Brief Background
The Syrian civil war has been named the worst humanitarian crisis of our day. An estimated 13.4 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid (UNHCR). 4.7 million of whom have fled to bordering countries, while 8.7 million remain within the county’s borders – internally displaced (UNHCR). The conflict in Syria started in 2011 just as the Arab Uprisings began toppling authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. In March of 2011 Syria joined the uprisings by conducting anti-government protests and demonstrations of their own in Daraa, Syria. The government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, was quick to silence the voices of demonstrators and did so by immediately lashing out in violence. Dozens of individuals were …show more content…
There are various factors relating to the Syrian refugee crisis that have strained Lebanon’s infrastructure and exacerbated the issues that the country faces. Lebanon’s institutions are no longer capable of handling the large amount of refugees with its current resources. There are currently over one million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon within its 4.4 million Lebanese population (UNHCR). This means that nearly 1 out of every 5 people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee. The infrastructure will only continue to deteriorate if resources are not allocated towards dealing with the crisis. Furthermore, various existing and future policies need to be further developed in order to prevent escalation of the problem to a larger security threat. For example, the spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon have been predicted by various foreign policy experts (Young, et al 2014). This larger security threat would then negatively impact the international community by yielding more issues to deal with that requires costly …show more content…
The problems are not only affecting one area or one country, but numerous. This is why the United Nations, the Lebanese government, and the International Rescue Committee are asking that the international community consider the policies listed above. Outside involvement is necessary for the success of bringing peace and security to Syrians and bordering countries. Let the international community take on their responsibility to protect the lives and the human rights of Syrians and no longer turn a blind eye to the crisis, but face it head on so the situation can be
The Syrian civil war has been named the worst humanitarian crisis of our day. An estimated 13.4 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian aid (UNHCR). 4.7 million of whom have fled to bordering countries, while 8.7 million remain within the county’s borders – internally displaced (UNHCR). The conflict in Syria started in 2011 just as the Arab Uprisings began toppling authoritarian regimes in the Middle East. In March of 2011 Syria joined the uprisings by conducting anti-government protests and demonstrations of their own in Daraa, Syria. The government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, was quick to silence the voices of demonstrators and did so by immediately lashing out in violence. Dozens of individuals were …show more content…
There are various factors relating to the Syrian refugee crisis that have strained Lebanon’s infrastructure and exacerbated the issues that the country faces. Lebanon’s institutions are no longer capable of handling the large amount of refugees with its current resources. There are currently over one million registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon within its 4.4 million Lebanese population (UNHCR). This means that nearly 1 out of every 5 people in Lebanon is a Syrian refugee. The infrastructure will only continue to deteriorate if resources are not allocated towards dealing with the crisis. Furthermore, various existing and future policies need to be further developed in order to prevent escalation of the problem to a larger security threat. For example, the spillover of the Syrian conflict into Lebanon have been predicted by various foreign policy experts (Young, et al 2014). This larger security threat would then negatively impact the international community by yielding more issues to deal with that requires costly …show more content…
The problems are not only affecting one area or one country, but numerous. This is why the United Nations, the Lebanese government, and the International Rescue Committee are asking that the international community consider the policies listed above. Outside involvement is necessary for the success of bringing peace and security to Syrians and bordering countries. Let the international community take on their responsibility to protect the lives and the human rights of Syrians and no longer turn a blind eye to the crisis, but face it head on so the situation can be