Challenges Of Syrian Refugees

Twenty thousand. Twenty thousand lives. Twenty thousand lives have been claimed by the Syrian civil war since the Arab Spring in 2011. More than 400,000 Syrians have been displaced from their homes and families. The consequences of this civil war have been devastating with upwards of 3 million people being affected by the ongoing conflicts in this regions. Of those affected people are those who welcome these Syrian refugees into their country. The surrounding countries of Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon have sheltered a total of 363,772 refugees since the start of this conflict and these numbers only continue to grow. The European Union has been the second largest group of nations to offer asylum to Syrian refugees, specifically German and Sweden taking in the most. Despite the numerous countries offering aide, the lives of these refugees face daily struggles. From overcrowding to harassment from local people, these refugees must learn to adapt to a new country and a new way of life. The conditions surrounding …show more content…
By degrading the struggles of these refugees, the natives are creating in monsters that breed more trouble and evil. As Cohen illustrates in “Monster Theory”, “They [monsters] ask us to reevaluate our cultural assumptions about race, gender, sexuality, our perception of difference, our tolerance towards its expression.” (Cohen). The monsters created by the native citizens stem from the cultural assumptions they form about refugees. Citizens have assumptions and refuse to reevaluate how they create false monsters in these refugees but are in fact creating monsters in themselves. Faez urges Americans to become informed about the events occurring in his home land. He has to face daily struggles that most Americans could never imagine; yet, he has no ill towards his new home. Instead, Americans force their own cultural monsters on him and his family breeding