So why did alot of Syrian refugees go all the way to Europe instead of settling in other Muslim middle eastern nations that where both closer and had similar cultures?
So why did alot of Syrian refugees go all the way to Europe instead of settling in other Muslim middle eastern nations that where both closer and had similar cultures?
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Because european apartments were more comfortable than tents in the Turkish desert.
Extends to all other amenities and services, medical care, education, etc. All higher quality in Europe.
Plus the middle eastern countries would keep them in those camp like conditions on the expectation that they actually go back after the war ended. Europe took a much more lax stance and many of them were apparently contemplating permanent resettlement. Easier to get on with life in a place you think you can stay forever, rather than a place you know you’ll just be in limbo for an indeterminate amount of time.
Are we allowed to ask this now? When it was asked at the time we were all branded racist and deplatformed.
Well Iran already had 3.8 million Afghan refugees so there was that….
According to data, top 5 countries that are hosting Syrian refugees are Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Germany, and Iraq. Turkey has 5 times as many refugees as Germany. Lebanon with a population of 5.7 million people has more Syrian refugees than Germany with a population of 83 million.
Don’t forget that all those countries are also hosting Palestinian and Iraq refugees.
statista
About 3 million syrians lived in Turkey in December 2024. So most of them did just as you suggested.
Because it’s easier to blame the evil imperialist West living there. Of course, most people are real refugees who are seeking for freedom and safety, but many (paradoxically, mostly those, who were born in Europe) refuse to integrate into the European society and just try to restore those political and cultural "values" they escaped from…
Fact: The vast majority of syrian refugees are in middle eastern nations.
However, to your question, why many of them still went to Europe? Because the word was Europe needed immigrants, better laws, and better economic potentials.
According to UN, they do people just don’t hear about it. Because it goes against the anti-immigration stuff I assume.
Also not all refugees are Muslim so they might not want to go to a Muslim country
Edit:also according to stats, as of 2024, Iran is actually the largest refugee hosting country and only 2 European countries make top 10
Most of them went to neighbouring states. When those reached their limit, people went further. Now lets see if this thread gets brigaded by the usual anti muslim shit talk
You couldnt take 10 steps in Cairo without meeting a Syrian.
To be fair, Merkel invited them. About a million of them.
Because Europe offers more free stuff.
Uhhh they did…
A lot of them did. The ones who moved to countries like Germany might’ve done it for the welfare benefits
Most Syrians stayed nearby. Others had relatives in European countries or just hoped for a better life.
Some misinformation was spread by Al-Dschasira. I worked with unattended minor refugees in 2015 and some of them told me about it….it was spread that Germany would give every refugee an own house and 3000 Euros.
Logically their parents told them to go to Germany.
🤷♀️
But I just think it’s normal to try to find a better place to live, if you don’t know whether or when you be able to return to your home country.
Most of them do actually settle down nearby Muslim countries. And, refugees are just people, and seeking asylum is essentially also a means of immigration, so some of them have their own preferences, at a cost tho of course.
Many of them did. Additionally many of the Syrian refugees were former Iraqi refugees. At a certain point you run from nations that the US is likely to bomb or attack, so that you don’t just keep repeating the same process.
OP is probably talking about Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia.
You should see the Lebanese sub constantly complaining about Syrian refugees. There are tons of Syrian refugees there.
Cause they would probably live better lives there but the vast majority of people did not go to europe. When people are forced to flee from their homes, the majority of people will go somewhere within their home country. The second most common alternative is to flee to a neighboring country and the least common thing is to move to a country far away. Only a small part of syrians who had to flee their homes actually went to Europe
This is a good example of media bias vs reality. As others have pointed out, most Syrian refugees did end up in closer and more culturally similar countries. But between Eurocentric media coverage and politician fear mongering it doesn’t surprise me that OP has this perception.
Is there a sub for I don’t know if it’s true or not but let me just ask?
There were millions of refugees in Türkiye and Jordan.
Free money from the social systems, pretty simple.
While the name of the sub still stands, you always have to remember that before you ask a why question you must always ask yourself the question if your assumptions are actually true.
There are a LOT of Syrian refugees in middle eastern countries…most of them are there…a tiny fraction end up going to Europe for whatever reason, could be they have family there, unique circumstances, hoping for better conditions or opportunities etc
1st world Muslim countries (UAE, Qatar, Brunei) would not have them – they have stricter border and immigration policies than the west.
Lool so off base. Most are hosted in turkey. A Muslim country.
The majority of Syrain refugees are in the surrounding Muslim countries. Didn’t Jordan take over 1 million people in?
Don’t know current numbers, but 2023 every eighth person in Lebanon was a refugee.
For the same reason that a lot of people from those other muslim middle eastern nations went all the way to Europe, and very few Europeans immigrate in the other direction. Relative economic levels and standards of living. Lots of Syrian refugees did go just across the next border, but the ones that could afford to go to Europe would definitely choose that.
To profit from government benefits
Because you’re ignorant.
There’s 1.5 million Syrian refugees living in Jordan.
A lot did.
The population of Lebanon is 1/4 refugees. Similar issues with other nearby countries. But, when there’s an influx of THAT MANY PEOPLE, the economy cannot cope. Getting farther away, to a more robust economy, is the better option.
It appears to me that you have never tasted Syrian cuisine.
Funny thing about the Middle East is that it is a bit of a tumultuous area and the next country over might also have some similar issues to the one you’re in
I work a lot with Syrian refugees, being a language teacher, and I just asked them. And I got very honest answers.
The short answer: "We wanted better lives, all other places were as bad or worse, and if you reached Europe, of course you go to the best countries there"
The long answer is that for a lot of Syrians going to Saudi-Arabia, even if they were allowed to go there, would not really feel like an upgrade. A lot of Syrians, especially the Kurds, are really not that religious, and Syria is/was a lot more liberal than S-A and the Gulf states. Most Syrians I know happily drink alcohol, most young Syrian women I’ve met don’t wear a hijab over here. Compare that to how "free" countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Gulf states are. At the time the war started, women couldn’t even drive in S-A. The cultures really aren’t similar.
Plus they would also be swapping one not-democratic state for the other non-democratic state.
And probably the biggest reason is this: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-66545787 Sure, different border, but if the Saudi border guards happily kill hundreds of refugees from Ethiopia and Yemen, they would just as happily murder Syrians.
The countries that will not shoot them on sight, did get a ton of refugees, like others already pointed out. Lebanon especially has a huge percentage of refugees, I think at one point it was like 25% of the population or something. Turkey and Jordan also received a lot of refugees.
To be fair, it’s just really y Turkey in between. Lot’s went to Iraq and some moved on because you know, the US was fkn it over for a couple more years.
You say a lot, but the vast majority of Syrian refugees are living in middle Eastern countries, with I think Turkey hosting more than anyone else.
There’s literally a part of Cairo formally called Rehab that is known as “little Damascus” by people as a joke. Syrians live and work all over the place. People go where they can do that no matter where it is.
Money, rights, and protections they did not have in those closer societies.
turkey hosts a disproportionate number of refugees, there isn’t as many as you think in europe
Because in Europe we are paying them every month for existing
Where da ww at ?
Fascinating display of information bubbles
They do, in fact I think most don’t even leave the Levant.
Uh they do. Good talk
Like Where? Most of the countries around them were also being bombed Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Iran. Egypts always been in turmoil.
“Why can’t they just stay where they belong?”
Because there are lots of countries with a while guilt complex, like Sweden and Germany, who will bend over backwards to feed, house, and educate these people even though they have no interest in integrating.
Most didn’t go to Europe.
The vast majority of Syrian refugees did go to nearby countries.
When brown people show up in white people countries, it makes the news more.
They do. They also all hate each others.
West need cheap Labor
They did
Turkey, Egypt, Lebanon, and Jordan have a massive Syrian population
Saturation if local resources.
But also people like to paint Muslim countries as one big brush. But they are just and diverse and decisive as any other assortment of countries.
Why would they move from one shit hole to another shit hole?
There are a lot of Syrians now in north Africa.
Hmm have you heard of Lebanon? 😅
My guy Turkey took in 3.6M Syrian Migrants, which made the left opposition decision to campaign on full deportation, main ruling party black mails Europe for Funds or threatens to release them into Europe.
Because Europe is where the money and good life is. It’s no different from the US southern border.
People literally try to cross the Mediterranean in little boats to get to Italy, many have drowned.