DAMASCUS - In No Man's Land, Middle East expert Willem Staes travels across Syria, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan and Iraq. During nine trips between August 2021 and March 2023, he will see for himself how Syrian refugees find themselves in the most hopeless situation since the Syrian revolution in 2011.
They are trapped in an invisible "no-man's land," between hammer and anvil: a country to which they cannot return, neighboring countries that no longer want to receive them, and European countries that increasingly violently deny them access. Their situation was further aggravated by the earthquakes of Feb. 6, 2023, which left a trail of death and destruction throughout the region.
An uncomfortable truth forces itself upon us: the European "model" of reception in the region is creaking and grinding at the seams. It is increasingly a castle in the sky, a mirage that some hope to see, but which does not exist in reality. Meanwhile, the total lack of solutions for Syrian refugees sowed the seeds for a new refugee crisis, with large numbers of Syrians trying to reach Europe again.
BOEK
- Titel: Niemandsland
Subtitel: Een reis dwars door de Syriëregio
Auteur: Willem Staes
Uitgeverij Ertsberg
ISBN: 9789464750300
Verschijningsdatum: Oktober 2023
Aantal pagina's: 288p
ONLINE/PRINT
- Vluchtelingencrisis? Opvang in de regio begint steeds meer een fata morgana te worden, Knack.be, oktober 2023.
- Niemandsland van Willem Staes. Het leven als vluchteling in het Midden-Oosten, De Wereld Morgen, 19/10/2023.
- De uitzichtloze situatie van Syrische vluchtelingen, Voorproevers, Radio 1, 25/10/2023.
- VRT Boekentips van de week, VRT NWS, 27/10/20023.
