In my book Cultures of Migration , I argue that mass migrations and refugee crises don’t simply happen. They have a history and a trajectory. That work has led me to ask: Who are the Syrian refugees? What made their migration happen?
The exodus from Syria began in 2011, the same year the Syrian civil war began . Syria’s upper and middle class – those who could best afford the high costs of crossing the border – fled first.
Some Syrians have found permanent homes in countries like Canada which has taken in more than 20 thousand refugees and serves as a model for other countries. But with the exceptions of Germany , home to more than 250,000 refugees, and Sweden where more than 30,000 have settled, many of the world’s wealthiest nations – including the U.S. and Australia – have done little to settle Syrians fleeing violence in their homeland.
Turkey, Syria’s neighbor to the north, has borne most of the financial costs of the crisis. The country spends well over $500 million monthly , totaling in excess of US$7.5 billion to date, on Syrian refugees. And while the UNHCR spends approximately $1,057 for each refugee annually, it also estimates that there is a $2.5 billion dollar deficit that must be covered if all refugees are to be supported.
Those who settle in camps have their own struggles. The Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, which is home to over 85,000 people, has become what New York Times reporter Michael Kimmelman describes as a “do-it-yourself metropolis” . The camp features distinctive neighborhoods and an expanding economy that includes pizza delivery and an airport shuttle service, just two indicators of the efforts refugees make to regain a degree of normalcy in their lives.
Work is always difficult to find. Until the recent easing of labor rules that allows some refugees to fill local jobs, any formal work was forbidden. Now Syrian refugees who have registered and settled in Turkey for at least six months can apply for work , and earn the local minimum wage of approximately $575 a month. Even with the change in law, however, the reality is that there is little work available. Even professionals are often forced to engage in manual labor and informal day jobs that can disappear at any moment.
"Sometimes I get work for three days, $30 a day … But sometimes it will only be four hours work and that’s it. I haven’t worked in three days. I don’t know how I will pay rent."
"Our lives are destroyed. We’re not being educated, and without education there is nothing. We’re heading towards destruction."
With towns filled, camps overflowing and a war showing few signs of ending, most Syrian refugees remain in limbo. The March 2016 agreement between the European Union and Turkey addresses some issues. Enumerated in a detailed EU press release , the agreement seeks to limit refugee movement and cover expenses with an additional 3 billion euros to Turkey. Yet the agreement also hold refugees in secured facilities. It may also encourage refugees to seek new routes into Europe and take bigger risks to get there.
"The EU’s policy, carried out in Greece, has locked up families and others who have fled horrors such as ISIS terror, Taliban threats, or Syrian-government barrel bombs … When alternatives to detention exist, as they do on the Greek islands, there is no legal or moral justification to hold asylum seekers and migrants behind bars."