Almost two million people have now fled civil war torn Syria. But only those with money and connections make it out of the refugee camps. What is to become of all these people?
Blog by Mette Nielsen
It took seven months. Several times 27-year-old Dani Alshare and his cousin were caught by the police. Sent back to where they just came from. Seven months it took to get from Syria to Scotland. By car, by train, by boat and by foot.
But they got here. And within three weeks, both young men were granted five years of refugee status.
“Of course I am lucky: we are here, but only because we had enough money. The poor people suffer in the refugee camps,” Dani told me.
Out of the 1,971,003 people, who have fled Syria to date, 1,937,114 are registered by the UNHCR in the nearby countries of Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Iraq and Egypt. More than half of these refugees are children, and most are stuck in the bursting refugee camps, where humanitarian organisations struggle to provide space, food, suitable sanitary conditions and basic safety.
Only came back to help
When the war broke out Dani had to return to Damascus from Dubai, where he had worked for six years. Not to fight, but to secure his father’s business and help his family. The unmarried son got his parents and siblings out of the country quickly. They are now in Dubai. But Dani could not get a visa to United Arab Emirates for himself. In fact, he couldn’t get a visa to any country. And so he stayed in Syria until November 2012, sticking together with his one cousin still in the country.
“Then there were no more places we could hide. We had to leave,” said Dani.
He got hold of some contacts, got the necessary documents sorted, and then began the long journey to safety.
High price for safety
Dani Alshare and his cousin each spent £10.000 getting here. All their savings. A lot of money – and money most Syrians in the refugee camps would never be able to pay.
Does that all mean that people with money like Dani have less need for our help and asylum? No. By no means. All civil Syrians are now in danger.
And everyone, especially those without the means to get away on their own, need help to reach safety.
Urge to resettle
That’s where resettlement comes into the picture. Scottish Refugee Council, along with the British Refugee Council, Refugee Action and the Welsh Refugee Council have called for a co-ordinated effort across Europe to relieve some of the pressure on the burgeoning refugee camps on the Syrian border.
That’s more than a month ago now.
Still no action has been taken on this matter.
Act now
Of course there is always hope that the civil war will stop soon, but even though the outside world now seriously debates an intervention (it only took a chemical weapon mass murder to get to that stage), it doesn’t mean that it will actually happen. And even if it does, will it be successful? If it is – will Syria instantly become a safe place to live again? So many “ifs” without answers.
All we actually know is that something needs to be done to help the people in the bursting refugee camps.
How about just doing it now?
Your help
If you want to help the people in the refugee camps, while we wait for action to be taken, the UNHCR, The Red Cross, and Save the Children are all calling for donations.
If you want to help us help those who somehow manage to get to Scotland, you can make donations to support our work here at Scottish Refugee Council.
*Dani Alshare is a pseudonym, as the 27-year-old Syrian wanted to stay anonymous. Scottish Refugee Council is familiar with his real identity.
