Sofia by QMC

Sofia Pippos-‐ The Challenges Of Migration Can Influence/Impact On Societies

Introduction Can you imagine what it would be like to have to leave your home country because conflict came? People like you and are forced to flee to survive, leaving the safety and security of their homes, the love of families and all aspects of the life they know. They seek safety elsewhere. Refugees are being chased out of their own country because of conflict and war. Some countries experience conflict over and over with disastrous results for the people. For my investigation, I planned to find out more about issues involved in migration. I have learned a lot about migration in my time in the Junior School so I wanted to look specifically about the impact of refugees on a country and the pressure that is put on the infrastructure of a country. Many countries are under pressure all the time because of conflict and war such as Syria. Syrian refugees are continuously under pressure with their home country being in conflict so many times. These people from Syria are moving to Lebanon and that is what I am investigating into. What is Infrastructure? Infrastructure means the basic facilities and systems of the country. This includes the water resources, buildings, jobs, energy sources, goods, services, internet and education that the country provides. This also means the services and facilities necessary for the country to function effectively and provide certain services for its population. Infrastructure can be limited by many things such as over population of the country and natural disasters. Over population of a country can happen when refugees and immigrants go to another country because they are being threatened by war or conflict. Because these refugees and immigrants are now part of a different country they need to use services and supplies that have been provided to them. Infrastructure can also be limited by natural disasters such as Earthquakes, Tectonic plates, Volcanoes and Glaciers. Infrastructure can be limited this way when these natural disasters happen and destroy parts of the home country and infrastructure. The essential parts of infrastructure that enable people to survive are food, water and shelter. Technology is also one of the mainly used parts of infrastructure. Food and water are used for people’s heath and needs, in 4

Sofia Pippos-‐ The Challenges Of Migration Can Influence/Impact On Societies

hunger, dehydration and survival. Providing Shelter for refugees can put huge pressure on countries and cities. Technology is mostly used in schools at home and to communicate on a digital screen. People also have hand held digital devices to communicate with people around their country that they are in and around the world. How does the movement of refugees put pressure on the host country? Refugees are people who are running into the next country because their life is in danger. This is because they are being threatened by war and conflict happening in their country. Refugees can also run out of their country because of natural disasters such as earthquakes that destroy infrastructure. Refugees are people who flee their home country to save their lives and survive. These people can’t take much with them, they will only take essentials with them and most likely they will leave extended family members behind in their home country. Refugees can put pressure on the host country in many ways for example jobs in the city. When Syrian refugees first come to the refugee camp they are looking to find jobs for money for their family, also for more infrastructure. Syrian male refugees are very desperate for money so they will work very hard at a job for very little money that they get paid. So the citizens of the host country don't want the refugees to take their jobs, so the Syrian male refugees aren't allowed to work. Refugees also put pressure on the host country by using limiting Refugees can put pressure on the host country in many ways for example jobs in the city. When Syrian refugees first come to the refugee camp they are looking to find jobs for money for their family, also for more infrastructure. Our guest speaker from Unicef spoke about a family in this situation so I was able to develop an understanding of families and people who face this issue. Syrian male refugees are very desperate for money so they will work very hard at a job for very little money that they get paid. So the citizens of the host country don't want the refugees to take their jobs, so the Syrian male refugees aren't allowed to work. Refugees also put pressure on the host country by using limiting their infrastructure. The Syrian refugees limit the host countries infrastructure by taking farm land to build refugee camp. Refugees also limit the host countries infrastructure by using shelter, water and food that belongs to the host country. Once refugees get the money that they need they can use it to 5

Sofia Pippos-‐ The Challenges Of Migration Can Influence/Impact On Societies

get better infrastructure for their family, but the host country only has so much they can give to the refugees. Case study Syria has been in conflict many times so more parents and children are running away to Lebanon and Lebanon is feeling the pressure in their country from all the refugees. Lebanon has made refugee camps, Lebanon made the refugee camps on the out skirts of the country because they can’t hold so many refugees is their cities. These refugee camps were made by taking away farm land and turning it in to refugee camps. The reason that Lebanon made these refugee camps on the outskirts was because all of the Lebanon cities were in the centre of Lebanon. So they sent the refugees to the rural areas of Lebanon. Lebanon did this because if all the refugees moved into the city’s they would feel too much pressure because they would be limiting Lebanon’s infrastructure. Lebanon is also smaller than Syria so for half of Syria’s population to run away to Lebanon feels a lot of pressure. This is because Lebanon might not be able to hold so many refugees because they are a smaller country. Lebanon is also running out of room for refugees in their cities but they wanted to take in more refugees so they took away the farm land on the out skirts of the country and turned it into refugee camps so the refugees had some where to stay. Lebanon and Syria are very close countries and when Syria is in danger because of conflict half of Syria’s population will run away to Lebanon because they were being threatened by conflict and war. When the Syrians go to Lebanon they become refugees and get sent to the refugee camps with supplies that are provided by the government, these include sheets and nails for shelter. The government will also tell the refugees where to go to find the refugee camps. Syria needs to stop getting themselves in conflict because there is over 100000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon and Lebanon is running out of room in the refugee camps. Lebanon's refugee camps are on the out skirts of Lebanon because not very many people owned the farm land out there. Syria is twice the size of Lebanon so Lebanon are running out of room in the refugee camps because half of Syria is equal to the size of Lebanon. Syria's population keeps lowering by the second and soon Syria will not have 6

Sofia Pippos-‐ The Challenges Of Migration Can Influence/Impact On Societies

much population because of how many times they are in conflict and war. Conclusion In conclusion, I have realised what refugees go through to leave their own countries and escape to a new one. There are significant personal challenges and as I have highlighted in my report, many challenges for host countries. While I did not get to interview any refugees from Syria, I was able to take part in conversations with Amanda Calder and Vivian Maidaborn from Unicef. Amanda works with reuniting refugee families and helps them settle when they come to New Zealand. She knows first -hand, many of the challenges that are faced by both the refugees and the host countries. Very few Syrian refugees make it to New Zealand. I have read of a story of one family who now live in Wellington. They have faced many challenges but have been well supported and are happy to be living in a peaceful country. This is a very different experiences compared to the refugees I have read about in Lebanon where there is enormous pressure on the infrastructure.

Bibliography https://en.wikipedia.org/ http://mondoweiss.net/2010/08/palestinian-refugees-in-lebanon-do-not-only-have-israelto-blame-for-their-plight https://images.google.com/ https://maps.google.co.nz/ https://www.picmonkey.com/ Vivien Maidaborn Amanda Colder Lahaza 2 UNICEF Project