The current crisis in Europe over a pouring-in of Syrian Refugees began in 2006 when the worst drought on record hit Syria.

The drought affected millions of villagers who lost their farms and who moved to the cities hoping to find jobs.

However, there were not enough jobs in the city to accommodate the influx of farmers. The frustration and ensuing poverty for the villagers led to the revolutionary slogan, painted by fifteen teenage boys: “The people want to topple the regime.”

This lead to the boys’ arrest and torture, which in turn lead to anti-government demonstrations in March of 2011.

During the protests, security forces opened fire on peaceful demonstrators which created violent protests demanding the resignation of Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad.

So far, 220,000 people have been killed. There are still nearly 13 million people needing humanitarian assistance.

Four million refugees are in Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq; Germany has agreed to take 800,000 refugees and Britain and France 20,000. But the influx of refugees into Europe is still more than can be handled.

Artwork created by Giselle Hasel