The Difficulty Being a Refugee

I have been thinking about somethings. Well, I have been thinking about a lot. My dear readers, I strongly believe that here in  the U.S.A. people don't understand some basic things, and I have more readers outside the U.S.A. than I do here. However, I want to talk about being a refugee because what readers I do have who are here in the U.S.A. might not realize some important facts about being a refugee. 
I first want to say that, I strongly believe the world will get worse and we haven't seen the last of refugees. In fact, I strongly believe and am adamant (I always have been) that we will see millions upon millions more of a refugee crisis, and more than the mid- 1800's when people were fleeing to the U.S.A. I don't have statistics to prove my statement, and I don't have anything to back this up, however, I stand by my intuition, and my thoughts about this have not let me down yet. 

With that said, back in the 1800's and even early 1900's people were coming by the boat fulls and we basically allowed them here. Of course if they were Mormons, they were treated horribly, and pushed out of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Boston, and then later, Illinois, Missouri, and into Utah, but that isn't what I am talking about today. 

Let's see what it takes to be a Refugee right now. In my last post I talked about how come my husband and I didn't register him as one. (Making things more complex for us is one of the reasons, but, here is what you have to do to be considered a Refugee here in the U.S.A.)

First, Refugees are seeking Asylum in other countries, and not in their own, because usually they don't have time to be in their country, oro they are already fleeing their country in order to survive. They are seeking help from other countries, and this is what is making them leave. There are various reasons for why people would be seeking Asylum. First the Refugee will have to go to  the U.N. and register as a Refugee. Usually the reason for leaving their country of origin in the first place is because of  Human Rights reasons. (in fact, it's 99% the cause for being a refugee in the first place.) People who leave their country are in constant fear of being harmed, tortured or even killed upon returning back to their original country of where they were born. Also, it is important to understand that The Refugee must seek the status of a refugee outside of the U.S.A. only. Ergo, they can not enter the U.S.A. and then seek the status of Refugee. (This is why they are a Refugee to begin with) There is a definition of Refugee one must meet. The standards are high, because the term Refugee is not used loosely in the U.N., Geneva Laws, and in the countries which will take in Refugees. 

Now, seeking Asylum are for people who are seeking protection. These people are those who:
Are already considered a Refugee (you must meet the definition of a Refugee)
Are already in the U.S.A.
Are seeking admission in a port of Entry. 

Seeking Asylum can take place for anyone and they must apply to seek Asylum, which is different than being a Refugee. In Fact, an Asylum seeker doesn't have to a Refugee, and isn't always one, but, a Refugee is always an Asylum Seeker. 
People who seek Asylum can seek it to the U.S.A. in their country of origin, or in the U.S.A. 

The other thing people here in the U.S.A. need to understand is that there have been people who have been turned down as having a Refugee Status. Most of the people we call Refugees aren't even registered as such. According to the U.N., only a few million people have registered. Here in the U.S.A. we would think, Well, of course, it is a natural reaction that when a group of people are attacking our homes and our families have all died, we would flee and find shelter, and register with the U.N. and become a Refugee. (To seek help, right?) Well, millions upon millions of people have refused to register with the U.N. because they have been so severely abused by other factions and other governments, that they have no trust whatsoever in any human being at all, and therefore this has been a huge task and very difficult for the U.N. (as well as the Red Cross, who has been trying to help people gain trust to even get medical treatment and then register as a Refugee.)
So, this is a daunting task. Not only is this really difficult, but then, there is a process to be able to come in to the U.S.A. as a Refugee, and then they have to wait, which takes about three years or longer in order to even come as a Refugee. 

I am talking about all this because people think that this process is easy and anyone can be a Refugee. 
I also have been talking to many people who think that it is something I should look into for Long Rock. 
The other reason is that with all these people coming to the U.S.A. and, Americans need to understand fully, how hard it is to become a Refugee in order to see that there really isn't as much lenience with those who are Refugees. 

Another concern I have heard people say about Refugees is that there is a heightened increase of criminal activity. This is a ploy to keep people ignorant. Criminal activity in places where there are more Refugees have not risen. However, what has happened is violent crimes and hate crimes against Muslims, Sikhs, Indians, and people who have a Middle Eastern "look" to them has risen, even spiked over the last three years. The crimes against them has spiked in droves. The first spike was in the early 2000's, after the 9-11 attacks. (Astonishing because there many Middle Easterners that died in the attacks, please check the truth about the Twin Towers. The World Trade Center hosted MANY Muslims and Middle Easterners who were, and still are, in grave fear that if they come forward and say they had families who died in the 9-11 attacks, they will be accused of terrorism, and have kept it a mystery but only to their families and among those they trust implicitly.) There have also been a high attack against the people of India, although they aren't even Muslim at all. Sikh people have also been attacked, many even stabbed to death since 9-11. The worst part about this is that the attacks tapered down, until about 2015. The started increasing again. They actually became worse than right after 9-11, and FBI has declared that Hate Crimes against Muslims and people who Americans think are M.E. origin have increased by 6%. To some people 6% doesn't seem that much, but, that is quite a bit of people. That is 60 people to every 1,000. This is significant. Attacks at Mosques have gone up. I watched a video on YouTube that was a Mosque opening in "Liberal" "Happy" California. It was horrific. I was so ashamed of these horrible people. They were protesting a Mosque opening in Santa Monica, California. The Californians were yelling and screaming at these people who were also Southern Californians (And Americans!) Yelling at them to "Go home" And "We don't want you here" and to "Go back where you came from" which a really young 12 year old was utterly confused, because, as she said, "I am American. I was born and raised in Santa Monica, so, where am I supposed to go?" 
I think if we just were educated, we would not be making huge fools of ourselves, and in fact we would be helping this world. It is our responsibility, as Americans, to be more compassionate, and more knowledgeable, this means more humane and kinder. I think that instead we have become as a people more awful towards each other. We have been less compassionate towards people who have been a lot less fortunate than ourselves here in The U.S.A. we have no idea what is going on in the world, and mark my words. There are going to be people coming from countries you have never even heard of, namely from the Central Asian region of the world. 
I highly recommend people to read up on this region. We are going to be seeing more people coming from this region than ever. It is imperative that we know and understand the people and the world in which we live. 

So- Long for now my readers. Be kind while I am offline! 

A Brief Explanation of The Syrian Civil War Crisis

Syrian Citizens joined an uprising, called the Arab Spring. One group of 13 year old boys wrote a collaboration of an essay called “The Government Must Go”. The movement started, and was intended, to be an uprising for democracy. 5 years later, there is a full out war, and over 7 million Syrians are displaced. The crisis of the Syrians losing their land, heritage and culture is going to have lasting effects on the people and the world.

Bashar al- Assad

Bashar al- Assad is a Doctor, trained in Britian who inherited Syria on the death of his father,Hafez al- Assad. Hafez al- Assaad was a harsh and cruel dictator, who claimed Syria in 1971 in a coup d’etat. Bashar at first, would talk about not allowing the citizens to have democracy, however, he would sometimes in speeches hint between changing, and he would go back and forth between the two, of keeping Syria in Dictatorship and Democracy, even sometimes hints of reformation.

On March 15th 2011, Syria joined the uprising. In a small southern town of Syria, students protested the torture and beatings of students who wrote anti-government graffiti. People hit the streets with protests, (my Dena Uzunkaya account had Free Syria as my cover picture... for those of you who might remember) Assad declared Syria a state of emergency a couple of decades before. But, by much of the peoples shock, by April 2011 , Assad had lifted the state eof emergency and within a few days of that, he set off the first of what began to be a series of harsh crackdowns, by sending tanks into the cities more resistant, and “security forces” (Police and Army) opened fire on the demostrators. To many people in the news, he hid behind the lies that said he was trying to restore peace to the demonstrators, in reality he was escalating force, and perpetuated the state that Syria is presently in .

By May of 2011, hundreds of Syrians were leaving their homeland and seeking8 shelter in Turkey. As Bashar Assad’s relenting force was not easing, thousands of soliders of the Syrian Army defected to join the “Rebels”, and the Rebels by this point were called “Terrorists” by the Syrian Government and in a speech by Assad himseslf. These Rebels by this point were not Terrorists. The Syrian news reporters were being captured and tortured by Assad, and so the Syrian people would use their cell phones to record what was happening to them, while Assad blocked access to YouTube and other social medias, Those who knew how to hack and crack the governments code to post things were the ones who were able to show the world what was really going on. This was also the time where Syrian Army (Assad’s Army) were firing missiles into Turkey and in the areas where Syrian refugees were living and going to school. Homes and schools were the main targets, and hundreds of people died, including men, womena nd children. 48 Turkish Soldiers died,a nd were stationed there solely to protect the Syrians and make sure that Syrian Army does not come into Turkey.

December of 2011 The United Nations called the Syrian Crisis on the “verge of civil war”. Again, more Syrians were making their way into Turkey, and the Turkish Prime Minister anncounced the construction of new buildings for the refugees, as the Turkish people could not stand by to see such atrocities. Syrians were fleeing into Jordan or Turkey, as there were no other options for them to go. Some who were wealthier were able to f, and Sunni Muslim. flee to Britian, because they already had homes there, but the majority of the population of Syria are Middle Class Citizens. An opposing Government in exile was formed (In a small town outside Istandbul) called the Syrian National council. But the council’s division has kept Arab and Western Governments to not recognize it. It is not exactly sure when Assad fled Syria, however, he did, with his wife and childrenand is presently residing in Russia. His accounts and assests were frozen by the British Government (where he kept his money) in December of 2011 also. Syria was expelled from the Arab League at this time, because Assad’s refusal to stop fighting with the Syrian people, and his inability to st ore the peace. Assad did agree to allow the Arab League Council to visit and inspect, howeverm their presence did nothing to end the violence.

January 2012

U.S.A., Germany, and many other countries condemned the actions of the Syrian government and called for peace. The U.N. General Asssembly voted to approve of a unbridled crackdown on President Assad’s regime. China and Russia voted against getting involved (WHY Are they in hte UN at all?? Another Blog of mine!) Rumours had been floating around that in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan Al- Qadea Cells were being formed, and there were evidence found of suicide bombing being planned through out Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon, scaring the reugees to coming. By this time, more than a million refugees had left Syria, and more missiles in Turkey. u.S.A. and The Neatherlands came into Turkey with over 600 of their Soldiers to help defend the borders of Turkey, Iran and Syria.

February 2012

The United Nations General Assembly voted to approve a resolution condeming President Assad on the uprising. China and Russia blocked all efforts for stronger security action (Why the heck are they in the UN? Another Blog!) The refugees became more tense because Al-Qaeda had moved into Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. Fears were increased when evidence was found to confirm that Al Qeada was involved in suicide bombings in relation to Syria, Turkey and Jordan.

By Summer of 2012, Syrian people had already been suffering for over a year, and Assad’s regime unrelenting. Thousands of soliders from the Syrian Army defected to the people’s side nad began large number of attacks against the government. The conflict had greatly increased the tempo, and in June of 2012 alone, more than 3,000 civilians died. (June 2011 400) This year was also the time the government rages an unrelenting campaign to systemacially wipe out tens of thousands of people that had no opportunity to leave Syria, and were thrown in prison. They are presumed to be dead. Cities throughout Syria opposition had coalesced around army groups. They identified themselves as the Free Syrian Army. From the basis of the Turkish side of the reguees camps, aide had increased, including hospitals, medical care, food and more shelter.

As the rage continues, over the last four years, one Terrorist group is named completely incorrect. People call them “ISIS” This comes from a news reporter and news anchor in U.S.A. that had grossly missed read the prompt. They are I.S.I.L. for the Islamic State of the Levant. This terrorist group is actually using the name of God and religion to kill Muslims, Arabs (Da’esh are NOT all Arabs:: Most are Kurds!!), Iranians,Turks and Shi’ites. They were originally helping the cause of the Syrian people to democracy. They are terrorists though. It is been odd, however, many Germans, Americans and British (some women) have left their homes to fight with Da’esh. There are several people fighting this war. U.S.A., France, the Neatherlands, Britian, Saudi Arabia, and a colation called the Gulf States (Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, and Kuwait) are fighting along side each other. Syrian government is fighting along side of Russia,China (China has been in there since 2011, because my husband and I saw reports of them being there, but hten you don’t hear of them in there. However, there have been reports that China illuded to being there longer than they have admitted before) Hezbollah, Iran are all fighting together. People have said that The Free Syrian Army and Arabs are killing Christians in this War. There are Christian Militias in the war, and they are made of Assyrians, Syriac Arameans, and Armenians. They are fighting along side the Syrian Government. (Poor Christians, right?) They are fighting against American Soldiers...

To date, the Syrian war has displaced 23 million Syrians. Over 7 million refugees, only 4 million have registered as a refugee, but there are over 4 million remaining to register. They are of deep concern to the U.N. most of the refugees are in Turkey, and 1.3 million have been trying to get to Europe, but they are continually being kicked out. 62% of the 1 million in Europe are in Croatia, and Serbia, and Kosvo some Germany (before Germany said no more). 27% refugees able to make it to Europe are residing in Sweden, Austria, Hungary, and Denmark. 11% all other E.U. countries. turkey has continually asked for help and have continually rovided help to the refugees. The U.N. have asked for help. It will cost over 4 billion to help these people. So far the U.N. has raised 997 million in helping the refugees.

Ages of Syrian refugees. 52% of all the Syrian Refugees are ages 0-18. 43% are ages 18-50. the remaining are 50 and older.

The Syrian heritage has been at risk for the last 5 years now. Aleppo is one of the world’s oldest civilizations going back to 4,000 BCE or older, when the Hitties resided there. Damascus was an Ancient city that is over 2,000 years old. Clips and news reels of the anicent city of Palmyra are only pictures now as it was bombed by terrorists.

The Civil War: USA, Turkey, Gulf States, Islamic Front, Fatah Halab, France, Turkmen, and many other sects.

Iran, Hezbollah, Russia, Syrian Government. (with many sects) And back up by North Korea.

My sources came from all over, and I also had personal experiences seeing it which I documented in my Journal. I also went onto Humanitrain and Civil Rights webpages for the remaining. I have done my best to write this without putting any of my personal feelings to keep it as objective as possible. this is a taste of what I blog about. I treid to not show all the political nuances because Syria has a long history, and this is the shortest version I could come up with to help you realize the severity of what is happening. I am so glad that I mayself have saved many things that were given to me by my exhusband’s mother who would sent me things from Syria. I have been able to help my daughter preserve her heritage this way. Interesting how a few years ago she told me to throw out everything from Syria. I did not listen to her, and now, there are hardly and civilians there now. Anyway, Thank you for reading this.

(My Name Here)