The Syrian refugee crisis and why we should care

Listen 00:48:44

Guests: Rochelle Davis and Kristele Younes

“Astonishing” and “unprecedented” are two words commonly used to describe the current Syrian refugee crisis. Since the civil war began four years ago, 11 million Syrians facing fear and persecution have been displaced from their homes. Seven million are living in difficult circumstances within the country and 4 million have fled the borders to Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon and other places in Northern Africa. The United Nations has received only a quarter of the humanitarian aid it has requested so refugees are facing cuts in food and health care services and a generation of children are unable to attend school. And neighboring countries hosting Syrian refugees are increasingly overwhelmed and unstable themselves. Today on Radio Times, how and why the Syrian refugee crisis has reached catastrophic proportions, why it matters from a geopolitical perspective, and what the U.S., Europe and the rest of the world can do to help. We talk with ROCHELLE DAVIS, professor of cultural anthropology in the Center for Contemporary Arab studies at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, and KRISTELE YOUNES, director of UN Humanitarian Affairs at the International Rescue Committee.

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