Middle East and North Africa Regional Report 2016: Going To Europe: A Syrian Perspective

The number of refugees and migrants arriving to Europe by boat reached the record
high of one-million in 2015. Most of these people departed from Turkey and were
Syrians (48% of all arrivals). 

In order to canvass refugees’ perceptions and attitudes about going to Europe DRC
Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey protection teams have conducted several informal
discussion groups with Syrian refugees. This aims to provide a more nuanced and
deeper perspective on decision making and adds to what is already known about
drivers of refugee movement out of the Middle East region – such as the constrained
protection and asylum space for refugees; restrictions on legal stay and access to
livelihoods as well as education and cuts to humanitarian assistance. As the conflict in
Syria enters its sixth year, Syrian refugees are becoming increasingly aware of the
narrowing likelihood of return to their country of origin in the short to mid-term. Thus
they start to look further afield to countries in Europe, leading to large movements of
refugees from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.