Since 2011, Syria has been locked in a bloody civil war between dictator Bashar al-Assaad and rebel groups, Kurdish militias and even the terrorist organization ISIS. The involvement of numerous actors has made the conflict increasingly opaque and unpredictable. Among other things, the Turkish military has waged several military offensives in the north of the country against Kurdish forces since 2016. As of 2021, activist groups report that up to 610,000 people have died, and the UN estimates that more than 300,000 civilians have died.

Large parts of the country have been destroyed and offer people neither a livelihood nor prospects for the future. More than 5 million people have fled the country, and 6.3 million are classified as internally displaced. What all refugees have in common is the precarious situation in which they find themselves, at home and abroad. The Assad government is bombarding its own population with poison gas and is increasingly destroying hospitals. The health care system is being shut down. Treatment now only takes place in small, poorly equipped underground clinics. With the earthquake of February 8, 2023, the country experiences another stroke of fate and once again suffers thousands of casualties.