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11 Facts About Refugees | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change

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11 Facts About Refugees | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change

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It’s estimated that 50% of refugees are under the age of 18.

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11 Facts About Refugees | DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change

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Women make up 80 percent of all refugees and displaced persons.

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10 Facts on Syrian Refugees - The Borgen Project

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10 Facts on Syrian Refugees - The Borgen Project

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More than 75 percent of Syrian refugees are women and children.

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The Syrian refugee facts are startling. In the past few decades, there has been an enormous influx of migrants and refugees into the Mediterranean countries and other Western European countries due to numerous conflicts. Recently, the plight of the Syrian refugees has captured the world's attention.

The Syrian conflict began in March of 2011, when pro-democracy protests broke out in the streets. These protests were against the regime of the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad.

When supporters of the President and rebel groups began fighting each other, the protest evolved into a full-out civil war. By August of 2015, an estimated 250,000 people had died due to the violence.

Top Syrian Refugee Facts:

1. The conflict has displaced nearly 12 million Syrians from their homes and families.

2. More than 75 percent of Syrian refugees are women and children.

3. Syrian citizens represented 49 percent of the individuals entering countries via the Mediterranean Sea.

4. According to the UNHCR, there are already 3,151 dead or missing refugees in 2016 alone.

5. Most refugees stay in the Middle Eastern region, escaping to countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey and Iraq.

6. Since 2011, the conflict displaces an average of 50 Syrian families every hour.

7. Three out of four Syrians live in poverty.

8. As of January 31, 2016, nearly 10,000 refugee children have gone missing in Europe. Human trafficking circles are the likely culprits.

9. The crisis in Syria has reversed 10 years of progress in education for Syrian children, according to the U.N children's agency.

10. In 2015, the European Union granted 292,540 refugees asylum, with Germany, Sweden, and Italy granting the most.

Many Syrian refugees suffer from the low quality of life and lack of resources in refugee camps. However, many countries and international groups around the world have worked hard to ameliorate the living conditions for these individuals.

Organizations such as the Karam Foundation and Project Amal ou Salaam focus on raising funds and providing programs or educational resources for children. Other groups, like Sunrise USA and Islamic Relief USA, work on getting necessities like food, clothing, trauma-care facilities and more.

As of May 31, 2015, the United States had given more than $3 billion in aid to Syria.

The Syrian War Crimes Accountability Act of 2015 (S.756) has passed the Senate and is under consideration in the House. This bill would call on the President to support efforts in Syria and force the Department of State to make Congress aware of various war crime.

Efforts like this have increased awareness and accountability of the Syrian conflict. These actions ensure a quicker end to the violence and a hasty return home for Syrian refugees all over the world.

- Ashley Morefield

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10 Facts on Syrian Refugees - The Borgen Project

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The Syrian refugee facts are startling. In the past few decades, there has been an enormous influx of migrants and refugees into the Mediterranean countries and other Western European countries due to numerous conflicts. Recently, the plight of the Syrian refugees has captured the world's attention.

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Syrian refugee crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help | World Vision

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Syrian refugee crisis: Facts, FAQs, and how to help | World Vision

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Since the Syrian civil war began, an estimated 470,000 people have been killed, including about 55,000 children.

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What’s Life like at A Syrian Refugee Camp? - Muslim Aid

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What’s Life like at A Syrian Refugee Camp? - Muslim Aid

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Most Syrian Refugees are unable to find a job and make money to support their families

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To live life as a refugee would be testing for even the toughest of us, yet we must remember that there are 2.8 million Syrian refugees living that very life across the Syrian border, in neighbouring countries. They are distressed, surrounded by agony and pain with very little hope and very little in the way of provisions. Life at the refugee camps is very difficult for each and every Syrian refugee because of the trials and tribulations they have to face every single day. Let's take a quick glance at what life is like at Syrian refugee camps:
Inadequate Provision of Vaccinations
One of the things that is essential for the Syrian refugees but currently inadequate at the camps is the polio vaccination facilities. When it comes to supplying vaccinations, there simply arent enough facilities and supplies to cater for the vast number of refugees. The situation worsens as more refugees arrive at the refugee camps as a result of the Syrian crisis. A lot of children are exposed to the polio threat in Syria and they, as well as their parents, live under threat from these diseases without proper vaccinations avaliable.
Makeshift Schools are Overcrowded
Most of us prioritise our childrens education, however parents in Syrian refugee camps have no resource that would allow them to send their children to school. You can imagine how terrible it must be for these parents to see their children spending their days doing nothing instead of going to school and gaining skills and knowledge. Syrian children cannot go to school because the number of children in Syrian camps is greater than the number of students the camp schools can accommodate.
Inadequate Medical Facilities and Medicines
The inadequacy of medical facilities is yet another problem the people of Syria have to face. A lot of the Syrian refugees are injured or sick, but unable to find a remedy for their pain and suffering. A lot of non-profit organisations are making efforts to provide Syrian refugees with the medical aid they require, but the Syrian disaster is affecting the Syrian refugees to a huge extent, and many of the aid providers' efforts are failing.
Houses without Roofs, Tents Everywhere
A lot of Syrian refugees don't even have proper shelter above their heads. Many families do have four walls around them, but no roof to protect them from the hot sun, the rain and the bone chilling winds. Thanks to relief aid, refugee camps are being provided with more and more resources so that each and every Syrian refugee can enjoy a proper shelter but right now a lot of Syrians don't have a roof above their head.
Zero Employment Prospects
One of the many difficult things a Syrian refugee has to face is the fact that they are unable to find employment. There aren't any industries around the Syrian refugee camps and there are no proper markets which would provide employment opportunities to the refugees. Thus, the distaster stricken Syrian families have to live helplessly, relying on the aid of strangers.

This is life for the people in Syrian refugee camps. If you feel for those dealing with the hardship of life as a Syrian refugee, please give to charity. Your donations can change the lives of the Syrian people seeking refuge outside of Syria, giving them a new hope for a better and brighter future.

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What's Life like in a Syrian Refugee Camp?

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To live life as a refugee would be testing for even the toughest of us, yet we must remember that there are 2.8 million Syrian refugees living that very life across the Syrian border, in neighbouring countries. They are distressed, surrounded by agony and pain with very little hope and very little in the way of provisions.

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I Volunteered in a Refugee Camp. These Are The Stories You Won't See on TV. | HuffPost

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I Volunteered in a Refugee Camp. These Are The Stories You Won't See on TV. | HuffPost

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Adults get a meal, bread, and plasticware. Children get all that plus juice. If they ask for water, they get one bottle per family member.

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Nearly 60 million people around the globe are displaced from their homes due to war, conflict, and persecution. That's the highest number ever on record-- one in every 122 humans on this planet. Many refugees board overcrowded dinghies to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe. If they make it safely to shore, they are forced into slum-like camps where they wait months, if not years, for their asylum applications to be processed.

The responsibility of sheltering refugees disproportionately falls upon poor countries. The UN's Refugee Agency estimates that 86% of the world's refugees are sheltered by developing countries such as Turkey, Pakistan, and Lebanon. Lebanon alone is single-handedly hosting around the same number of refugees who took shelter in all of Europe in 2015. And since this year's EU-Turkey deal, thousands have been deported to Turkey, where asylum seekers have reportedly been forced back into Syria and shot dead by border control.

It is a complex and difficult situation: refugees arrive in countries already stricken by economic challenges, and the systems in place to process and integrate them are not equipped to handle so many people. There are legitimate security and integration challenges host countries must grapple with to ensure safe resettlement. And the resettlement process is made more complicated by widespread misinformation, racism, and apathy.

I have followed the "refugee crisis" in Europe from my safe and distant harbor in Los Angeles for the past year. I've wondered about the humans behind the numbers, the circumstances that lead them to leave behind home and kin, and what life is like in the camps. It was with these questions in mind that I decided to volunteer at two refugee camps in Europe while leading trainings for my nonprofit this past May.

*****

I spent my first stint at Ritsona, a camp about two hours north of Athens. Nearly 900 people live there-- about two thirds are Syrian, others are from Iraq and Afghanistan, others are stateless: Palestinian, Kurdish, and Yazidi. The camp is situated on an old military base; it has no running water or electricity, and residents live in tents with no flooring. Many have built stoves out of mud and dirt and tapped into a nearby power line to charge their phones. Volunteers from several non-profits distribute meals, clothing, and medical attention. The camp is overseen by the Greek military.

On my first walk through camp, I was met by a young girl who, upon seeing me, broke into a sprint. She locked eyes with me, opened her arms, and leapt up to hug me as she neared. I opened my arms to embrace her, caught her mid-leap, and felt her press her heart to my chest and lay her head on my shoulder.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello," I said.

She held on to me for a few moments as I continued to walk, and then she let go. I lowered her back on the ground and stopped. She caught my eyes again and squeezed my hand.

"I am your friend," she said.

I smiled. "Yes you are." She held my hand and walked with me for another minute, then ran back into the sea of tents.

*****

A few hours later I went to the warehouse to help serve meals. The lead volunteer explained how meals work: Residents are given food and water according to their family size, which is noted on their meal card. Adults get a meal, bread, and plasticware. Children get all that plus juice. If they ask for water, they get one bottle per family member.

It seemed simple enough.

There were dozens of people huddled outside the warehouse window, hollering and waving cards. I went to work, taking cards and distributing meals. Midway into my shift, a woman with gentle eyes and a warm smile handed me her card. It read: 2 adults, 3 children. I did the calculation: 5 meals, 5 breads, 3 juices. I placed all the items in a bag and handed it back to her. She took it from me, then pointed at the bottles of water behind me.

"Wah! Please, wah!"

"You want water?" She nodded her head. "Okay, one sec."

I told the volunteer hunched over the distribution papers the woman's tent number. She traced her finger down the paper and found correct tent. There was already a checkmark in the box.

"She asked for water?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Who? Which one is she?"

I pointed to the woman.

"You've already gotten your water. I can't give you anymore." The woman frowned and yelled something back in Arabic. The volunteer tapped the shoulder of one of our comrades. "Please tell her she's already gotten her water for the day."

He said something in Arabic to the woman, and then turned back to us. "She said she used the water to cook. She says she needs another bottle for her children to drink."

The lead volunteer glanced back at the dwindling piles of water bottles behind us. "I'm sorry. She's had her water for the day."

A few weeks later, I went to Calais, a sprawling and squalid "jungle" of tents and improvised shelters that house an estimated five to seven thousand people on the north coast of France. The situation there is dire: tents are plagued by rats, water sources contaminated by feces, and inhabitants have been diagnosed with tuberculosis, scabies, and post-traumatic stress. On my first walk through camp, I stepped over a dead rat larger than my foot.

Many residents of the Jungle are caught in limbo on their way to to re-unite with friends or family in the UK: British immigration law has been called "inhumane" and "ludicrous." In order to be granted asylum in the UK, refugees must apply from within its borders. But there is no legal way to cross into the UK without a visa, which is near impossible to get. If they apply for asylum in another EU country, they will no longer be eligible in the UK. So they wait, some refugees say "like animals," in the Jungle.

I spent my first evening in Calais helping residents practice English in the camp's library. The practice sessions -- more casual chit chats than formal lessons -- were held in a big tent called "Jungle Books" that's lined with boxes full of children's books from the '80s. My first practice partner was a young man from Sudan with a soft voice and piercing gaze.

We exchanged formal greetings: "Hello," "How are you?", "Were do you come from?" When I told him I'd just come from London, he smiled and said his favorite professor works at a university there.

"Oh," I said, "What subject does he study?"

"He researches the causes of social inequality. Why some people are very rich and some people are very poor."

"That sounds interesting. What is your take on it? Why do you think social inequality exists?"

"It is very complicated. Some people work very hard and have nothing. Some people do not work at all and are very rich. It is not laziness. When you have no power, no matter how hard you work you cannot be rich."

Later I shared laughs and travel stories with a young man from Afghanistan. He had the poshest haircut I think I've ever seen. He told me about his year learning English in Denmark, where the summer days were very long and winter days saw almost no light. We discussed our favorite cities in Italy, and I tried to explain the difference between a hipster and a cowboy. When I asked about family and his home back in Afghanistan, his smile faded and his eyes got dark. "It is very bad," he said. "My family -- they are afraid to leave."

"May I ask, why did you leave?" I asked.

"Because I did not want to work for Daesh (ISIS). They - what's the word? Where they hurt you if...?"

"Threaten? Blackmail?"

"Yes, threaten. They threaten me. They say I must fight with them or they kill me. There was no other way."

He told me of being harassed by Daesh on the streets near the shop where he used to work. He told me of leaving his younger sisters behind, of crossing the sea from Libya to Italy and walking hours by moonlight to make it to "the hellhole" of Calais. He told me of being beat and locked up by French police for being outside of camp after dark.

I asked him what is next for him. "I never know tomorrow. Today, I am here and you are here. Tomorrow, who knows?"

*****

During my days in the camps I chopped wood, cooked and distributed meals, and practiced English with new friends. During the nights I slept with my head on a feather pillow in a hotel. Yesterday, I arrived home to a spacious apartment in Venice Beach and watched Game of Thrones until I fell asleep. This morning, my young friend in Ritsona awoke on her palette in a dusty tent with no clear path to a safe and permanent home.

It was not until last night, upon arriving back in Los Angeles that I finally cried. I cried for the Syrian woman who watched her sister drown when their boat overturned on the way to Greece. I cried for the Palestinian man I met -- just a few years younger than me -- who had lived his entire life in refugee camps. I cried for the little girl who pressed her heart against mine, and the charismatic boy with the posh haircut. I cried because their situation is incomprehensible.

I keep asking myself what put me on the inside of that warehouse, and the woman on the outside. Why was I born in a country that (mostly) recognizes and protects the rights of its citizens, and she in one where women are raped, tortured, and beheaded for speaking against the government? It seems a fruitless question, I know. But one that I hope we ask ourselves before setting policies.

When I was a little girl, my mother used to repeat a quotation from the late protestant pastor and social justice advocate, Martin Niemöller, who spoke out against Adolf Hitler before being sent to concentration camps. She said it every night before bed, a strange nursery rhyme of sorts:

"First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me."

I did not know what a trade unionist was, but I understood the sentiment. Our humanity is bound up in one another's. There can be no sustainable peace within our walls if they only serve to keep injustice out. Today, in this life, I am on this side of the walls. But, oh how unpredictable life can be. Like my Afghan friend said, "Today I am here and you are here. Tomorrow, who knows?"

I hope if I ever find myself on the other side of a wall, there is a kind human being there to receive me.

Calling all HuffPost superfans!

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I Volunteered in a Refugee Camp. These Are The Stories You Won't See on TV.

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Nearly 60 million people around the globe are displaced from their homes due to war, conflict, and persecution. That's the highest number ever on record-- one in every 122 humans on this planet. Many refugees board overcrowded dinghies to cross the Mediterranean and reach Europe.

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Life In A Refugee Camp: What Happens To Those Who Flee Syria's Civil War

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Life In A Refugee Camp: What Happens To Those Who Flee Syria's Civil War

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Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey each host more than a million refugees.

More than four million people have left Syria.

A camp in Jordan offers dozens of mosques, 27 community centers, five schools, two hospitals and nine health clinics.

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Accepting Syrian migrants in America and Europe has become an increasingly divisive political issue. Critics point out that the Gulf States, though mostly majority Sunni, have refused to offer refuge to any fleeing Syrians, also mostly Sunnis. However, Syria's direct neighbors bear a huge burden, with Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey each hosting more than a million refugees.

Many Syrians have dispersed into the larger community, especially in Lebanon. Both Jordan and Turkey host large camps as well. Refugee camps have become a symbol of our violent world, as people seek to flee conflicts which threaten their lives and destroy economic and social life. More than four million people have left Syria and even more have been displaced internally.

The migrant rush to Europe should surprise no one. Even Syrians who desire to return to their homeland see little reason for hope. The war continues. No political solution can erase the hatreds aroused after more than four years of conflict. When peace finally takes hold, much of the nation's infrastructure will sit ruined, requiring reconstruction.

M oreover, why would anyone want to stay in a refugee camp? Last year I visited Zaatari Refugee Camp, located just a few miles from the Syrian border in Jordan. I was traveling with undefined International Orthodox Christian Charities, which carries out an expansive ministry addressing many different needs of Syrians inside and outside of their country.

Zaatari, just a few miles from the Syrian border, was opened in July 2012 as a tent encampment. Covering about three square miles, it quickly filled and now contains around 80,000 people, making it Jordan's 4th largest "city." It is divided into 12 districts and people are free to move within, as many do, to get closer to desired services. In 2013 a second camp was constructed nearby. Zaatari's population is evenly divided between men and women. More than half of the residents are under 18.

Zaatari has not been the happiest of places. Residents have demonstrated, sometimes violently, to protest poor living conditions and inadequate food, as well as the depredations of the Assad government. Around 430,000 people have spent some time in the camp. Roughly half went elsewhere in Jordan while many others returned to Syria.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has overall authority to care for refugees, but the camp is managed by the Hashemite Charity Organization. A multitude of other governments and NGOs, such as the IOCC, my host, support Zaatari's operations.

Camp life is tough. Although the size of a small city, its residents are largely dependent on the charity of others. Economic life is almost entirely controlled from outside.

With foreign help came dozens of mosques, 27 community centers, five schools, two hospitals and nine health clinics.

When there is less aid money, the "city" sputters. Zaatari went without electricity for nine months when UNHCR didn't have the money to pay the Jordanian government.

I visited a clinic which typically serves about 700 people daily. Samer Makahleh, with the Jordan Health Aid Society, coordinates health care programs. "To fill gaps we go to outside partners like IOCC," he explained. The hardest medical cases have to be transported elsewhere, and as many as 100 people are waiting for more expensive operations, such as heart procedures. For these "they need a special donor," said Makahleh. Two people came up to me during my brief visit seeking financial support for operations.

Refugees receive a stipend of roughly $30 a month. Many also work for the camp, NGOS, or in private shops. Most surprising may be the diversity of private businesses, around 2500 in all, many of which line the main street, called the Champs-Elysees. The UNHCR estimates that 60 percent of working age refugees are employed to some degree. Even 13% of children labor some, a number missing school as a result.

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Life In A Refugee Camp: What Happens To Those Who Flee Syria's Civil War

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Accepting Syrian migrants in America and Europe has become an increasingly divisive political issue. Critics point out that the Gulf States, though mostly majority Sunni, have refused to offer refuge to any fleeing Syrians, also mostly Sunnis. However, Syria's direct neighbors bear a huge burden, with Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey each hosting more than a million refugees.