The Story of Moaz, Majd, Rasha, Kinan, and Khaled -- five friends who fled Syria earlier this year on the Journey of Death, going by boat to Europe (via Lebanon, Algeria, and then Libya) -- only three survived and arrived in Italy. Many Syrians feel forced to take such dangerous trips in order to reach the handful of countries that will accept and work with asylum seekers. Of course, neighboring countries such as Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan host the largest number of Syrian refugees but many there find that they have exchanged a terrifying situation in Syria for a hopeless endeavor, where they face social discrimination and extreme economic hardship. In many cases, Syrian refugees are unable to secure or are banned from legal work in their host country, something that Moaz addresses at the end of the video when he says, We dont want to sit around and do nothing. We want to work and make the most of our opportunities. This statement weighs heavily on me as I have heard Syrian (and Iraqi) friends, who have been living in Turkey and elsewhere, repeat it over and over. Thankfully, the friends who have escaped to Europe have arrived safely but I continue to worry about the ones still planing their escape as they cite plans similar to the Journey of Death. The official estimate for Syrian (external) refugees is over 3,000,000 persons. The United States has so far accepted 120.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 20:16:17 +0000
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