Jr. Model United Nations Preparatory Conference

The Refugee Crisis in Syria

Presented by: Mr. Samer Abboud, Arcadia UniversityWednesday, March 12 & Thursday, March 13,

2014Temple University, Fox School of Business · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The Refugee Crisis in Syria

Samer AbboudAssistant Professor, International Studies

Arcadia University

Some key questions

• What has caused the Syrian refugee crisis?

• Who are the refugees and where are the refugees going?

• What is being done to help them?

The beginning of the crisis

• The Syrian uprising began in March 2011• The uprising was slowly militarized – more

violence led to more people leaving their homes

• Internally displaced people versus refugees– Why would someone stay within their country as

opposed to leaving it?

The severity of the crisis• Syria’s population is about 22.5 million– 1/3 of this population now live outside of their

homes

• The United States population is 314 million– If 1/3 of Americans were displaced, that would be

around 105 million people• What do you think would be some of the long-term

consequences if that happened here?

Refugee demographicsAge group Male Female

0-4 9.5 9.1

5-11 9.7 9.2

12-17 6.7 5.9

18-59 25.6 21.9

60+ 1.2 1.4

Meeting refugee needs

• Basic service provision is lacking• Donor commitments do not match actual

contributions• Refugees have very few protections, very few

rights• Reliance on international organizations for relief

and support

Life in the camps

• Very few are able to leave the camps• Impermanence and permanence at the same time• Reliance on aid• Attempts to establish social structures of support• Loss of assets, jobs, skills and economic opportunities• Informality and loss of education possibilities • Poor services

Future impacts• Social ruptures and cultural

destruction• Loss of economic capacity and

development • Resentment and retribution– How will Syrians live together after this

collective experience?

Global priorities

A global problem

Refugee options

• Integration• Repatriation• Resettlement

Looking forward• Refugee support services are slow to

materialize• Economic and political resentment is

growing against Syrians• The conflict is getting worse, not

better