Good Push And Pull Factors In Syrian Migration Research Paper Example

It’s been almost four years now that developments in Syria are getting more and more violent as well as more and more complicated. At the break of spring in 2011 political protests marked the beginning of the Syrian spin of the so-called “Arab spring”, which, in fact, can hardly be called this way. Soon after that the world community started in an unveiled manner calling the Syrian developments civil war. However this was only the beginning as nowadays in addition to two major parties of the conflict, namely the protagonists and antagonists of Bashar al-Assad, there are also Kurds and ISIS, each of which has its own objectives and their own methods of achieving them.
All of this has created a major trend in the territory of Syria, namely – a huge wave of migration. If we try to have a look at some statistics we will be astonished – according to the data provided by the UNHCR the total amount of refugees for the time being has already exceeded three million(Syria Regional Refugee Response)! Given the fact that the population of Syria was a little less than 20 million right before the conflict the share those three million constitute is literally huge. One can only guess how much time it will take the rest of the population flee the country and seek shelter in some other, better place.
So what are the incentives for people to leave the Syrian territory? What are the causes that make Syrians think of risking their lives in dangerous trips through battlefields just to get to a safer place? At the first glance the answer may be obvious given the fact of the protracted conflict in the Syrian territory. However, trying to look into the conflict we find ourselves capable of explaining such incentives and causes in a more detailed manner. So, let’s get down to it.
First and foremost – the conflict that has for already four years been drenching Syrian population of blood shows no signs of stopping. The absence of any agreements between parties or even of a mutual desire just to sit down to the negotiation table and achieve one makes Syrians lose the last sparks of hope that their motherland will be at peace any time soon. Logically, waiting for the god-knows-when-it-happens end of the war in literally appalling conditions is not a good option for any Syrian citizen at all. There is in fact a far better chance to start a new happy life somewhere else than to stay in the midst of the warfare.
Secondly, a great number of Syrians whenever in need of help of any kind cannot find it amidst the blood-drenching battles. The most striking instance is medical aid, so badly needed in times when the risk to get injured or killed is tens of times bigger than during peace time. Or, say, shelter. The entire Syrian territory has been subjected to such grave and constant bombings so far that hardly there is a family in Syria whose house or other property has not been damaged in some way. The worst case scenario for a Syrian is to lose a place to live at all and unfortunately that is not so rare according to some data provided on the topic (Current Humanitarian and Migration Situation in Syria). The same goes for infrastructure, the loss of which is constantly reducing possibilities to anyhow undertake any economic activity, depriving citizens of an incentive to make one’s living in the hopeless conditions in the territory of Syria and giving them another one – going and trying to find economic opportunities somewhere else.
The third reason has to do with the nature of the war. Namely I mean that if you try to find a front line in the map of the warfare in Syria you will find out that it is not as easy as it seems. The reason for this is that rebellions have simultaneously arisen in different cities, not in just one part of the country. So the front has rather been disseminated, so to say, all over Syria which makes it impossible to move any further from the frontline as frontline is literally everywhere, being chaotically scattered about Syria. That is why it is of no good for refugees and migrants to seek another shelter within Syria itself as danger is everywhere coming simultaneously from rebels, government troops, Kurds and ISIS.
Another logical question is where those migrants travel, where they find their new home. There seem to be three major options fleeing Syrians usually decide to choose from.
First of all, these are adjacent states, which are relatively easy to get into because of their proximity and “open border” policy. Primarily one should mention Turkey in the north, Jordan in the the south-east and Lebanon in the south. The main incentives why Syrians flee to these countries are – again – proximity and facilities (like specially created camps for Syrian refugees) where they can get the needed help, assistance and care. With such camps and help centers it appears to be quite a good option to start a new life.
The second group of countries where Syrians choose to go to are a couple of developed European states, primarily such EU leaders as Germany and Sweden (Current Humanitarian and Migration Situation in Syria). This option tends to be less calculable because of the divergent opinions of different European states on the issue of migration, but potential benefits are worth taking some risk. In addition to that, this obstacle – not completely aligned European policy on migration – must be the one that has influenced the establishment of namely mentioned countries (which appear to be more liberal towards migrants) as main “hosts” for Syrian migrants. Also, economy of these states is far stronger than that of, say, Italy or Greece, which are closer on the way of Syrians, that is why choosing, for example, Germany as a destination point must be much due to economic incentives and hopes.
Finally, the third most popular decision among Syrian refugees are Americas, though there are divergences between different countries of the region as per how popular a destination for refugees they are. What touches upon the North America the number of people who have fled there from Syria is not very significant. This may be because of the political position of the USA towards Syria or because of the nature of the American society where the spirit of constant competitiveness does not make it so simple to start a new life. However the situation is very different when it comes to the countries of the South America, which was quite unpredictable, by the way. Nevertheless the number of Syrian refugees there is estimated at about 6000 people, which is more than three times as much as in the USA and the trend has every chance to go on very swiftly (Brodzinsky). This is due to several factors the main of which is existence of different humanitarian projects for Syrian refugees in some South American countries like Brazil.
Mass migration of Syrians, however, is by far not only the problem of the Syrians themselves – it is also a great problem for the countries where they come to live. Almost all these migrants are deprived of any decent resources to make a normal living, which is why, when they come to the points of their destination it is extremely hard for them to settle down, to find a job, not even to mention the need to buy or at least rent some accommodation. This is why their lives hardly become any less miserable, except that there are no more bombs exploding over their heads. Usually these people fail to rebuild their lives from the scratch which makes them try to get any social payment or involve in some social programs. At the same time, although these people are, all in all, not guilty of their incapability to go on decently in life, this poses also a big problem for the governments of countries where they choose to stay – primarily a problem of economic nature. Syrian migrants are not the ones who are most likely to be hired, spending money on social programs for them is costly, they do not pay any taxes – all of this makes the problem accentuate.
Therefore, Syrian migration seems to be a big problem for all of the parties involved in this process, and striking a delicate balance between morality and economic reasonability seems to be a very vital question on the agenda of many states.

Reference List

“Current Humanitarian and Migration Situation in Syria.”(n.d.). European Migration Network.
“Syria Regional Refugee Response.” (2014, September 10) Inter-Agency Information Sharing Portal. The UN Refugee Agency.
Brodzinsky, Sibylla. (2014, 16 September). “Bienvenido, Habibi! How Latin America Is Opening Its Arms To Syrian Refugees.” Foreign Policy.