Bombs demolishing neighborhoods, poverty stricken villages; devastation has rampaged the country of Syria. Today more than ever, the citizens of Syria are fleeing their homeland in search for refuge from the hostile environment that now surrounds them.  Nations such as Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan and even Greece have been swelling with an increasing number of Syrian refugees. Turkey takes the lead in numbers with a startling 1.9 million refugees.

According to an article by The New York Times, the conflict started back in March of 2011 when anti-government protests broke out in Syria against the Islamic State forces. Since then, more than 200,000 people have lost their lives. This number continues to rise daily. Roadside bombs, air attacks, kidnappings, tortures, starvation, dehydration and lack of medical attention are only a portion of the horrendously long list of reasons why Syrians are fleeing their country.

One in every five displaced persons in the world is Syrian, according to an article by CNN. The incline of Syrian refugees in the world has made history. From the time the conflict started in Syria in May 2011, the number of Syrian refugees rose from about 30,000 people to over 4 million in just four years. Amongst all of the citizens that have fled Syria in search for asylum about half of the refugees are under the age of 18. That is around 2 million children who are traveling highly dangerous distances just for water, for food, or a guaranteed safe night’s sleep.

Various families and individuals are taking the risk of traveling across the Mediterranean Sea to Greece. Even though Greece is in economical crisis, it is still a more stable environment than what Syria has to offer. Overall, most of Europe’s countries are willing to host Syrian refugees searching for asylum, yet countries such as Denmark and Hungary are reluctant to respond to asylum requests due to the fact that they simply can not keep up with the frightening numbers. According to CNN, the United States has welcomed about 1,500 Syrian refugees since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. An estimated number of 300 more are expected to be welcomed by the end of 2015.

If Syria continues in its lethal path, citizens will continue to flee the country searching for suitable homes in neighboring countries in order to escape the unfortunate lifestyle that accompanies life in Syria.