Syrian refugees suffer from miserable humanitarian conditions

Introduction

The Syrian refugee crisis is among the largest and longest of the 21st century. Since 2011, 6.8 million Syrians forcibly escaped to other countries and left everything behind in order to keep their families and themselves alive. They set off on dangerous trips through seas and deserts. On the way, some were killed, tortured, and arrested by border guards. Many were sexually and physically abused and exploitation, as they were exposed to human trafficking networks.

Syrian refugees have a right to live and to be protected. They endanger their lives and are deprived of their rights when they leave on dangerous journeys seeking refuge. Additionally, the harassment they experience in their host countries is a stark violation of their rights, international law, and human rights norms. 6.8 million Syrian refugees are not just a number. These individuals have the right to safety, protection, and care. Their right to life should not be threatened by the ways they chose to escape war or persecution.

Racism

Syrians in many countries face racial discrimination, hate speech, harassment, forced deportation or being left to die before crossing borders. This is often used as a pressure tactic by authorities.

Syrians in neighboring countries, which house approximately 5.7 million refugees, suffer from bad humanitarian conditions, especially those living in camps. Stricter standards are often applied to Syrian refugees compared to other refugees, making them more vulnerable to exploitation.

In Turkey, according to a report by WALK FREE, a monitor, Syrian refugees are at risk of exploitation. Around 3,000 Syrians work legally in Turkey, alongside 400,000 who work illegally and without insurance or guarantees for their rights. The report indicates that they work for excessive hours and low wages, and are subject to discrimination. Women and children have also been subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage. The report also addressed the issue of organ traffickers targeting poor Syrian refugees who sell their organs to survive.

In Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, and some North African and European countries, the situation is not better. Syrian refugees are often forced to sell their organs for money and are exploited by employers, as they work without contracts. They have also fallen victim to human trafficking networks while trying to migrate to Europe illegally and have often been left for dead. There are also reports of refugees being targeted and tortured to death near Europe’s borders or inside detention centers.

Forced repatriation

Though many countries realize that Syria is still unsafe for returns, these countries try to get rid of Syrian refugees by forcibly deporting them to their homeland, where, according to the Department’s statistics, more than 35 people die on a daily basis due crimes committed by different armed groups, including the government.

Bara’ Qadour, 28, an IDP residing in Idlib, northwest Syria, after having been arrested by the Turkish police while he was heading to Gaziantep to visit his sick mother in a hospital, was forced to sign papers regarding his voluntary return to Syria.

On April 6, 2022, the Turkish security forces arrested the young man, who was a third-year medical student, in the city of Antakya under the pretext of not having obtained a travel authorization. He was detained for 24 hours and then was transferred to Idlib. 

He said that in case of his absence from the college without a permission, he would be dismissed. As a result his future and education would be ruined, he added.

Um Ahmad, 30, who was forcibly deported from Lebanon, resides in a tent in al-Hakomiya camp, in northern Raqqa, northern Syria.

She said that her family and the rest of Syrian families were forced to leave 001 Jazira camp in the Lebanese Beqaa region. They were surprised one day, at dawn, when members of the Lebanese army surrounded the camp.

“They were hostile and beat our children. Some of them managed to escape from the camp, and some were beaten. The owners of the land shot at us just because we would not leave. They threatened to burn the tents or to demolish them while our children were inside,” she added.

The Syrian refugees had to stay on the border for two days. They were not allowed to take any of their belongings or identification papers which would have allowed them to enter their home country.

Their children were crying from hunger and thirst, and the adults had been fasting for two days, day and night, before they were allowed to enter Syria.

Um Ahmad noted that several young men, forcibly deported, were detained on the Syrian border. Some managed to enter and join the women and children, but others were detained.

Stateless

Most of children who were born in the countries of asylum face problem of statelessness that deprives them of their legal economic and social rights. They are left to face the danger of exploitation in light of lack of care and protection. Additionally, they may suffer from the lack of access to their economic, social, cultural, political, and civil rights because they lack identification documentations.

Since the eruption of the Syrian war in 2011, according to UNHCR, more than 50,000 Syrian children have been born in exile in neighboring countries. In a study by the UNHCR, it said that some refugees took risk in order to solve the issue of their stateless children. Some mothers smuggled their newly-born babies through the border to Syria in order to register them, as if they were born in Syria, others said that their husbands or members of their families returned to Syria in order to obtain the required papers to register the newly-born babies – but some have never returned.

Women and children refugees

Women and children refugees are considered the most vulnerable group among refugees, as they are more susceptible to sexual exploitation. Regarding child marriage, some studies have shown a terrifying increase in early marriages among Syrian girls, as 50 percent of them in Syria and 41 percent in Lebanon were married before the age of 18. In Jordan, this rate has reached 36 percent and in Turkey it has hit 45 percent, including 9 percent under the age of 15.

The rate of child marriage accelerates in displaced communities for reasons related to displacement and migration, and a lack of security. Some families are forced to marry off their young daughters at an early age, fearing for them to be kidnapped, harassed, or raped, as well as to escape financial hardships, whether in cities or inside camps.

Child labor among Syrian refugees has reached a volume of hundreds of thousands. These children are often forced into labor due to the dire financial situation of their families. It is really common to see children digging through garbage containers and working in dangerous jobs, deprived of their basic rights in health care, education, and well-being.

Child labor has serious negative effects on children, depleting them physically and mentally, and depriving them of education and of enjoying their childhood. It also suppresses their skills and abilities.

Syrian refugees suffer from poverty and the need for basic services, such as food, water, housing, and health care. In addition, they face significant challenges in terms of education and acquiring job opportunities. To have a decent life is a fundamental right for every human being, regardless of their nationality or background. Syrian refugees undoubtedly deserve to have a dignified life.

Therefore, the international community and humanitarian organizations must provide Syrian refugees protection and assistance, as well as facilitating asylum-seeking procedures. Host countries must provide protection and basic services for refugees and enable them to integrate into local communities, and do not deport them.

Furthermore, countries must adhere to international standards, treaties, and agreements that protect the rights of refugees and prevent them from being subjected to mistreatment or deportation. They must ensure their access to their right to life, freedom, security, and prohibit torture.