In September of 2015, the image of 3 year old Aylan Kurdi 's lifeless body being pulled from Turkish waters forced the world to shift its collective gaze towards Syria where thousands of individuals were risking their lives in order to flee their war-torn country. What began as a civil war, has resulted in the largest displacement of individuals since World War II. The Syrian refugee crisis is one of the most pressing issues that the world is facing today. The influx of refugees into neighbouring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey has put enormous pressure on the already vulnerable states to house and feed a growing migrant population. Although some western countries, such as Germany and Sweden initially opened their borders to Syrians
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In 2010 plummeting water supplies, linked to climate change, resulted in the worse drought that Syria had ever seen. Lack of water, particularly within farming communities sent thousand of people into the cities in search of alternate livelihoods. this coupled with civil unrest and resistance towards an authoritarian government and the successful Arab spring uprising in the middle east created a perfect storm of civil unrest that reached its tipping point in March 2011 with the detention and subsequent torture of 15 boys, 1 of which, Hamzaa El-Khateeb, was killed. The boys were detained for spraying graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. This prompted the peaceful protest of thousands of Syrians against the wrongdoings of Syria 's President Bashar al- Assad and his authoritarian government. The protest quickly turned violent with hundreds of protesters killed and many more imprisoned. July of 2011 saw the creation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group made up of military defectors of Bashar al- Assads government with a goal to overthrow al- Assads government. This is what plummeted Syria into a civil war of regional and international significance. Before 2011 Syria was generally home to a large percentage of educated, middle class citizens, with nearly 100% enrolment in school and an expanding middle class ( Akbarzadeh & Conduit,
In 2010 plummeting water supplies, linked to climate change, resulted in the worse drought that Syria had ever seen. Lack of water, particularly within farming communities sent thousand of people into the cities in search of alternate livelihoods. this coupled with civil unrest and resistance towards an authoritarian government and the successful Arab spring uprising in the middle east created a perfect storm of civil unrest that reached its tipping point in March 2011 with the detention and subsequent torture of 15 boys, 1 of which, Hamzaa El-Khateeb, was killed. The boys were detained for spraying graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. This prompted the peaceful protest of thousands of Syrians against the wrongdoings of Syria 's President Bashar al- Assad and his authoritarian government. The protest quickly turned violent with hundreds of protesters killed and many more imprisoned. July of 2011 saw the creation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group made up of military defectors of Bashar al- Assads government with a goal to overthrow al- Assads government. This is what plummeted Syria into a civil war of regional and international significance. Before 2011 Syria was generally home to a large percentage of educated, middle class citizens, with nearly 100% enrolment in school and an expanding middle class ( Akbarzadeh & Conduit,