English 100 Spring 2019 Blogs

The energy of trying to flee from a disaster country is either very boring, or extremely tensionfied. From being so bored and exhausted of being in hiding for hours, or either being at a high rate of tension makes Syrian refugees feel like that is enough to kill them. Having the feeling of being watched at all hours of they day, and not even trusting their smugglers or getting kidnapped is pretty tough. All of this was caused by the turning of the Syrian government, who sent in young adults to peaceful protests to “take care” of it. Gangs started to form and the death from all bombing, and murder has caused it just to make the situation worse. Villages, fields and even churches are always being lit on fire (offensives) which cause people to leave their homes after each one. Syrian refugees move from their homes to the next village, till the next border, onto the next coast and then finally across the sea. They are limited on sources such as food, water and good clothing as well as being restricted on their actions. The war crisis in Syria has caused extreme poverty and misery, forcing them to flee from their country onto small wooden boats containing up to 500 people having limited space as well and dealing with natural weather. All of this is so hard, and imagine dealing with the others and smugglers as well. Smugglers are rough, and abusive, yet the get the job done… most the time. The risky thing about them though, is that you can’t trust any of them, for that they even go against each other. Selfish smugglers just want more and more, so they tell the police about others plans which gets them caught, to ruin their reputations which causes the snitches to get a boost of their profit. Disgusting.

Destruction, desolation and hopelessness surround those who’re too poor to leave Syria. Crying out for help their prayers were answered, but not by god. The devil arrived with open arms in the from of ISIS and those that remained in Syria embraced him with open arms, feeling as though God turned his back on them. However, Satan had disguised himself in the form of extremists that twist the word of the Koran for their own political gain. I don’t blame these desperate people, what else is there left for them to do except to go to the one who offered them protection. Turing “closer to death than life” Syrians “turned to deranged ideologies.” After staring at “death on a daily basis,” it “changes a person; for them, the paradise of the afterlife is closer than an earthly existence.” They became institutionalized to ISIS because of what their government and the rest of the world failed to do; protect them. We get offended when terrorist attacks happen, but in all honesty we are sheltered in the West. The people who couldn’t afford to leave Syria were left with no other option that to join the Terror group ISIS. The alternative would be dying with out protection. Its basic gang mentality, you have to choose a side or perish. Ironically you can end up perishing in the end because you end up getting caught up in the cross fires for the “sidewalk” or in this case the “sandbox.” So, it seems reasonable that if protection was offered to the people of Syria they would run to it even if meant it was the devil in disguise.

I was 12 years old and attending intermediate school when I witnessed my first fight between two boys. I remember walking past a circle of people in the parking lot of the taco shop, while on my way to the bus stop. As I walked by I stared into the circle of chaos only to see four fists and two bodies circling each other, anticipating the others next move. The bodies that encased the two adolescents were shouting “Fuck him up!”, “Get him!” and “Donʻt be a pussy!” It felt like everything was in slow motion and I couldn’t stop it. I was oozing fear internally, but externally I was numb. I didn’t interfere. I just watched as two bodies beefed for their beliefs, for their pride and their freedom. The fight was almost over, when it finally clicked that one of the warriors was my friend. Suddenly I wasn’t scared because people were fighting, I was scared because someone I knew and cared about could be hurt. In a flash of a second they laid hands on each other. My friend got hit in the face and I had to turn and walk away because I couldn’t handle it. The next day in school both parties had swollen black eyes and bruised egos. I was left with a guilty conscience and less humanity, I was just as bad as the boys fighting if not worse, because I didn’t choose sides and I didn’t try to intervene. If I look at the role we as the western world play in the Syrian conflict, it seems to me that we are worse than the people inflicting the pain, suffering and death. We are worse because we do nothing, and so long as we don’t read about the conflict we don’t have to feel anything. We can remain oblivious to the Syrian’s agony, because it’s not our own. However, the “consequences of our polices” have created even more death and destruction than anything else. We should have stepped in when it first started and nipped it in the butt, but we didn’t. We were tired of sending our “troops” over to distant lands to die, we were numb with Iraq and Afghanistan and the broken remains of the soldiers we sent to the sand box. We had no more compassion to give for anyone else and so we did just short of nothing. We shot missiles at Syria, but still the innocent died. We let ISIS spring forth with every bomb that was dropped on innocent people. The western world is just as responsible as the Syrians for the repercussions of this Civil War. So, I ask how many more women, men and children have to die because they are caught in the cross fired of corrupt governments and extremests? Do our family members have to die for us to step in to action? When will we wake up?

Syrian refugees try to escape to Italy, Greece and Europe through Egypt (across the sea), constantly tired and hurt from being beaten. In 2014, 207,000 people crossed the Mediterranean Sea, the people that are from war-ravaged countries that search for a life with better opportunity and economy conditions. Reasoning for them leaving their country is due to the failure of the political order, with dictatorships and the democratic election collapsing. There is no place more treacherous than it is in Syria, with large cities turning into landscapes from bombing, villages. becoming abandoned, everything turning into disposal, and even religious groups becoming violent and making others rival. Living in Syria is obviously a complete horror, but so is escaping. Thousands of Syrian people flee the country, causing smugglers(being paid thousands of dollars, and even abuse refugees) to have a more difficult job and taking more riskier routes to freedom. Developed countries are so deployed, that they could be mistaken as being in the middle of a military invasion. But what I am trying to get to is, that after all the trouble and the fighting to leave the country, what could they have? Unemployed, with very little money they are left with is basically a trap for the refugees. They can’t go back, and they are struggling to find work in order to support themselves and their families. No one wants to hire the Syrians, due to the fact they come from such a scary country that they are labeled as terrorists and are discriminated.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241500300301

The conflict in Syria between the government of Bashar al-Assad and various other forces,which started in the spring of 2011, continues to cause displacement within the countryand across the region. By the end of 2014, an estimated 7.6 million people were internally displaced and 3.7 million Syrians had fled the country since the conflict began. During 2014, more than one million Syrians were newly registered as refugees in neighboring countries, bringing the total number of registered refugees in the region to 3,688,402 by year-end. As large as the number of newly registered refugees is, in a sense it underestimates the current crisis as it excludes the 117,590 Syrians who were awaiting registration at the end of 2014,and de facto Syrian refugees who were residing in the region but who were not formally registered or awaiting registration.

On January 1, 2014, there were 2,301,533 registered Syrian refugees. Estimates include 24,055 Syrian refugees registered in North Africa. The number of newly registered Syrian refugees also excludes refugees who are not Syrian nationals but who were residing as refugees in Syria prior to the conflict and who have fled due to the fighting. Such populations include Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. For example, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees estimates that 65,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria and are now residing in Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, and Egypt. Similarly, early reports had estimated that “more than 50,000 Iraqi refugees” living in Syria returned to Iraq.

The point of this article, is just simply showing the populations/rates of the Syrian refugees and where they were forced to flee in order for safety and a bigger and better opportunity at life.

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/233150241500300301

The conflict in Syria between the government of Bashar al-Assad and various other forces,which started in the spring of 2011, continues to cause displacement within the countryand across the region. By the end of 2014, an estimated 7.6 million people were internally displaced and 3.7 million Syrians had fled the country since the conflict began. During 2014, more than one million Syrians were newly registered as refugees in neighboring countries, bringing the total number of registered refugees in the region to 3,688,402 by year-end. As large as the number of newly registered refugees is, in a sense it underestimates the current crisis as it excludes the 117,590 Syrians who were awaiting registration at the end of 2014,and de facto Syrian refugees who were residing in the region but who were not formally registered or awaiting registration.

On January 1, 2014, there were 2,301,533 registered Syrian refugees. Estimates include 24,055 Syrian refugees registered in North Africa. The number of newly registered Syrian refugees also excludes refugees who are not Syrian nationals but who were residing as refugees in Syria prior to the conflict and who have fled due to the fighting. Such populations include Palestinian and Iraqi refugees. For example, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees estimates that 65,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria and are now residing in Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, and Egypt. Similarly, early reports had estimated that “more than 50,000 Iraqi refugees” living in Syria returned to Iraq.

The point of this article, is just simply showing the populations/rates of the Syrian refugees and where they were forced to flee in order for safety and a bigger and better opportunity at life.

https://www.unrefugees.org/emergencies/syria/

The majority of Syria’s refugees live in urban areas in the region, including Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Approximately 10 percent of Syrian refugees live in camps. Nearly 140,000 Syrians live in two camps: Za’atari refugee camp and Azraq refugee camp in Jordan. Approximately 50 percent of all registered Syrian refugees are under the age of 18 – and millions have grown up knowing nothing but conflict. In Lebanon, 70 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line and in Jordan, an astonishing 93 percent live below the poverty line. If it is not obvious, the article’s main point is to show others that what refugees lifestyle is, now fleed from Syria. There is also a video called “A Child As Old As The Syrian War” on this site, and it is so heartbreaking to have to actually hear the voice and story of a child, who literally was born into war. His home was bombed when he was 3, he. lost his left hand, at the age of 5 extremists took over the area he was living in, so his family paid thousands of dollars to a smuggle to escape. Lost his hearing, and struggles to learn, yet he still pushes his limits.

https://www.unrefugees.org/news/syria-refugee-crisis-explained/#How%20are%20Syrian%20children%20impacted%20by%20this%20crisis?

The Syrian crisis is a huge conflict that is highlighted in the world. It has been going on for eight years now, showing that 70% of the Syrian refugees are in poverty, and 93% is right below the line to become in poverty. These refugees struggle to find a better life, as the reason why they fleed from their motherland, as for countries do not want to employ them.. mostly for fright. It is known of the Syrian crisis by this point, but have we ever thought of the children and what they are going through as well? As children, in an undeveloped country, they lack source of good education, being confused with what has been occurring in their lives. Almost 50% of the registered Syrian refugee population are children under the age of 18, knowing nothing but trauma and conflict. It is obvious that the author of this article’s main point is trying to describe their live and what they have to fight through on the daily of their lives. Showing and proving with illustrations, this is really bad.

https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-facts- what-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis

The Syrian crisis is one of the most humanitarian crisis of all time of our time having more than 12 million people forced to leave their country or killed. Those who try to escape, put their lives at risk trying to find a better opportunity in other countries due to the falling of theirs. In this article, I can tell the author’s main point is trying to encourage others to help the Syrian people. He notes that $4.6 billion was expected for urgent needs to help, but only a little over the expectation was paid off. Author then claims that the more knowledge of the Syrian crisis we have, is the more help they can receive. This article has a variety of different options how to help the refugees, like even asking others to start a campaign, trying to spread the world. Then he offers his readers to sign a petition to convince Congress to provide aid for the refugees and even have a donation option.

https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syrian-refugee-crisis-facts

After the Syrian war started in 2011, 6 million Syrians began to flee from their country containing half this population are affected children. This war started all from peaceful protests and the government sent young adults to “take care” of it. The reasoning for their escaping is from the failing of their government, and their people going against each other, even religious groups rival one another. This made the country to commit war crimes and acts that violated the rights of the Syrian people. Bombing of the large cities, villages becoming abandoned, gangs forming to kill another, and the list can go on and on. Many of the Syrian people have built anxieties through the trauma they are forced into and become weak mentally to where they think that they can’t do anything about it. So, the “weak” stay in the devastating situation and end out completely homeless, causing 80% of the people to end up in poverty due to making only $1.90 a day. But the issue of the homelessness is not the main problem, it is that the escapees of Syria are trying to find peace, improved economy and better environment for themselves and their families. The nation has fallen; more than 70% of the population has no access to clean water, are constantly inhaling radiation and deaths upon deaths add up making a bigger decision that it is time to leave. The main topic (don’t feel any argument) of this article is explaining how the Syrian war started. It could be a caution for other countries that something so simple could make it the end of the world. I mean, take a look at the US today, we have our own police officers going against innocence, the ones who are to protect and serve.