Original publication date: 16 Dec 2016

Five years into Syria’s civil war, the international community has come to recognize that refugees will not be returning home any time soon. The average length of major protracted refugee situations is 26 years.[10] The resources and infrastructure of Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey have been strained by the crisis, which was one of the primary reasons the European crisis of 2015 erupted. Therefore, for political reasons as well as humanitarian ones, advancing the well-being of the displaced where they are is imperative. The key to doing so is expanding access to education and employment...

...Opening labor markets to refugees is a politically sensitive matter. The United States, together with the international community, has a role to play in encouraging countries to take steps in that direction and supporting them when they do...