Living in Syria, officially the 3rd most dangerous country in the world

Since 2011, Syria has been having occasional news coverage, titles often include “war,” “danger,” “terrorism,” and the list goes on. Yet, people often don’t realize the true story behind the Syrian conflict.

As various other conflicts emerge such as Ukraine and Israel-Palestine, the complex wars in Syria continue to be buried under international emergencies, having its cries for help muffled. Recently, Syria has been officially declared as the third-most dangerous country in the world under some sources, so the question arises, who are the ones subjected to danger living?

The UN Refugee Agency reported over 53.2 million displaced refugees, of these millions, 6.8 million are from Syria, making it the highest country contributing to the internal displaced population, beating both Venezuela and Ukraine.

What is causing all these refugees to leave this country? Over the past decade, conflicts inside Syria grew more intense. The lives of citizens were put in grave danger, as their own president launched chemical warfare on them.

According to the Australian travel advisor, Smart Traveler, Syria is found to have excruciatingly low medical care, high kidnapping rates, risk of robberies, murder, carjacking, and the list goes on. The water and food in Syria tend to have infectious diseases such as brucellosis, typhoid, and hepatitis. Syria has become such a dangerous country that most commercial airlines have stopped even traveling to Syria, leaving its citizens with no easy escape route. Life in Syria is undoubtedly dangerous, since the start of the Syrian conflict there have been over 500,000 deaths (which is a severe undercount as many are dying with no records).

Consequently, children in Syria are unable to go to school, in fact, in an interview done with a 14-year-old Syrian child, Ahmed, he stated that “Being scared was a permanent state of mind. I was always scared. When I went to bed, I always wondered if I would wake up the next morning.”

The lifestyles of the citizens in Syria is far from lavish, one which no one deserves. However, once they escape, life doesn’t get much easier for them.

Typically, Syria Refugees escape to nearby countries which provide shelter for them. As commercial airlines have stopped providing flights to and from the country, they have to walk and use the road. Often once escaping, these refugees are put into camps, where they are provided food, shelter, and water, but these camps aren’t precisely heaven for them either. With no option for employment or to get a job, they have no chance to leave the shelter and create a life for themselves. It’s hard to gain a passport from a different country, especially in countries with strict immigration laws, the journey just gets harder. Without an identity outside of Syria, these refugees have little hope despite what they’ve done to get there.

To no surprise, the refugee camps are tough on children too, ones who have no education, no parents, no family, no support, and are left to fend for themselves. According to Save the Children, a program designed to create more humane refugee camps, covered a story of a two-year-old named Salim living in a refugee camp near the Syrian border. They stated that “In the midst of a bitter winter, Salim, age 2, tries to stay warm at a refugee camp near the Syrian border. With temperatures nearing sub-zero, Salim will face this brutal winter in a snow-covered tent with only the clothes on his back to keep warm.” While refugee camps do provide shelter, they lack comfort, stability, or any humane lifestyle for these Syrians to get a chance to continue their life. 

Living in a world with billions of people, sometimes it can be hard to recognize the struggles of others. While the lives of Syrians are undoubtedly strenuous, all their struggles lack proper media coverage or external help which develops the root problem of lack of attention. Syrian refugees need assistance from others, as who else will provide it if they don’t have a country of their own?