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dying for a chance to live


He stressed the situation would only end when a solution was found for Syria and the region stabilized.


“…LACK OF ACCESS TO LEGAL WORK LEADS REFUGEES,… TO RESORT TO INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT – RISKING EXPLOITATION, WORKING IN UNSAFE CONDITIONS OR HAVING PAYMENT WITHHELD BY UNSCRUPULOUS EMPLOYERS.”


“Syria is burning; towns are destroyed and that’s why people are on the move, that’s why we have an avalanche, a tsunami of people on the move towards Europe… As long as there’s no resolution in Syria and no improved conditions in neighbouring countries, people will move,” he told the briefing at the UN’s Geneva headquarters.


Based on ongoing monitoring and assessments, surveys, focus group discussions, and daily interaction with refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Iraq, UNHCR has identified seven principal factors behind the latest outflows:


Loss of hope


With Syria’s crisis now into its fifth year and no sign of a solution in sight, hope is dwindling for many refugees. Feelings of uncertainty about the future are compounded by miserable conditions, fueling a sense of despair and desperation.


High costs of living/ Deepening poverty


Refugees in Lebanon cite the high cost of living as a factor in deciding to stay or go.


In Egypt, refugees say it is getting harder to pay rent, manage high levels of indebtedness and afford their basic needs. In Jordan, the inability to provide for one’s family was the most common reason cited by people who knew someone who had left.


Te cumulative effect of four years in exile with restricted access to legal employment was also said to be taking its toll. In many cases savings are long depleted, precious valuables have been sold off and many refugees across the region live in miserable conditions, struggling to pay rent, feed their families, and cover their basic needs.


Limited livelihood opportunities


Without ability to work, many refugees struggle to make a living. Lack of livelihood opportunities or access to the formal labour market was cited as a problem by refugees in Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan. Syrian refugees in Iraq say the large number of internally displaced people has increased competition for jobs in the Kurdistan region of the country. Meanwhile, work on construction sites in the region has dried up with the drop in oil prices.


Te lack of access to legal work leads refugees, desperate to provide for themselves, to resort to informal employment – risking exploitation, working in unsafe conditions or having payment withheld by unscrupulous employers. If caught working illegally, some refugees face sanctions, for example in Jordan being returned to a camp. Under new regulations in Lebanon, refugees must sign a pledge not to work when renewing their residency status.


20 / UNHCR © UNHCR/Ivor Prickett


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