What It’s Like to Be a Refugee in Syria

Syrian Refugees

Can you imagine how the world can be so unforgiving and brutal? Civil wars and revolutions break out all the time. There are 21.3 million refugees around the world, more than half of them under the age of 18. You can help. How? By being proactive, not idly receiving unfortunate news from all over the world.

Examine Hassan, a Syrian refugee in Lebanon which is now home to more Syrians than any other nation. He is living in a tent with his wife three sons and two daughters. At the first crack of dawn, he wakes up on his baby boy’s hungry screams and so begins thus journey of misery.

Life here is primitive; people barely survive on limited resources. Camping in remote places in the countryside and no future, but they are optimistic. Children play around the tents, and women cook and boil water above small fires.

Hassan’s main concern is how he will feed his family. He cannot ask for help from neighboring tents because their situation is the same. They are all in the same boat. They are sticking together like one big family.

Life is expensive; since there are no official camps in Lebanon. Hassan must pay for renting the land where he camps, electricity, water, and other services. There are not enough jobs in these circumstances. Hassan is merely surviving and lacks any certainty in a bright future.

Luckily, some charity organizations are trying to teach Hassan skills he can use to earn his money. Hassan’s wife also goes to a nearby farm to pick and clean vegetables as a day job. Everyone is busy at the camp, building and struggling to improve their quality of life even for a little bit.

Do you know what is sadder? Because Hassan has no job or money, he and everyone is a camp, get their food in debt, and sometimes get paid in food for their work instead of money. Moreover, he has to pay for healthcare for his son who was injured in an attack when they were fleeing their country. Hassan could hardly provide for his family.

He and his family have to labor all day long just to find something to eat at the end of the day. He is trying to reach his family back home to get any support he can, but there’s no hope. Communications are hard to come by in his area and there’s little he can do.

Hassan soothes his family in any way possible, and he is trying to remain optimistic despite what he is going through. Hassan is not alone; there’re millions of Syrians just like him. They lost their home and livelihood. Wandering around the world, searching for a new home with no avail. Guess what?

Syrians are not alone, there are millions of refugees everywhere. From countries like Somalia and Afghanistan. They are all going through this nightmare. In fact, the world is seeing more refugees than any time in recorded history. Will this never end?