Refugee Crisis      

   The refugee crisis in Europe and the Middle East is a huge mess. This crisis results from a mass migration of citizens from the Middle East. Most refugees today, commonly emanate from Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. These countries are in turmoil.

   As of today, Syria is in a state of emergency. Syria has had a collapse in its economy. They are currently in a civil war. (This is a war of government versus the Rebel army.) They have been in a state of emergency since 1963 because of the Assad Family. The first Assad that rose to power was Hafez. In general, he was highly in favor of military power.

   The Assad family has been ruling since 1971. Their current president, Bashar Al-Assad, was ordered by the United States, European Union, and Arabs League to resign. Bashar ordered military sieges on protesters, which eventually, led to the Syrian Civil War. The European Union had also found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity. On March 19, 2011, Syrian citizens were in a mass protest. The government responded with violent acts. These acts consisted of mass killings by the government. The Syrian people had been fighting for a revival of civil rights since 1963, same year the state of emergency was declared. But, the attacks today are ferociously more devastating. These attacks can be considered as a mass annihilation of the people. They are also reports of attacks on hospitals, women, and children.

   In Afghanistan, civilians are fleeing from the dreadful attacks of the Taliban. Taliban have made tragic impacts for many years. (Constant attacks on civilians and battles for land.) .Taliban are Islamic fundamentalist militants. These people are waging war inside the country, harming many people. Their goal is to take over the government.

   In Iraq, a terrorist group called ISIS, is wreaking havoc in the country. They want to establish a complete Islamic State. Like Al-qaeda, this group believes exactly what they are doing. There goals have led to chaos in Iraq because of their brutal ways of controlling land.

Countries’ Helping Hand

   All of these issues the citizens of the Middle East are experiencing, have led to mass migration or death. The only hope for the refugees is if European countries accept them. So far, there are only 29 countries accepting migrants. The major countries helping are other Middle Eastern countries. Turkey has taken in 1.8 million Syrian people. Lebanon has also made a big impact by taking in 1.2 million migrants. Obviously, more needs to be done.

   Turkey had accepting so many refugees because of one reason. They are only seeking temporary shelter .The refugees seeking shelter for awhile, are only in the country until it is safe to go back. Turkey is trying to provide camps for the people. These camps are very harsh. Some camps are hundreds of people under a roof. Others are simply living under a tent. These camps are very unsanitary. To top it all off, refugees seeking temporary shelter are being illegally  deported.

America’s Impact

   As of today, America has donated over 600 million dollars to humanitarian assistance. Other than money, no other help has been given. America is currently accepting very few migrants due to the constant terror attacks in several European countries. The government has decided that the protection of our own people is at risk. Therefore, Republicans and Democrats are still in debate. Until the debate is over, we will not know how much of an impact America will make.