Sam Hollyday's News: Photos Reveal The Brutal Reality Ignored By Trump’s Refugee Ban

Monday, January 30, 2017

Photos Reveal The Brutal Reality Ignored By Trump’s Refugee Ban

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U.S. President Donald Trump cut off immigration from several Muslim-majority countries on Friday, freezing thousands of struggling Syrians hopes of resettling in a country that has, until recently, welcomed newcomers.

The Trump administrations outright ban on Syrian refugees entering the U.S. set off international alarm bells, although it hardly came as a surprise. Throughout his election campaign, Trumpdemonized Syrians and Muslims as threats to American safety and prosperity, and even vowed to deport refugees who had already resettled in the U.S.

At a campaign rally in October 2015, Trump warned, Im putting people on notice that are coming here from Syria as part of this mass migration, that if I win, theyre going back!

There have beenno fatal terror attacks in the U.S.since 1975 conducted by immigrants from any of the seven Muslim-majority countries that Trump has targeted in his new policy.The odds of an American being killed by a Syrian refugee in a terrorist attack are 1 in 3.64 billion.

But Syrias civil war, now approaching its seventh year, has internally displaced more than 6.5 million people and forced almost 5 million more out of the country.

Neighboring nations have borne the brunt of this mass exodus, with at least 2.7 million Syrian refugees housed in Turkey, 1.07 million in Lebanon and 640,000 in Jordan. The U.S., by comparison, welcomed its 10,000 Syrian refugee in August 2016.

Syrians are living through what the United Nations has called the biggest humanitarian crisis of our time. They face constant threats of violence and abuse. As the temperatures have dropped this winter, they also contend with extreme weather conditions. Many families are homeless, living in makeshift tent cities without adequate food, water or clothing.

The following photos offer a glimpse of daily reality for thousands of men, women and children in the formerly besieged city of Aleppo, as the U.S. tightens its borders and Syrias crisis intensifies.

Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

An internally displaced Syrian girl with an amputated leg checks her phone at the Bab Al-Salam refugee camp, near the Syrian-Turkish border in northern Aleppo on Jan. 19, 2017.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A rebel fighter takes a selfie with a boy on snow-covered ground in al-Rai town in the northern Aleppo countryside on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A rebel fighter carrying his weapon stands near a hole in a wall on the outskirts of al-Bab town in Aleppo on Jan. 22.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A child plays with snow on the back of a pick-up truck in al-Rai town on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

People walk past damaged buildings in al-Rai town on Jan. 27.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A boy plays with a wheel on snow in al-Rai town on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A child plays with a broken bicycle on snow in al-Rai town on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Children play with snow near the rubble of damaged buildings in al-Rai town on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Children warm up by the fire near goods displayed for sale in al-Rai town on Jan. 27.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A boy walks near the snow-covered rubble of damaged buildings in al-Rai town on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A medic tends to the wounds of a rebel fighter who was injured by a mine on the outskirts of al-Bab on Jan. 28.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

A child walks through the rubble of damaged buildings in al-Rai town on Jan. 20.
Khalil Ashawi/Reuters

Medics tend to the wounds of a rebel fighter who was injured by a mine on the outskirts of al-Bab on Jan. 28.
To support crisis-afflicted Syrians, see The WorldPosts list of ways you can help. You can also donate to charities working in Syria via the CrowdRise widget below.

Aleppo Relief Fund on CrowdRise