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Syrian Refugees
In Syria, the conflict between the government of Bashar al-Assad and other forces started in 2011 and continues to displace Syrian people. By the end of 2014, it was estimated that 7.6 million people were displaced and 3.7 million Syrian refugees fled the country since the beginning of the conflict. Because of the more than one million registered Syrian refugees, the global total of refugees rose to 3,688,402 by the end of 2014 (not including the 117,590 Syrians awaiting refugee status) (Ostrand 2015).
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The upheaval of Syrian refugees causes a tremendous challenge for neighboring countries; Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey taking the largest strain. In the end of 2014, Lebanon hosted 1,146,405 registered Syrian refugees, which meant that roughly one in every five people were Syrian. At the end of 2014, Turkey hosted a the largest number of Syrians by taking in a total of 1,552,839 registered refugees by the end of 2014 (Ostrand 2015).
It was estimated that 56,400 Syrians requested refugee status in the 44 industrialized countries within the year 2013. That number went up to 149,600 in 2014, which is the highest number recorded by a single group of people since 1992 (Ostrand 2015). Countries that have taken in Syrian refugees struggle with the massive effects on the countries economics, societies, and infrastructures, thus threatening their stability (Ostrand 2015). Over 80 percent of Syrian refugees in neighboring countries live in communities and cities instead of refugee camps. The large numbers of refugees arriving in urban areas has strained resources like water, sanitation, health care, food, electricity, and housing. The areas which were already the poorest prior to the Syrian crisis, such as the northern region of Jordan and the Syrian border of Lebanon, were hit particularly hard. These areas have received the largest number of refugees, but have less resources and wealth to serve the influx of people (Ostrand 2015).
Shelter is a large concern for Syrian refugees in Lebanon because of the absence of formal refugee camps and affordable housing. By the end of 2014, 55 percent of registered Syrian refugees were living in substandard living conditions (Ostrand 2015). In Jordan, 84 percent of registered Syrian refugees lived in urban or rural areas instead of refugee camps in 2014. About two thirds of Syrians lived below the Jordanian poverty line ($96 U.S. dollars per month) and one sixth were below the abject poverty line ($40 U.S. dollars per month). Almost half of all their homes were without heat (Ostrand 2015). Similar conditions were reported in Turkey where more than 70 percent of registered Syrian refugees lived outside of the government run refugee camps and instead lived in overcrowded rental homes. These people struggle to secure housing, healthcare, or education (all of which are available at the camps) (Ostrand 2015). Because of the instability in the governments of Iraq and Egypt, there has been a negative impact on the housing conditions for Syrian refugees there as well (Ostrand 2015).
The United States and the United Kingdom are the two top donors in humanitarian aid towards the Syrian refugees. The U.S. contributed the most by giving 2.9 billion between 2012 and 2014. More than 1.4 billion dollars of that money was to be used towards assisting refugees and their host communities. The United Kingdom’s contribution in 2015 was of 790 million dollars worth of aid to those affected by the Syrian conflict. 407 million dollars of that was allocated towards helping Syrian refugees and their host communities.
However, housing is not the only trouble facing Syrian refugees. Rape is a commonly used weapon of war used within this conflict and is often utilized as a tool of “control, intimidation, and humiliation” (Sim 2016). In many instances, soldiers have been said to tie men and brothers up and make them watch as their wives, mothers, and sisters were raped. This is done as a way to make the men feel helpless in relation to the soldiers (Sim 2016). One of the most devastating factors leading to mental disorders in Syrian refugees comes from the realities of arriving in a safe country, including sexual assault, violence, and discrimination (Sim 2016).
Syrian Refugees in Vermont
In January of 2017, Syrian refugees were to begin arriving in Rutland, Vermont. Rutland is a small Vermont town of only 16,000 people (Keck 2016). Many of these people were opposed to the welcoming of Syrian refugees while others anxiously awaited their arrival (Keck 2016). Many opposed are worried that the refugees will not assimilate to the native culture and that their presence will increase local taxes (Keck 2016). In support of the arriving Syrian community, many people attended free Arabic classes taught by two Arabic professors of Middlebury College (Keck 2016).
Many may wonder why Rutland was chosen to be a refugee resettlement community if it is so small. The answer is that Rutland has a much larger portion of available jobs and cheaper housing for the incoming people than Burlington (Keck 2016). Chandra Pokhrel, an AALV (Association of Africans Living in Vermont) employment counselor, identifies housing as the single largest challenge faced by the immigrant population of the Burlington community (Kelley 2014).
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However, due to recent action taken by President Trump, Rutland will not be receiving Syrian refugees because of the executive order banning immigrants from Syria (Aloe 2017). Currently, two families have made it to Rutland before the ban was in effect and are using the resources that were set in place in Rutland. Members of the Rutland community had collected donations to help establish the homes of the newly arriving families and still hope to be able to distribute those if the families are able to enter the U.S. (Aloe 2017). Many members of Rutland were excited to have people come to the community to expand the cultural diversity (Aloe 2017).
