By Jada Lister

Over the summer, hundreds of thousands of refugees from Syria attempted to reach Europe in hopes of receiving asylum and the aid they desperately need.

The Syrian refugee crisis began in March 2011, when anti-government protests began as a part of the Arab Spring. While initially peaceful, the protests quickly escalated into violence as the movement grew and civilian Syrians formed the Free Syrian Army.

Four years later, the protests have grown into a full-blown civil war that has resulted in more than 11 million people being displaced. Over three million have fled to Syria’s neighbors Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq. Meanwhile, 6.5 million refugees are internally displaced in Syria. It is considered by the United Nations to be the world’s worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.

There have been almost 429,000 asylum applications by Syrians in Europe since 2011. Earlier this year it was predicted Germany would receive 800,000 migrants alone. The prediction has now risen to 1.5 million by the years end. The jump in applications has multiple causes.

The largest cause of the rise in applications is lack of funding. Aid programs for refugees  have been experiencing a major funding shortage, meaning those that do receive aid have to survive on US $0.40-0.50 a day.  Additionally, many refugees have found it difficult to find livelihood opportunities or to access the labor market.

Another factor has been the devastating impact on the education of young refugees. Before the war, Syrians enjoyed free and mandatory schooling. Today approximately 90,000 school-age children are not receiving formal education, with 30,000 of those accessing informal education and the remainder not receiving any education.

Many refugees in Jordan said food aid cuts were the last straw in their decision to leave. These factors, coupled with the discovery of a new route to Europe that is safer and less costly than the route across the Mediterranean, have resulted in this influx of Syrian refugees in Europe.

The new route is a short journey to the Greek Islands from Turkey, which is much safer than going from Libya to Italy.

The jump in refugees in Europe, particularly in Germany,  has taken its toll. Germany announced in August that it would allow Syrian refugees to apply for asylum regardless of how they got there after the United Nations rules were waived. This is why Germany is expecting over a  million refugees by the end of the year.  While Germany has been the most popular destination for refugees, since the inception of the crisis, it is now struggling to accommodate the ever growing number of  refugees.

German authorities don’t have the resources to quickly provide registration, health services, secure housing accommodations, or any other services incoming refugees may need. This inability to accommodate the refugees will only worsen as winter sets in.

While hundreds of thousands are still trying to seek asylum in Europe, many others are choosing to return to their worn-torn homeland. They are growing homesick and wish they had stayed in Syria. It is clear that Germany as well as the refugees are reaching their limits. And as such, only time will tell what will become of the refugees and the countries they are flocking to.