The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Lessons from the Iraqi Refugee Experience

The Syrian Refugee Crisis and Lessons from the Iraqi Refugee Experience
Institute for Iraqi Studies (Author), Sarah Tobin (Editor)

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Syria

Credible estimates reveal
that one of out every six Syrians have fled their homes, or what remains of their homes, often with little more than what they might carry in their arms or wear on their backs. Millions have sought safety in other towns and villages, and many have been forced to flee several times. About one and a half million
Syrians now find a measure of safety in neighboring countries; some find it in the relative order of well-run camps, but many others are not nearly so fortunate. After escaping from predatory militias and vengeful deadly attacks, victims continue to be prey for criminals, sexual predators, sectarian vigilantes and even militia allies of the Syrian government.

A number of governments that have pledged contributions have failed to deliver fully on their promises, and neighboring countries, not least Jordan and Lebanon, are strapped for adequate resources and justifiably fear that violence inside Syria will spread to their own citizens. If first and foremost the Syrian refugee crisis (which encompasses external refugees and internally displaced civilians) is a humanitarian crisis on the scale of some of the worst natural disasters of recent years, this man-made disaster also threatens structural political damage far from its epicenter.

Borders are arbitrary lines on a map, but family ties, tribal links, sectarian affinities and trading ties routinely transcend Syria’s borders with its neighbors. Along the Syria-Lebanon border, for instance, one finds Lebanese villages within Syrian , and the porous Iraq-Syria border is notorious. In my own travels decades ago I well recall visiting Turkish border towns, such as Kilis, which survived as entrepôts for trade with Syria and Iraq.

In March, the Institute for Iraqi Studies hosted a workshop in order to gain a shared understanding of the disaster, as well as bring insights to bear from Iraq’s recent refugee tragedy, which at its height directly affected one out of every six Iraqis (the same ratio as Syria today). Indeed, according to 2012 data cited in this report (p. 25), nearly three million Iraqis remain displaced or as refugees, more than two decades after the uprising of 1991 and a decade following the U.S.-U.K. invasion; they stand as a telling reminder that what is happening today to Syrians will impose longstanding, long remembered consequences.

A thoughtful and informed group of participants contributed to making the March 29 workshop successful, as may be discerned for the presentation summaries found in this report. Several participants were able to share data and observations from fresh fieldwork. [Please consult the institute website (www.bu.edu/iis) for the complete streaming audio archive for the workshop.] The opening presentation by Vicky Kelberer offers an incisive overview of the Syrian refugee crisis, and a video of the presentation is also found on the website along with accompanying presentation graphics.

• Rank: #372984 in eBooks
• Published on: 2013-05-17
• Released on: 2013-05-17
• Format: Kindle eBook
• Number of items: 1