Syria

dropdown Since the civil war began in Syria in 2011, 7.6 million Syrians have been displaced inside their country and another 4.1 million have fled the country looking for a place to settle. This means that over half of Syria’s total population have fled the country or have been driven from their homes. dropdown In March 2011, anti-government demonstrations began across Syria against the dictatorship of President Bashar al-Assad, which were part of the broader regional Arab Spring protests. Sunni Muslims, who make up approximately 70% of the Syrian population, have long been disenchanted with President Assad, an Alawite Muslim. Alawites represent 12% of the Syrian population but have dominated the country’s political leadership for the past fifty years. dropdown The Syrian regime responded to the demonstrations in brutal ways and began an indiscriminate violent campaign of targeting citizens opposed to Assad’s rule. President Assad has launched rockets in the highly populated suburbs of Damascus and has attacked Syrian civilians with chemical weapons. Many innocent men, women, and children have been gassed to death by their own government. dropdown Several neighboring countries (Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq) have taken in a total of 3.6 million refugees over the past few years.. For the most part, the refugees are taking dangerous boat voyages over the Mediterranean and Aegean seas or traveling through the Balkans. The European Union border agency reports a tenfold annual increase in people travelling from Greece on the Western Balkans route; it is estimated that so far this year there have been 350,000 refugees in Europe.