1. Why are they not fighting back?
This is the most Southern question of the bunch. As a rule, Southerners think that almost any problem can be solved by fighting it hard enough. What a lot of people don't realize is that these refugees aren't soldiers, not by a long shot. They are untrained and woefully ill-equipped for any sort of fight, and even if they did choose to fight, who would they fight for and against? If they choose to fight for Syria, that means they would ally themselves with Bashar al-Assad, their friendly neighborhood dictator, who has been nothing short of a nightmare for his people, and would pit themselves against a militant group of jihad extremists. If they choose to fight for independence, they would be up against an immensely powerful man who has shown no qualms about using chemical weapons on his own civilians in the past, not to mention the fact that he's being backed by the Russian military. Against odds like these, it's no wonder that so many have fled their homes.
2. Why are the refugees leaving and looking for help instead of us going in and providing it there?
This one is quite simple to answer: it's not safe. Volunteers that go in to help with relief efforts are often attacked, kidnapped, raped, and slaughtered, usually by beheading. Assad has also stated that he will have any planes flying aid into Syria shot down. This isn't a natural disaster like an earthquake or a hurricane, where once the damage is done, it's relatively safe to go in and start working. This is an active war zone.
3. Why are so many refugees young males?
Well, that's usually how immigrant stories go. Whether it's to go and live out the "American Dream" and make their way in the world or to escape being recruited into the struggle that's ravaging their war-torn homeland, young men are usually the ones that can find work that pays enough to send money back to their families. Also, it's a bit of a different story for women in Syria right now. Most of them are Sunni, so ISIS will generally leave them alone, since they agree religiously. The young men, however, are either recruited or slaughtered.
4. Why are so many refugees doing horrible things to those providing aid?
Refusing help, spitting in the worker's faces, chanting swears, throwing poo at workers, the list goes on. Why are these the things that we hear most about? Honestly, because it gets views. Media is all about getting your stories seen, and if your stories are more interesting than the competitions', whether it be through better content or heightened shock value, then your goal has been accomplished. What they don't mention are the other 98 percent of refugees humbly asking for assistance. From a mentor of mine who has worked with relief efforts in Iraq and has gone and worked there in person, neither he nor anyone on his team had any negative experiences when interacting with the refugees. They were always grateful for the help and would try and give them something to say thank you, despite having next to nothing themselves.
