kevin_c_wright_final_paper

Syrian refugees and challenges to Western Europe and The United States

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Current Problems in Human Relations

Kevin C. Wright

The University of Oklahoma


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The ongoing Syrian refugee crisis is one of the most important and rising topics

internationally. With very few countries and leaders looking at clear solutions on how to solve

this issue, thousands of migrants attempt to cross various country borders daily in hopes of

finding better lives. While the Syrian refugee situation stemmed from the Syrian Civil War

starting in 2011, last year saw the highest global numbers of refugees due to the rise of the

Islamic State violence. With countries such as Germany expecting to receive around a million

asylum applications this year and the United States very resistant to refugee immigration, the

challenges of the Syrian refugee crisis will continue to be a topic of discussion (Peters, 2015).

The Syrian refugee crisis is deeply entwined with failed human relations because it is

both a humanitarian and operational issue, where compassion and governmental legislation are at

stake. This issue relates to all aspects of human relations because it is both a regional and

universal challenge. It is about the race and culture of the Syrian people, and how the rest of the

world is reacting to a growing migrant crisis. Since this issue has so many layers, analyses of

what has been done previously and future recommendations will likely vary depending on

country. My focus will be to categorize the matter since it relates to both Western Europe and

the United States.

This issue is enticing to me because of the research I did in my former career on Iraq,

Syria, and the European Union crisis. My interest in the refugee crisis began when I witnessed it

at its height firsthand while traveling. The more I saw, the more I felt that westerners are often

misinformed or misguided on the Syrian refugee situation; love and kindness are perhaps the

most important qualities we must adopt if we are to try to understand the crisis. Syrian refugees

must go through daily struggles simply to secure food and shelter while not being welcomed by


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virtually any countries. Not to mention that many Syrian refugee families have been split up due

to timing and logistical issues while fleeing the conflict zone.

How it all started

In order to begin discussing the Syrian refugee crisis and its impact on the world, it is

important to discuss a few key turning points that caused the conflict in Syria to begin with.

Almost five years ago, the Arab Spring protests took place. This was a revolutionary milestone

that occurred throughout both Northern Africa and the Middle East. In Syria, the demonstrations

and uprisings against president Bashar al-Assad caused the protests to escalate into a civil war.

The second important event occurred in the summer of 2012, when the Red Cross

declared that the fighting had become so intense that it would be recognized globally as a civil

war. At this point, the United Nations Security Council could not find common ground in

whether they should create legislation to halt the violence, or let Syria’s future be decided by its

own people. The arrival of The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in the spring of 2013

became a large factor when the group seized the city of Raqqa in Northern Syria. The main goal

of ISIS is to enforce their strict Islamist ideology on Syrians by any means necessary as they

expand their areas of control.

Countries most affected by refugee population

Although my goal is to display the affect of refugee migration in both the United States

and Western Europe, I first must provide context of the countries surrounding Syria, since they

are immediately impacted by this issue. As of early this year, the country of Turkey had close to

three million refugees registered in their country. Due to Turkey’s vulnerable central location, it

is considered to be the “Gateway to Europe.” Four other countries in the area who were

impacted include: Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, and Greece. Due to their proximity, the


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neighboring countries outside of Israel host the largest amount of refugees. Germany is also

among the largest due to its legislation policies, although it’s not necessarily the closest to the

conflict zones the refugees are fleeing.

Impact to Western Europe: Germany

When discussing the impact of Syrian refugees on Germany, it is important to remember

that Germany openly welcomed over one million migrants from Iraq and Syria during the

summer of 2015. German Chancellor, Angela Merkel won international accolades for setting the

example of how to take on the refugee situation with passion and bravery. A little while after

their country began receiving the refugees, Germany began to see social issues such as sexual

assault reports, from the migrants to German citizens, as well as the rise of “anti-refugee” right

wing groups in the larger Eastern cities such as Dresden, Munich, Cologne and Berlin (Holmes,

2016). At its core, the country of Germany and their traditional culture has a lot of nationalistic

pride and customs. The eastern part of the country is recognized for being modern and liberal,

whereas the south and west is known for being more rural and resistant to groups or social

movements that challenge their cultural norms. My father was stationed in Germany during the

1970’s, and while their society was extremely conservative and mostly of German descent during

that era, Germany saw a large influx of Turkish migrants move in due to an economic boom and

labor shortage. In modern times, the influx of Syrian refugees could be comparable to the

previous migration wave.

Germany is assessed to have around 800,000 Syrian refugees as of early 2016 (Martin,

2016). Further, Germany has been one of the most sought after final destinations for refugees, as

many come into Germany from its eastern neighbor, Austria. Due to its relaxed laws and quality

of life potential for migrants, Germany is viewed as the epicenter of asylums having options.


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One of the harder issues that Syrian refugees encounter upon arriving in Germany is the

difficulties with integrating themselves within the country itself and fitting in with the culture.

During my last several months of living in Germany, I witnessed the aftermath of a grocery store

that experienced looting by a group of refugees in popular city, Trier. Outside of the crime

aspect of this, the sad human relations problem is that when/if government assistance runs out for

Syrian refugees, the migrants could resort to desperate measures just to feed their family and

survive.

Impact to Western Europe: France

Germany’s western neighbor, France offers an attractive host of options for the refugee

migrant population. Since most Westerners are often familiar with Paris, the country also has its

fair share of other charming middle sized cities and rural areas. It may not offer as many

benefits to Syrian refugees than perhaps Germany or England, but many migrants can view it as

a somewhat middle ground to getting to their next destination or staying around for a while. In

the media, France has unfortunately been placed on an international scale due to both the Charlie

Hebdo and Bataclan theatre concert attacks that occurred in 2015. French President, Francois

Hollande has been under a large amount of public scrutiny due to facing severe terrorism issues

while still committing to allowing 30,000 Syrian refugees into his country this year (Abraham,

2016).

The most important aspect of France being logistically crucial to migrants is the utility of

the France to England water tunnel located in North Eastern France. The entrance to this is in

the city of Calais, and it has been an important political and security concern for France over the

last year (Abraham, 2016). The sentiment for Syrian refugees is that France is relatively

unwelcoming and currently has a poor job market. The goal of entering Great Britain from


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France gives the refugees one of the best shots of making it in a first world country and raising a

family. Around the city of Calais, there are camps set up where the migrants settle before they

attempt to cross into England. This area around this entry point has been coined, “The Jungle”,

for it’s political turmoil and it is also where the voyage begins as the refugees risk their lives in

crossing over (Ibrahim, 2015).

Impact to Western Europe: Belgium

The historic country of Belgium plays a significant role in being attractive to the Syrian

refugee population. Belgium has been in the news over the past several years for both the Jewish

museum shooting and the most recent bombings that occurred in Brussels. The geography of

Belgium is interesting, since Brussels is considered to be the capital of Europe, whereas the rest

of the country is composed of several middle sized cities and a lot of pastureland. I used to live

several hours from Brussels and I remember the first driving through the city and you could

easily observe the relatively high amounts of migrants and Islam population. While Brussels has

been considered safe in years past, the recent acts of violence have enabled groups such as the

Islamic State to utilize the area as a hub due to its utility for recruiting and central location

(Jones, 2015).

As of early 2016, the Syrian refugee population in Belgium is considered to be around

30,000 migrants (Aiyar, 2016). Since there is international pressure for Syrian refugee

acceptance amongst the European Union, Belgium has been relatively cooperative considering

that it is a small country. If a refugee has enabled their way past migrant heavy countries, such

as Germany and Austria, then they are most likely in Belgium temporarily due to viewing the

journey to England as being their end goal. In February of this year, Belgium has recently

pledged 75 million euro for humanitarian aid to Syria and Turkey (Michel, 2016). The


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assessment is that this donation is most likely displaying the initiative that perhaps Belgium

wants the refugees to stay in their home countries yet under better conditions. From a human

relations standpoint, Belgium has begun a push for federally mandated “respect for women”

classes for refugees and migrants (Michel, 2016). Also, other social events and issues such as,

riots at refugee camps from Afghan Islam followers to Syrian females due to the refusal of

women refusing to wear the traditional headscarf. Also, right wing groups continue to target and

classify refugees as terrorists while holding rallies in large Belgian city centers.

Impact to The United States: Statistics and Current Legislation

As of early 2016, there are reports of less than 2,500 Syrian refugees arriving in the

United States since the Syrian Civil War started in 2011 (Doran, 2015). The State Department’s

Refugee Processing Center claims that over 90% of these refugees are of Sunni Muslim religion

(Doran, 2015). The Obama administration has faced challenges with displaying compassion to

refugees as Americans tend to link migrants with current acts of terrorism in France and

Belgium. From the Republican Party, all governors except one announced that Syrian refugees

would not be welcomed in their states. Currently, the states that have admitted processed Syrian

refugees include: California, Michigan, Texas, Illinois, Arizona and Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania

and California’s democratic governors continue to welcome refugees, whereas Presidential

candidate and Governor of Ohio, John Kasich, has appeared in the spotlight for his backlash

towards them. Outside of the top six U.S. states with Syrian refugees, the states of Washington,

Colorado, Delaware, Vermont and Connecticut have also committed to being extremely

welcoming to refugees in the future.

Impact to The United States: Future Predictions


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Due to the extensive screening process and highly resistant Syrian refugee sentiment on

Capital Hill, the future projection of an increase of migrants escaping warzones is most likely not

going to happen anytime soon (Doran, 2015). Since democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton is likely

to be our next President, there could be more of a liberal stance when it comes to the future of

refugees in America. Since she was previously the Secretary of State, she understands what the

United States looks like in a global manner when it comes to being empathetic to this cause. I

remember that I got into a discussion during my first couple months back in America with a

woman that was afraid of Syrian refugees affecting her children in Oklahoma. I couldn’t believe

it, and feel as though that I would give a Syrian refugee an award if they made it as far as the

South Central United States. They would obviously stand out amongst the local community and

most likely would not receive much utility from living in this part of the country. In America, it

is understood that both security and violence are primary concerns, however it is a shame that we

as a society find it challenging to slow ourselves down and empathize with a group of people that

are literally fighting everyday to find their place in the world and basic amenities.

Conclusion

The handling of the Syrian refugee influx at home and abroad has become a dividing issue

that will be around for quite a while. The migrants will continue to seek refuge amongst the

European Union and The United States, welcomed or unwelcomed. Since the Islamic State and

Syrian Civil War will sustainably keep their citizens both displaced and seeking out a better quality

of life for their family, this topic of discussion will remain politically charged for the future.

Despite how one feels politically, the importance of humanitarian aid in Syria and to countries that

the refugees settle in will be key. The emphasis on reintegration for the refugees as they make the


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most out of their time in Europe and America is important, as no one in the human race deserves

to feel like an outcast or unwelcomed.


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References

Abraham, D. (2016). The Refugee Crisis and Germany: from Migration Crisis to Immigration and Integration Regime. Aiyar, S. (2016). The Refugee Surge in Europe; Economic Challenges (No. 16/2). International Monetary Fund. Doran, P.B. (2015). America’s new direction in foreign policy. European View, 14(2), 253-261. Holmes, S. M., & Castaneda, H. (2016). Representing the European refugee crisis in Germany

and beyond. American Ethnologist. Ibrahim, Y. (2015). Sounds of the Jungle: Rehumanizing the Migrant. Jones, S.G. (2015). The Syrian Refugee Crisis and U.S. National Security. Martin, P.L. (2016). Europe’s Migration Crisis: An American Perspective. Migration Letters, 13(2), 307-319. Peters, M.A., & Besley, T. (2015). The Refugee Crisis and The Right to Political Asylum. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 47(13-14), 1367-1374.

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