work and endure harsh and harmful labor. Many children who are being forced to work in harsh conditions as well, which harms their health. Both young boys and girls were forced to work, however they discovered that working conditions were usually more intense for the girls, and compared to the boys, the girls had to work longer in the sun and cold and were more likely to report health symptoms at work. It was reported that 79 children said they witnessed another child die while working. The saddening truth about the living and working conditions of the Syrian refugee children was revealed through this study and research.

There are many aspects of the Syrian Refugee crisis that many U.S. citizens aren’t aware of or educated on. One of the aspects being the issue of Syrian Refugee children and specifically their mental health and the emotional trauma that they have endured. Many Syrian Refugee children are suffering from mental heath issues such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, etc. and sadly, they rarely get the help that they need. Having these mental heath issues at such a young age not only affects their future but also makes it difficult for these children to integrate smoothly into a new social setting.

I am beginning to learn more about the Syrian refugees who are children/teens. Hundreds of children as young as 5 years old are experiencing major traumatic events that will forever damage them mentally and even physically. I am reading different articles about children who are trying to leave Syria with their families, but get separated or they witness their families violently die right before their eyes. Children who get to their destination successfully, but are immediately forced to work and endure harsh labor. Children who are no longer the same after everything they have seen and been through. They have lost the special feeling of just simply being a kid, and living a “normal” child life. It is hard to read and learn about the tragic truths and stories of these Syrian refugee children.

Beginning this new book, “Crossing The Sea”, I am interested in learning more about the Syrian refugees because each of them all have their own individual stories and experiences and reasons for leaving. As of right now, I would say that I am not very educated about the Syrian refugees or honestly anything to do with Syria. So, I am eager to become more educated and form my own opinions. I think that this book will teach me and give me a new perspective on Syria and Syrian refugees and so far I am interested in the story of the Amar and his journey with the author of this book.

Switching to survival mode in a deathly environment is an inevitable and natural human instinct. In the condition of a famine, many people will do whatever it takes to keep themselves and their loved ones alive. Witnessing tragic deaths every single day, being physically and mentally drained, and feeling undeniably helpless will drive people to forget everything they have ever been taught or told to be true and to start thinking differently. There is a certain turning point where the people of North Korea realize that their government will not be providing for them and they are on their own.

I was just thinking about how the famine in North Korea occurred in the 1990’s, which wasn’t super long ago. I was also thinking about how in America, we had iconic fashion, music, films, TV shows, cartoons, etc. In North Korea, the people were starving to death, searching desperately for food.

It’s just crazy to think that all of this was happening just in the 90’s. The sad part too is that the North Korean people also had no knowledge of what’s outside of their country. They’re brainwashed to believe that their country is the best to live in and they have to be grateful for where they live.

The article “The Arts and the Media” written by Andrei Lankov provides interesting facts about how art and media outlets such as the cinemas affects the lives of North Koreans.

According to data in 1987, the average North Korean visited the cinemas 21 times a year. To compare, the average South Korean visited the theaters about 2.3 times a year. So it is obvious that the North Korean people were very drawn to the cinemas, and their leaders knew it. Most of the films shown at the cinemas all had one general theme to them, praising the greatness of the North Korean leaders and a negative view on the enemy. Another reason why so many North Koreans visited the cinemas so often was because it was very cheap and accessible. This just shows another tactic that the North Korean government used to get a central idea in the people’s minds.

I think the author of “Nothing to Envy”, Barbara Demick must have been drawn to this article because the defectors she spoke to told her about their experience of going to the cinemas and it provides even more information about what type of movies were shown. This article does have a high value to me, because it provides movie titles and the genre of movies that were typically shown which is very interesting.

Children have minds that are easily influenced, so what they learn in school at an early age is very important. In North Korea, teachers are told to incorporate information to “revere leadership and hate the enemy” into the lessons they give to the children in all of their subjects (math, science, reading, music, art, etc).

"One of the songs taught in music class was "Shoot the Yankee Bastards":

Our enemies are the American bastards
Who are trying to take over our beautiful fatherland.
With guns that I make with my own hands
I will shoot them. BANG. BANG. BANG."

(Nothing to Envy, Pg. 121)

These young children’s minds are being filled with such negative thoughts and stories about their “enemies” in their everyday school life.