The Syrian War and Rwanda

The Syrian War is one of the most complex matters of our times. It has been going on for 8 years. The protests started in March 2011 as part of the Arab Spring and have now turned into a multi-sided armed conflict. The civilians are unfortunately, brutally murdered by all the groups. Any 7-year old in Syria does not know life without destruction, violence and bombs. “There are scars in children and there are scars on children that will never be erased,” said Geert Cappelaere, UNICEF director for the Middle East and North Africa when asked how the war has impacted the lives of children. The war has given way to the world’s largest refugee crisis. According to the UN, around 2.4 million children have been displaced. Most of the time these children don’t get a fairy tale ending. They live below the poverty line and live in various sub-standard dwellings. As for schooling, despite various measures taken by the host countries, many of the children do not get to go to school.

Rwanda, one of the smallest countries on the African mainland, is usually compared to Syria. The Rwandan genocide of 1994 affected the people negatively. Approximately, 500,00 to 1,000,000 Tutsis were killed in a 100-day span. An estimated 2,000,000 Rwandans became refugees. Twenty years later, the genocide affects the country. The country’s economy, birth rates and infant mortality rates are extremely poor. Environment damage is still not rectified. Most women were raped and contracted HIV. But Rwanda has risen up from the ashes. The poverty has reduced and so has the inequality. The country now boasts of intra-regional trade, urban design innovation and efficient transport links. This gives the world hope that maybe, just maybe Syria will see peace again. Rwanda has one of the world’s most progressive policies to support refugees. Rwanda believes in granting refugees the right to work and providing them with proper healthcare. Rwanda also includes the refugee children in their national education system. With one of the most effective healthcare systems in the African continent, Rwanda also supports the refugee’s healthcare systems.

Rwanda supports the following proposals for the Syrian refugees:

Flying the refugees into Rwanda, with the children, women and the ill having topmost priority. By flying them in the refugees will get instant attention and help. The children could be enrolled into schools, the ill will get treatment immediately. The women could help in the agriculture industry or they could make handicrafts, thus boosting the GDP of the country.

Although Rwanda is not a First World Country yet, it is developing. Rwanda could use the people for various purposes. Training the refugees in the field of medicine, would help. Rwanda could set up a university for the older refugees and schools for the younger ones, near their camps. This would allow the refugees to pursue their education and become skilled citizens.

Rwanda could provide a salary to the refugees, as well as clothes, food and water, making sure the basic necessities of the refugees are met. This will continue until they can stand on their own two feet, as they are treated as Rwandan citizens.

Rwanda will adopt a no discrimination policy, to make sure the refugees feel at home. They have suffered enough discrimination. Rwanda too has a bad history with discrimination, as the genocide was caused due to the division of people into the Hutus and Tutsis. This policy will help both the refugees and the Rwandans.