© UNHCR/Andrew McConnell
Over 500,000 people have made the perilous journey to Europe in 2015 with thousands more arriving every day. Over 3,000 others have died or gone missing attempting this dangerous trip. Te overwhelming majority are Syrian refugees who feel they have run out of options, except to put their lives and the lives of their children at risk to find security, education and a future in Europe.
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UNHCR has identified loss of hope and appalling living conditions as major factors behind the recent spike in the number of Syrian refugees seeking asylum in Europe. Around four million Syrian refugees are currently living in neighbouring countries, but recent months have seen a marked increase in the number of those seeking refuge further afield, notably in Europe.
Amin Awad, Director UNHCR Bureau for Middle East and North Africa, said this was primarily because of a loss of hope of being able to return home and deteriorating living conditions in the countries where Syrian refugees are currently living.
“Refugees face horrible living conditions, and restrictions in the legal regimes for refugees in the countries where they live … When people don’t have proper shelter and are living on 45 cents a day of course they want to move,” he told a press briefing in Geneva, adding: “Syrians are checking out from the neighbouring countries.”
In total, there have now been almost 429,000 asylum applications by Syrians in Europe since 2011, but due to the lack of reception facilities in Europe many of the most recent arrivals have yet to apply.
“Refugees are having to adopt negative survival strategies – like child labour, dropping out of school, begging and survival sex. Tey need much more support,” Awad, who is also the Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Syria Region, said.
“Tese are societies that put a high value on education and now they are seeing their children out of school.”
UNHCR / 19
n unprecedented humanitarian emergency is happening right now across Europe and the Mediterranean.
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