WORLD HISTORY/GEOGRAPHY TUESDAY DECEMBER 1 ST, 2015 WARM UP: WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CONFLICT IN SYRIA?

VOCABULARY  Refugee—A person who leaves his or her country due to a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, political views, or membership in a particular social group.  People fleeing conflicts are also generally considered to be refugees since they are seeking refuge (safety).  Refugees have specific rights and protections under international law.  For example, refugees have the right to not be forced to return to the unsafe situation that they fled.  Refugees have the rights of security and freedom of movement.  They have the right to keep their family together.  Similarly, countries that have refugees seeking asylum in their territory have specific responsibilities under international law for the treatment of those refugees.

VOCAB  Migrant—A person who moves to a foreign country for various reasons—for example, for employment, education, or to reunite with family—usually for a year or more.  Unlike refugees, migrants do not face a direct threat of persecution or death in their home country.  Internally Displaced Person (IDP)—A person who is forcibly uprooted within his or her country but who has not crossed an international border.  IDPs may be forced from their home as a result of armed conflict, human rights violations, or natural or human-made disasters, yet remain in their country.  Host Country—The country to which a refugee relocates.

VOCAB  Asylum—Shelter or protection from danger granted by a country to someone forced to leave their home country.  Asylum Seeker—A person who has moved across international borders in search of protection and filed a claim for asylum with the host country’s government. While the government reviews the claim, the person remains an asylum seeker. If the claim is accepted, the person becomes a “refugee” in the eyes of the government.  For example, someone from Syria who is living in Germany and waiting to hear the outcome of his or her asylum application would be considered an asylum seeker.  The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)—Established by the United Nations, the UNHCR is an international organization responsible for the protection of refugees worldwide.

SYRIA

DEMOGRAPHICS  Full country name: Syrian Arab Republic  Area: 185,180 sq km (72,150 sq mi)  Slightly larger than North Dakota  Population: 22 million (pre-war)  Capital city: Damascus (pop 6 million)

DEMOGRAPHICS  Terrain:  primarily semiarid and desert plateau  Narrow coastal plain  Mountains in west

DEMOGRAPHICS  People: Arabs (90%), Kurds, Armenians, Circassians, Turks  Language: Arabic, Kurdish, Armenian, Turkish, English  Religion: 74% Sunni Muslim, 16% other Muslim, 10% Christian

DEMOGRAPHICS  Government: Military republic  President: Bashar al-Assad

SYRIA HISTORY  Syria has been a country of conflict.  Syria has been under the rule of many ancient empires.  Rome, Persia, Egypt, and Babylon  Came under Turkish rule in 1516 and remained under their control for four centuries.  Came under French occupation in  Finally gained independence in 1946.

SYRIA HISTORY  The country lacked political stability and experienced military coups.  They united with Egypt in February 1958 to form the United Arab Republic.  In September 1961 they separated and the Syrian Arab Republic was reestablished.  In November 1970, Hafiz al-ASAD, seized power in a bloodless coup and brought political stability to the country.  President al-ASAD died in July 2000, his son, Bashar al-ASAD took power.

THE SYRIAN CONFLICT  The Arab Spring-democratic uprisings that arose independently and spread across the Arab world in  The movement originated in Tunisia in December 2010 and quickly took hold in Egypt, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan.  Began in Syria in March 2011  peaceful protests quickly escalated after the government's violent crackdown, and rebels began fighting back against the regime.  12 years of oppression by Bashar al-Assad (president)  Demanded reforms  Lead to protests around the country  Military killed hundreds and imprisoned thousands  created to rebel groups  Divisions between secular and Islamist fighters, and between ethnic groups, continue to complicate the politics of the conflict  60,000 Syrians in the first 18months of conflict

THE SYRIAN CRISIS: WHO IS FIGHTING  Beginning of the war: Assad VS Rebels  Assad’s army fired shots on peaceful protestors march 2011 beginning the war  Free Syrian Army-Defectors from Assads army and rebels  Kurds enter the war Kurds enter the war  By 2013 the Middle East is split between Sunni powers supporting rebels and shiit powers supporting Assad  2012-Iran begins to back Assad  Saudi Arabia backs rebels through Turkey  Hezbollah-Lebonize Shiit group fights along side Assad  USA Involvement  April CIA trains Syrian Rebels  September Syria uses chemical weapons and US threatens air strike (major turning point in war)  ISIS Involvement ISIS Involvement  February 2014-Isis begins fighting rebels and Kurds  Russia’s involvement  Russia intervenes in sept 2015 to back Assad to fight rebels  Many disagreements between allies on who to fight and how to do it

THE SYRIAN CRISIS-REFUGEE

THE SYRIAN CRISIS: REFUGEES  Half the country’s pre-war population — more than 11 million people — have been killed or forced to flee their homes.  Bombings are destroying crowded cities and horrific human rights violations are widespread.  Basic necessities like food and medical care are sparse.  The majority of Syrian refugees are living in Jordan and Lebanon  In August 2013, more Syrians escaped into northern Iraq at a newly opened border crossing.  Now they are trapped by that country's own insurgent conflict, and Iraq is struggling to meet the needs of Syrian refugees on top of more than one million internally displaced Iraqis — efforts that we are working to support.

HOW TO GAIN REFUGEE STATUS IN THE USA  Apply through the UNHCR  Collects data  Preforms interviews  Recommends for asylum  Recommends 1%  IF recommended by UNHCR you are recommend for the vetting process  More interviews and background checks from FBI, National Counter terrorism center, Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  Begin screening by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services  Interviews, fingerprinting, health screening, cultural orientation classes  Takes months once UNHCR recommendation  As of Thursday November 19 th, 2015 the House voted for additional screening procedures including the FBI director has to sign off on each and every refugee –American Security Against Foreign Enemies Act “The United States has resettled 784,000 refugees since September 11, In those 14 years. Three resettled refugees have been arrested from planning terrorist activities..” –Migration Policy Institute (none of which resulted in attacks in US)