The document discusses the background of the refugee crisis in Europe. It explains that millions of Syrians have fled the ongoing civil war in their country and sought refuge in neighboring countries like Turkey and Lebanon or traveled further to Europe. However, conditions in refugee camps in countries bordering Syria are inadequate, prompting many refugees to undertake dangerous journeys to reach countries in Western and Northern Europe like Germany and Sweden for greater safety, opportunities, and resources. This mass migration movement has strained resources and caused political tensions among European countries over how to handle and share the responsibility of hosting large numbers of refugees.

1. MIGRATION
AND THE
REFUGEE CRISIS
BACKGROUND
CONTEXT
Picture credit:Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

2. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
1. Most of the migrants are
from Syria, where conflict
between the government and
different groups has resulted
in violence. A civil war has
been going on since 2011.
Syria’s president Bashar al-
Assad has dropped dynamite
and poisonous gas on towns
that oppose him. Some of the
groups fighting the president
are just as bad at harming
other people; one of them,
Islamic State, sometimes
commits very violent acts.
Picture credit: Tammam Azzam

3. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
2. Both the Syrian government
and Islamic State commit violence
against people because they
disagree about politics or religion,
or belong to a different ethnic
group.
The civil war has forced millions
of Syrians out of their homes.
Picture credit: Tammam Azzam

4. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
3. If you are a
refugee, fleeing
because your home
country is too
dangerous for you,
other countries are
supposed to let you
in. If you are
seeking more
money or a better
life then other
countries can send
you back.
Picture credit: Malcolm Chapman / Shutterstock.com

5. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
4. Countries close
to Syria such as
Turkey and
Lebanon are often
the first countries
that Syrian
refugees travel
through.
Picture credit: Guilhem Alandry

6. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
5. 1.14 million refugees and asylum seekers
live in camps in Lebanon. By the end of this
year the number of asylum seekers and
refugees in Turkey could be 1.7million.
Picture credit: Procyk Radek / Shutterstock.com

7. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
6. Many Syrians have
already spent years
in refugee camps in
countries bordering
Syria. They are
coming to Europe
because those
camps do not have
enough food or good
schools, and you
cannot get a job
there.
Picture credit: Procyk Radek / Shutterstock.com

8. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
7. Most of the world’s
governments,
including Britain and
all the European
countries, promised
to allow refugees to
stay in their
countries.
They signed a treaty,
which is a kind of
written promise,
called the 1951
Refugee Convention.
Governments that
have signed the
Refugee Convention
must take in refugees
because they made
this promise.
Picture credit: Alexandre Rotenberg / Shutterstock.com

9. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
8. Asylum seekers are
supposed to ask for
asylum in the first
European country they
land in. This is often Italy
or Greece.
Picture credit: Anna Pantelia/Save the Children

10. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
9. Migrants arrive in
Greece on small
rubber motorboats
from Turkey, just a
few miles from the
Greek islands. To get
to Italy they take
larger boats across
the Mediterranean
Sea from Africa. It is
very dangerous.
When the sea is
rough, sometimes the
boats sink. Many
people have drowned
making this journey.
Picture credit: Anna Pantelia/Save the Children

11. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
10. Most refugees
coming to Europe do
not want to stay in
Italy or Greece,
where the economy
is bad and jobs are
hard to find.
Picture credit: Photoman29 / Shutterstock.com

12. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
11. Refugees and
economic migrants
want to get to
countries like
Germany and
Sweden because
the economy is
good and the
governments there
let them work for a
living.
Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

13. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
12. Germany and
Sweden are
members of the
European Union, a
kind of club for
countries which is
also known as the
EU for short.
Countries that are
members of the EU
agreed to have open
borders with each
other. This means it
is easy to travel from
one EU country to
another.
Picture credit: Istvan Csak / Shutterstock.com

14. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
13. Migrants have been
moving up from Greece
and Italy towards
Germany, using ferries,
trains, buses or simply
walking. Some of them
walk hundreds of miles
with small children.
Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

15. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
14. Some
countries in
central and
Eastern Europe,
where there are
few Muslims, do
not want to
accept any
Muslim refugees.
These countries
have either tried
to build fences on
their borders or
simply pushed
the refugees
quickly along
towards other
countries.
Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

16. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
15. Germany has agreed to accept all the refugees who arrive, while sending
economic migrants back. They expect between 800,000 and 1.5 million
refugees will arrive in their country this year, and another million next year.
Picture credit: d13 / Shutterstock.com

17. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
16. Britain has
agreed to accept
20,000 refugees but
they will not accept
refugees that have
already arrived in
Europe.
Instead, Britain will
only offer asylum to
Syrian refugees
currently living in
refugee camps in
countries outside the
EU, such as Turkey
and Lebanon.
Picture credit: Anna Pantelia/Save the Children

18. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
17. Many people think it is right to
help the refugees but some are
afraid. When migrants travel to a
new country they bring different
values, different religions and
different laws too. These
differences can cause conflict.
Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

19. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
18. In many Middle
Eastern countries
men and women are
not equal, religions
other than Islam are
not accepted and gay
people are treated
unfairly. Many people
are concerned that,
because of this,
refugees will not fit
in and conflict will
happen.
Picture credit: Anna Pantelia/Save the Children

20. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
19. Some Europeans are
angry that their governments
spend money on migrants.
Refugees will cost Germany
about 10 billion euros (7.5
billion pounds) next year. But
others say that the refugees
will make Germany richer in
the long run, once they get
jobs and start working and
spending money.
Germany wants the rest of
the countries in the European
Union to help by taking in
some of the migrants.
Picture credit: Janossy Gergely / Shutterstock.com

21. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
20. The European
Union has made a
rule that 160,000
migrants must be
spread among
different European
Union countries.
Picture credit:Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children

22. MIGRATION AND THE REFUGEE CRISIS
Background context
21. Britain is a
member of the
European Union,
but it has a special
deal that lets it out
of anything to do
with migration, so it
does not have to
accept any of the
refugees if it
doesn’t want to.
Picture credit: Louis Leeson/Save the Children