Why Are So Many Fleeing Syria Now?

Elizabeth Dickinson, Huffington Post: After 4 Years of War, Why Are So Many Fleeing Syria Now? For Many, Support Just Ran Out.

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates -- She came from a safe city, at least by Syrian standards. Tartus is a government stronghold and home to a Russian naval base. Unlike in Aleppo, Homs and Idlib, the regime hadn't dropped barrel bombs; rebel shelling was rare. But as the years wore on, Syria's war came closer, and 28-year-old Rawia's life was filled with fear and uncertainty. When would she next eat? Would pro-regime gangs on the street decide she looked suspect?

One day not long ago, Rawia became one of the millions of Syrians who decided it was time to leave. Her reasons were complicated, and the decision broke her heart. She could see her country's youth being swallowed by the hopelessness of war as schools closed and militias ballooned. "We are losing all sort of young people, I didn't know how to support them," she says from the safety of the United Arab Emirates. As much as she wanted to stay and help, her calculation boiled down to this: The safety net she had been relying upon to survive Syria's conflict was stretched beyond its breaking point.

WNU Editor: The Syrian war is going to end one day .... but understandably .... people have lost patience. And with much of the Syrian "diaspora" now broke and/or struggling themselves .... the money has simply run out.