Where Have 4.8 Million Syrian Refugees Gone?

The Syrian civil war has forced more than 13.5 million Syrians to flee their homes. Approximately 4.8 million have traveled beyond their national borders...

Syrian children attend an event organised by the Syrian Arab Red Crescent for New Year's eve celebrations in a rebel-controlled area of Arbeen, on the outskirts of the capital Damascus, on Dec. 31, 2015. Abd Doumany/AFP/Getty Images

The Syrian civil war has entered its fifth year with few signs of ending.

The fighting has forced more than 13.5 million Syrians to flee their homes. Most of the displaced have not left Syria, but have simply moved around the country in an attempt to get out of the way of the fighting.

But approximately 4.8 million others have traveled beyond their nation’s borders in a search for security.

In my book “Cultures of Migration,” I argue that mass migrations and refugee crises don’t simply happen. They have a history and a trajectory. That work has led me to ask: Who are the Syrian refugees? What made their migration happen?

Things We Misunderstand

Emily Costello