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.
