Are Syrian and Iraqi refugees similar?

Syrian and Iraqi refugees comprise disparate religious and ethnic groups but the problems they face are universal - poverty, malnourishment, curtailment of education and employment, the all-pervasive threat of violence, and hostility from their adopted countries.

The Syrian crisis began in 2011. A confrontation between President Assad’s regime and its opponents degenerated into all-out war involving multiple armed factions, including Hezbollah, Al-Qaeda affiliates and Islamic State. Civilians have inevitably been caught in the middle of what is often a three-way confict between Assad's army and their militia allies, 'moderate rebels' and jihadists. 6.6 million Syrians have been displaced internally while 4.8 million have fled to Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. Around a million Syrians have requested asylum in Europe.

Iraqis have been forced to flee on many occasions - the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), the Gulf War (1991) and the US-led invasion of 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime. Far from bringing stability after the ousting of its dictator, the collapse of the Iraqi state prompted sectarian strife between Sunnis, Shias and Kurds. Some 4 million Iraqis have fled this bloodshed. Ironically, Syria was once a haven for Iraqi refugees. In 2007 the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated 1.2 million Iraqi refugees were living in Syria, the majority in the capital, Damascus.

The UNHCR has reported higher than average neuropsychiatric disorders among both Iraqi and Syrian refugees in transit camps, as well as increased instances of strokes, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, and schizophrenia. The main thing displaced Iraqis and Syrians have in common is that there is little evidence of an end to the unrest that will allow them to return home.