Post 1- Syria

    Syria is a state that is continuously in the news for reasons that have global implications. They are currently in the midst of a civil war that according to Nicolae Balcescu, has claimed the lives of over 250,000 people and has millions of refugees fleeing to surrounding countries causing a massive crisis. Besides the civil war, there is also a terrorist group taking hold on many sectors of Syria, called the Islamic State, or ISIS. They are an extremely violent group that uses extreme tactics to gain power and territory following their religious views of Islam. They have claimed part in many terror attacks around the world, including the most recent shootings and bombings in France. They were up against a regime in Syria led by Bashar al-Assad. Under this regime, Syria's somewhat stable economy due to the oil fields, crashed and they have been torn apart by war.

 

 

    Bashar al-Assad was elected president of Syria on an unopposed ballot in the year 2000. Protests began against his rule in 2011, causing an uprising of rebels. Under the direction of Assad, terrible actions were taken against people who spoke out against the regime. Assad is accused of multiple war crimes, including using chemical weapons against his own people. Those who spoke out against Assad were even murdered by the Syrian army and militia. The state is now in a full blown civil war. There are those fighting to keep Assad in power, the rebels fighting against Assad, and the terror group ISIS fighting for jihad and taking control in parts of Syria. These major events have drawn a lot of attention from major world powers like Russia and the United States. The United States proposed intervention after evidence was found of the use of chemical weapons dropped on its' own people, and Assad agreed to remove these weapons from Syria, even though there is still evidence of their use. Due to this lack of stability in the Syrian government and leadership, the Islamic State has been able to take hold in many parts of Syria. Led by the US, groups began using air strikes against the regions under ISIS control. Evidence to support effective use of these strikes has really yet to be produced. One worry is that Russia is using these air strikes against western nations instead of what they claim.

    Due to all of the violence and war in Syria, over four million refugees have fled the country to other surrounding nations in search of safety and some sense of security. Once fleeing Syria, getting to another country is the first challenge these people face. They pack in by the hundreds on to small boats and leave, a lot of times not even making it to the destination due to the weather and ocean conditions. Once arriving in neighboring countries, a lot of times this refugees are not allowed in or are given little to no help. Not only do a lot of these refugees need help to find shelter and food, they have also experienced life altering events that have very severe long term implications. They do not know how to function in every day society because of the mental trauma and violence they have seen and been apart of. The air strikes launched by foreign countries have made is that much more unsafe to live in parts of Syria. Not only does one fear of a takeover by the militia or ISIS, but there is the fear of an air attack, as well. A good proportion of the refugees are fleeing to Jordan and Turkey, but these states being two of the smallest in the area around Syria, this is not good for either country's infrastructure. One other big issue with this crisis is that there are a lot of children being displaced from homes due to the displacement. Efforts are being made in Turkey and Jordan, as well as nations further away to expand in an effort to accommodate the amount of people now coming into these countries.