0:00:04 > 0:00:07The scale of this summer's refugee crisis
0:00:07 > 0:00:10took much of Europe completely by surprise.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16It has stretched from the refugee camps in the Middle East,
0:00:16 > 0:00:17right through Europe,
0:00:17 > 0:00:21and now we're beginning to feel the effects here in Northern Ireland.
0:00:23 > 0:00:24Tonight on Spotlight,
0:00:24 > 0:00:28'I meet Syrians trying to rebuild their lives here...'
0:00:28 > 0:00:31That street had, like, four snipers on the same street
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and if they see anything, they're just going to shoot.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37..including one man who was trafficked here illegally
0:00:37 > 0:00:39to escape the war.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49And Declan Lawn has travelled to the refugee camps in the Middle East,
0:00:49 > 0:00:54from where the UK is due to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees
0:00:54 > 0:00:56over the next five years.
0:00:56 > 0:00:59They're just living in absolute poverty.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00As the debate rages
0:01:00 > 0:01:04about how many refugees should be allowed to come to Northern Ireland,
0:01:04 > 0:01:08we meet Syrian families, both here and in the Middle East,
0:01:08 > 0:01:10who have lived through the crisis.
0:01:30 > 0:01:32- RADIO:- 'We're taking your calls right now
0:01:32 > 0:01:35'on our top story on Talkback today. Are you worried?'
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'How best to respond to the refugee crisis
0:01:38 > 0:01:41'is a question that has been dividing politicians here
0:01:41 > 0:01:42'in Northern Ireland.'
0:01:42 > 0:01:46- RADIO:- 'Jim Allister asks how many of them are really refugees.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49'He joins us, along with the MEP, Martina Anderson.'
0:01:49 > 0:01:53'It doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a heart for refugees,
0:01:53 > 0:01:56'but it does mean that we can't let our heart rule our head
0:01:56 > 0:02:00'and that we do have to be sensible in this matter.'
0:02:00 > 0:02:03'The humanitarian response that we have had from across Ireland,
0:02:03 > 0:02:06'England, Scotland and Wales and across Europe
0:02:06 > 0:02:10'shows that the people are ahead of the politicians.'
0:02:11 > 0:02:16The response from some ordinary people here has been loud and clear.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19Like in this shop in Bangor.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22Can I throw this at you?
0:02:25 > 0:02:29These volunteers are organising donations
0:02:29 > 0:02:32for refugees who have already made it to Europe.
0:02:32 > 0:02:33Are you delivering?
0:02:33 > 0:02:36- That's ladies... - Ladies, OK, some toiletries.- Yes.
0:02:36 > 0:02:38- Coats and jackets. - Men's coats and jackets.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40Thank you very much.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44They've been overwhelmed by the response.
0:02:49 > 0:02:52Some wee kids have done a wee, just a wee gift box...
0:02:52 > 0:02:55This is "love from James."
0:02:55 > 0:02:57Just a wee shoebox.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00And there's a teddy and all in here. It's just really cute.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04Most of the donations are everyday basics.
0:03:04 > 0:03:09Scissors, deodorant, towels, shoes, men's coats and jackets.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19Two weeks after they launched their appeal,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22I called in to see how it was going.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24Wow.
0:03:24 > 0:03:26You've been busy.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29- So...- I'll put the lights on for you.- Please.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32- You've been here for two weeks? - Yeah, just over two weeks.
0:03:32 > 0:03:33And there's hundreds of boxes.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Well, actually, we've emptied this unit twice...
0:03:37 > 0:03:40- Really?- ..already, and we have other little store units.
0:03:40 > 0:03:43This is just one of around 30 collection points
0:03:43 > 0:03:45all over Northern Ireland.
0:03:45 > 0:03:50For grandmothers Elaine and her friend Marcella, it's all a bit new.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53- And did you...?- I'm actually an artist. Marcella is a drummer.
0:03:53 > 0:03:55- So...- This isn't your usual fare.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58No, well, we didn't expect it to be so mammoth.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01We were completely overwhelmed
0:04:01 > 0:04:03by the generosity of people.
0:04:03 > 0:04:05Was there a moment
0:04:05 > 0:04:08in all of this that you thought, I need to do something to help?
0:04:08 > 0:04:09Absolutely,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and I think it was the moment that everybody had in Northern Ireland.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16Photographs of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi's body,
0:04:16 > 0:04:18washed up on a Turkish beach,
0:04:18 > 0:04:22galvanised people across the world and across Northern Ireland.
0:04:23 > 0:04:27I have a two-year-old grandson, who is the light of my life
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and the moment that I saw Aylan...
0:04:30 > 0:04:33..um, on the shores...
0:04:33 > 0:04:35that was just too much to bear.
0:04:35 > 0:04:37It really was so powerful, wasn't it?
0:04:37 > 0:04:40Well, I think that little child's changed, changed the world.
0:04:40 > 0:04:43And that's his legacy.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46- That's it. - It's actually quite humbling
0:04:46 > 0:04:49to see just how much effort people have put in
0:04:49 > 0:04:54and, you know, what they've brought to donate to people who are in need.
0:04:54 > 0:04:57They saw the same pictures on the news that we saw
0:04:57 > 0:04:59and took it as a call to action,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01that whatever they could do, they were going to do it.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03And all of this stuff
0:05:03 > 0:05:07will go to France, or Hungary, or different parts of Europe.
0:05:07 > 0:05:08But in a way,
0:05:08 > 0:05:11what's happening in Europe is just the tip of the iceberg.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'Lebanon.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19'The front line of a refugee crisis
0:05:19 > 0:05:22'which dwarfs anything we've seen in Europe.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26'I'm on my way to the far north of the country,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29'to a town called Halba, near the border with Syria,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33'and a place where the nearby war casts an ominous shadow.'
0:05:35 > 0:05:38The Syrian border is just over in that direction,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40just a few kilometres.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42And it's obviously quite a tense security situation here,
0:05:42 > 0:05:46because almost everywhere you look, you can see Lebanese Army.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49In some ways, it reminds you of...
0:05:49 > 0:05:51back home, 20 years ago.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54You can't go too far without seeing...
0:05:54 > 0:05:57an army patrol, or being stopped at a checkpoint.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02'There are now 1.2 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06'a country which had fewer than six million people to begin with.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10'The Irish aid agency, Concern, is providing help
0:06:10 > 0:06:15'to 150,000 people just in this district of north Lebanon,
0:06:15 > 0:06:20'and it's working in 135 different refugee camps.'
0:06:20 > 0:06:22We're on our way to one of them.
0:06:22 > 0:06:24- You can go in. - Thank you, thank you.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27'The conditions are very basic.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32'The Lebanese Government doesn't allow large formal settlements.'
0:06:32 > 0:06:35The refugees here simply set up camp where they can,
0:06:35 > 0:06:39and the aid agencies do their best to support them.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42This place is home to about 25 families.
0:06:43 > 0:06:45'This is Osama.
0:06:45 > 0:06:49'In Syria, he was a builder with a good life.
0:06:49 > 0:06:51'Now he and his young family live here.'
0:06:53 > 0:06:55What is it like living here?
0:06:55 > 0:06:57TRANSLATOR SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:06:59 > 0:07:02It's so hard, it's the most difficult life.
0:07:02 > 0:07:06'Osama's wife shows me where they live.'
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It's dark in here.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:07:12 > 0:07:14There's no power now.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16I can...there's no power on now? OK.
0:07:16 > 0:07:20Er, at two, there will be power.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22- Hello, Assalaamu Alaikum. - Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
0:07:22 > 0:07:26And these are your children?
0:07:26 > 0:07:29- Yes, and the third one is their cousin.- Right, OK.
0:07:31 > 0:07:33Sorry, are we scaring you? I'm sorry.
0:07:33 > 0:07:38Do you find it very difficult living here with your children?
0:07:38 > 0:07:41TRANSLATOR SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:07:41 > 0:07:42Yes, in the summer,
0:07:42 > 0:07:45- they are suffering from the high temperatures.- Yes.
0:07:45 > 0:07:48And in the winter, they will be suffering from the flooding
0:07:48 > 0:07:50- and the water...- Yes.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52- ..and the mud outside.- Yes. - MOBILE PHONE RINGS
0:07:52 > 0:07:55They're just living in absolute poverty,
0:07:55 > 0:07:59which for people who were former professionals, who owned businesses,
0:07:59 > 0:08:01who owned shops...
0:08:01 > 0:08:05it's just, just such an unbelievable change in their lives.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10'Back in Syria, Abdul was a lawyer, making a good living.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14'Today, he and his family can barely afford to eat,
0:08:14 > 0:08:16'and some of his children go barefoot.'
0:08:16 > 0:08:18HE SPEAKS IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:08:18 > 0:08:22You cannot move. It's as if you are in a huge jail.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26It's from camps like these
0:08:26 > 0:08:28in countries neighbouring Syria that the UK is planning
0:08:28 > 0:08:34to accept 20,000 Syrian refugees over the next five years.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37I ask Abdul if he would consider going.
0:08:39 > 0:08:44He says he would only take his children legally, with safe passage.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47So, for now, these people are simply stuck.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50These guys are the same age as my children.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53This is just unbelievably...
0:08:53 > 0:08:55Assalaamu Alaikum.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57- Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.- Nice to meet you.
0:08:57 > 0:08:59HE LAUGHS WEAKLY
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Oh, my God, it's heart-breaking.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07'Outside, nine-year-old Kassim shows me around.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09'We don't share a common language,
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'but in this place, we don't need to.'
0:09:12 > 0:09:14So, this is where the rats...
0:09:14 > 0:09:15INDISTINCT
0:09:15 > 0:09:16Yeah, yeah.
0:09:16 > 0:09:18- Do you play football?- Yeah?
0:09:18 > 0:09:21- Yeah? You play football? Have you got a ball?- Yes.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23THEY SPEAK IN NATIVE LANGUAGE
0:09:23 > 0:09:25- The, the red.- All right.
0:09:25 > 0:09:29- I've got a ball but you have to share it with everyone, OK?- Yes.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31Will we go and get it? Let's get the ball, I'll give it to you.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33But you must share it.
0:09:33 > 0:09:35OK? Come on, let's go.
0:09:35 > 0:09:37This is for you, OK? Yeah?
0:09:37 > 0:09:39That's for you and all your friends.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46THEY SHOUT
0:09:50 > 0:09:52- Oh!- Merci, it's French.
0:09:52 > 0:09:54Oh, you're very welcome. You're welcome.
0:09:54 > 0:09:59There's not much room to play, but there's nowhere else to go.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04'Peter Anderson from Concern Worldwide in Northern Ireland
0:10:04 > 0:10:06'is used to humanitarian crises.
0:10:06 > 0:10:08'But even for him,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11'1.2 million people joining a country of six million
0:10:11 > 0:10:13'is staggering.'
0:10:13 > 0:10:16That's the equivalent of Northern Ireland taking in 400,000,
0:10:16 > 0:10:19or the UK taking in 20 million, and yet they have here.
0:10:19 > 0:10:23The Lebanese people, despite the poor infrastructure,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26the level of poverty here, they have,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30- they have accommodated these people, taken them in.- Should we be...
0:10:30 > 0:10:32trying to arrange for more
0:10:32 > 0:10:34refugees from this part of the world
0:10:34 > 0:10:37to come to the UK and to Northern Ireland?
0:10:37 > 0:10:39Is that part of the answer?
0:10:39 > 0:10:41It is, yes. Um...
0:10:41 > 0:10:45I mean, the UK Government is a very generous funder of responding
0:10:45 > 0:10:48to the Syrian refugee crisis, um...
0:10:48 > 0:10:51and we do welcome the 20,000 they've said they're going to take,
0:10:51 > 0:10:54but that needs to be constantly reviewed
0:10:54 > 0:10:58and the UK need to take in their fair share of the refugees.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Back home, others are arguing
0:11:01 > 0:11:04that Britain simply can't accommodate refugees
0:11:04 > 0:11:06on a large scale.
0:11:06 > 0:11:09The political debate is becoming about numbers,
0:11:09 > 0:11:13and what responsibilities, if any, we have to people here.
0:11:15 > 0:11:20Meanwhile, Lebanon is teetering under an almost impossible weight.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26Hi, Mum.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29Life is very different for this Syrian family.
0:11:29 > 0:11:31Food is ready.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33There, your sister, in here.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36They fled Aleppo two years ago
0:11:36 > 0:11:38and came to live in Northern Ireland.
0:11:39 > 0:11:41- What is that? - Oh, salad.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43- Ah, salad. You want salad? - Yes.
0:11:43 > 0:11:47Their four children are settled and doing well at school.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50I got 92%, but...
0:11:51 > 0:11:53..they don't say A star, they just say an A.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57- You are happy now?- Mm.- Good.
0:11:59 > 0:12:02Let's go over there, let's go over there to play.
0:12:02 > 0:12:04Dad Mahfouz now works in a factory.
0:12:04 > 0:12:07He was a dentist in Syria
0:12:07 > 0:12:10and they had a comfortable life until the war broke out.
0:12:18 > 0:12:20EXPLOSION
0:12:26 > 0:12:28DISTANT GUNSHOT AND EXPLOSION
0:12:29 > 0:12:32My husband, when he used to go to his surgery,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34it was very, very dangerous for him.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36I used to phone him every couple of minutes,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38please, where are you? Come back.
0:12:38 > 0:12:40It's bombing over, er, outside.
0:12:46 > 0:12:48EXPLOSION
0:12:48 > 0:12:51DISTANT SCREAMING
0:12:53 > 0:12:54With no electricity,
0:12:54 > 0:12:58and food and water in increasingly short supply,
0:12:58 > 0:13:00life became very difficult.
0:13:00 > 0:13:05Mahfouz found not being able to provide for his family unbearable.
0:13:05 > 0:13:07- They're eating!- Look! - Yes.
0:13:07 > 0:13:08Terrible.
0:13:40 > 0:13:42Those forced to flee the war
0:13:42 > 0:13:46ran the gauntlet of gunfire in streets like these.
0:13:46 > 0:13:50Our house was in the regime area,
0:13:50 > 0:13:52but was very close to the rebels' half
0:13:52 > 0:13:54- so it's almost like a touchline. - Yeah.
0:13:54 > 0:13:57Er, it was really dangerous...
0:13:57 > 0:13:59and...
0:13:59 > 0:14:01lots of shells, snipers,
0:14:01 > 0:14:03gunfights.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06- How close to your house was it? How...- Er,
0:14:06 > 0:14:11the rebels' barracks or check point was about, er...
0:14:11 > 0:14:13300 metres.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16The children missed a year of school
0:14:16 > 0:14:19as it was too dangerous to leave the house.
0:14:19 > 0:14:25Hamza was just nine and his sister Salam 14 when the war started.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27Every, like, whole minute, you hear boom.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29- Yeah?- Bombing, yeah.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33And every time...
0:14:33 > 0:14:34you can't sleep.
0:14:34 > 0:14:36There's no way you can sleep.
0:14:36 > 0:14:38So, at night, you could hear the shelling and the snipers?
0:14:38 > 0:14:41Yeah, sometimes, like, maybe one week,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44you hear a rocket firing.
0:14:44 > 0:14:45- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49Beside us was a facility for rocket launching.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53Yes. Like, the snipers are quite far, like a bit far away,
0:14:53 > 0:14:58but I can hear, when he shoots, I can hear the, the sound...
0:14:58 > 0:14:59What's it like, the sound?
0:14:59 > 0:15:01It's, like, erm...
0:15:01 > 0:15:06It's the sound of, like, shooting, but it's so loud,
0:15:06 > 0:15:10and after that, you hear, like, something is...
0:15:10 > 0:15:13- The wind is whistling. - Yeah.- It whistles?
0:15:13 > 0:15:14Like a whistle.
0:15:14 > 0:15:18When the family decided to escape, they were luckier than most.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21The children's grandfather, Hamza, is Syrian,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24and their grandmother, Thelma, is from Belfast.
0:15:24 > 0:15:29They met in the '60s when he was studying at Queen's University.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32Their Belfast grandmother became their ticket to freedom.
0:15:33 > 0:15:39And my husband said to me that time, "You are the only winner card."
0:15:39 > 0:15:43While the bombing was going on around her, Abir rang the Embassy
0:15:43 > 0:15:47every day to try to get passports for her family.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51I said, "We are in darkness, no water, no electricity, no nothing."
0:15:51 > 0:15:56She said, "OK, Abir", and very big bombing was outside in my area.
0:15:58 > 0:16:00And she said, "What's that noise I hear?"
0:16:00 > 0:16:03I said, "That's bombing." She said, "OK, Abir, leave now."
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I went very, very dangerous way.
0:16:07 > 0:16:09I will never ever forget that time.
0:16:09 > 0:16:11We were shaking.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13Me and my daughter, we were shaking.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14SIRENS AND SHOUTING
0:16:17 > 0:16:21My mum told me, like, my face was so yellow. I was so frightened.
0:16:21 > 0:16:22GUNSHOT
0:16:22 > 0:16:25There was snipers in every direction,
0:16:25 > 0:16:28so we have to run as fast as we can for 5km.
0:16:28 > 0:16:32- Yeah.- It was, like... - No, 1km, I think.
0:16:32 > 0:16:33But it felt so long.
0:16:33 > 0:16:35So what was it? It was a road that you had to...
0:16:35 > 0:16:40'In streets across Aleppo, gunfire could come from any direction.'
0:16:40 > 0:16:43At this side of the street, and that street had, like, four snipers
0:16:43 > 0:16:46on the same street, and if they see anything,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48they're just going to shoot, like, anything.
0:16:50 > 0:16:55And my little girl on my hand, and the snipers everywhere,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and my husband said, "Run, run!", and I said, "I can't run.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01"I'm still a woman carrying my daughter."
0:17:01 > 0:17:04And there's a good man, he said, "Give me the daughter",
0:17:04 > 0:17:06and he took the girl from my hand.
0:17:08 > 0:17:14We were very worried about my dad because he couldn't run quickly
0:17:14 > 0:17:17because he was, like, pushing the bags...
0:17:17 > 0:17:19and a sniper could shoot him at any time.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25My mum, every, like, 20 metres, "Where is your dad?"
0:17:25 > 0:17:27And when we got to the taxi and we were like,
0:17:27 > 0:17:30"Yay! We're out of here!" and the taxi told us,
0:17:30 > 0:17:33"Get in, get in, there's still snipers watching you."
0:17:33 > 0:17:36He said, "No, you're still not safe.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38"Just get in the car, close the door really quick,
0:17:38 > 0:17:40"cos we're going to go as fast as we can."
0:17:48 > 0:17:49CHATTER
0:17:50 > 0:17:54This summer, a tragic stream of people made the perilous
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and illegal journey to Europe.
0:17:58 > 0:18:02Few have been trafficked as far as Northern Ireland.
0:18:02 > 0:18:04But Rami is one of them.
0:18:05 > 0:18:10His wife and young children now live 3,000 miles away in Turkey,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13but they're never far from his thoughts.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15- You!- I love you!
0:18:15 > 0:18:16RAMI LAUGHS
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Together, they lived through a lot of the conflict in Syria.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29This shell landed in his garden.
0:18:29 > 0:18:30It didn't detonate.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38The family left Syria for Turkey.
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Then, Rami made the most difficult decision of all,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45to leave his family behind and be trafficked to Europe.
0:18:45 > 0:18:48He planned to send for them later.
0:18:56 > 0:19:02He made the journey at night on a dinghy with 30 other refugees.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05The trafficker pointed them towards the lights on a Greek island.
0:19:16 > 0:19:18Who was driving it?
0:19:18 > 0:19:19Just...
0:19:21 > 0:19:24Oh, so refugees are steering it themselves?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Point the boat towards the light and go?
0:19:35 > 0:19:38Did you know where you were going, or did you have GPS?
0:19:46 > 0:19:52The traffickers made the equivalent of £20,000 from this one boat trip.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54Rami was then trafficked onwards to Dublin,
0:19:54 > 0:19:57and finally travelled to Belfast.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00He has now been given refugee status here,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03and has applied to have his family join him.
0:20:03 > 0:20:05He says he lives in hope.
0:20:05 > 0:20:06CHILD SPEAKS
0:20:06 > 0:20:09- RAMI:- Bravo! Bravo!
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Lebanon's northern border.
0:20:16 > 0:20:20Straight ahead, Syria, a once wealthy and developed country
0:20:20 > 0:20:26that is now so devastated, that half its population has been displaced.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28So that's Syria just over there,
0:20:28 > 0:20:30so the refugees will come down into this valley and then climb
0:20:30 > 0:20:34this hill, and then they're in Lebanon, and often, they'll make
0:20:34 > 0:20:36that journey carrying their children
0:20:36 > 0:20:38with just the clothes on their backs.
0:20:42 > 0:20:45'I'm about to meet someone who did just that.'
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Hello.
0:20:47 > 0:20:49'This is Khaldye.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52'She lives here with her six children.'
0:20:53 > 0:20:56Her husband was a dentist in Syria.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01One day, three years ago, he simply disappeared.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Like millions of Syrians around the world,
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Khaldye is now struggling to survive.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32She tells me that her two eldest children, boys aged 11 and 13,
0:21:32 > 0:21:36are out at work. The pittance they earn is what allows
0:21:36 > 0:21:38their brothers and sisters to eat.
0:21:39 > 0:21:43Her two younger boys were in school until recently.
0:21:43 > 0:21:45But she's just taken them out,
0:21:45 > 0:21:49because she can no longer afford the annual tuition fee.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52So, Khaldye just told me that her two sons
0:21:52 > 0:21:54have to stop going to school next term,
0:21:54 > 0:21:59because the tuition for the year is 100,000 Lebanese pounds each.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03But if you actually do that calculation in the exchange rate,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07100,000 Lebanese pounds works out at...
0:22:07 > 0:22:10about 66,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14which is, what, about £45, £50.
0:22:14 > 0:22:17And so for the sake of that sum of money,
0:22:17 > 0:22:20those two boys won't be going to school next year.
0:22:23 > 0:22:27'It seems that what we are now looking at here in Lebanon
0:22:27 > 0:22:30'is a lost generation of Syrian children
0:22:30 > 0:22:32'who will never again sit in a classroom.'
0:22:32 > 0:22:33Hello!
0:22:33 > 0:22:36'But there are some lucky ones.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39'By the side of yet another makeshift camp,
0:22:39 > 0:22:42'this tent offers hope for a few.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44'In the sweltering heat,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48'teachers from the aid agency Concern are hard at work.'
0:22:50 > 0:22:53Over here, these four to five years olds,
0:22:53 > 0:22:56if they need to enter school, they need to pay.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58And that's impossible for many of them?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Definitely, it's very impossible for them.
0:23:00 > 0:23:01So we try our best over here
0:23:01 > 0:23:03to let them at least get some basic literacy skills.
0:23:03 > 0:23:05What are you teaching them today?
0:23:05 > 0:23:09Now, they have, they are supposed to have art, right now,
0:23:09 > 0:23:12but they are very happy with you guys here, so...
0:23:12 > 0:23:14- They're a bit distracted.- Yes. - Hello!
0:23:14 > 0:23:16Not just a bit - a lot!
0:23:16 > 0:23:20- Hello! Hello!- Hello!
0:23:20 > 0:23:22- Hello!- Hello!- Hello!
0:23:24 > 0:23:28The children in there are the lucky ones.
0:23:28 > 0:23:31There's about 2,000 children have been admitted
0:23:31 > 0:23:34to this programme run by Concern, and that's a drop in the ocean
0:23:34 > 0:23:36compared to the hundreds of thousands
0:23:36 > 0:23:38who have had their education disrupted.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41The big question for this part of the world,
0:23:41 > 0:23:43and maybe for our part of the world,
0:23:43 > 0:23:47is what is the future for them, where are they going to be?
0:23:47 > 0:23:48What is to become of them?
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Are they going to spend the rest of their lives
0:23:51 > 0:23:53living in settlements like this,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56or is there a chance of something different?
0:24:03 > 0:24:07- CHILD SINGS: - # A, B, C, D, E, F, G... #
0:24:07 > 0:24:12Five-year-old Nadin is in P2 and is learning to read in English.
0:24:12 > 0:24:16# W, X, Y and Z. #
0:24:16 > 0:24:20Big brother Ihsan is the eldest of the four children.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22For him, as an Arabic speaker,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26starting school in Northern Ireland was a big adjustment.
0:24:26 > 0:24:28- Big, yeah?- Yeah.
0:24:29 > 0:24:33It was tough at the beginning, for school,
0:24:33 > 0:24:35especially with a different language.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38You've got to translate everything.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Yeah, yeah, yeah.
0:24:40 > 0:24:45I had to translate lots of words and memorise them.
0:24:45 > 0:24:51- THEY READ IN UNISON: - I will find...things...
0:24:51 > 0:24:57- that begin with my...- With my...
0:24:57 > 0:25:00M sound.
0:25:00 > 0:25:03- Yeah. With my B sound. - Yeah, with my B sound.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08And how did the kids find it going to class
0:25:08 > 0:25:10when everything was in English?
0:25:10 > 0:25:13First of all, it was very difficult for them,
0:25:13 > 0:25:17so they need double time for their studies.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But they could do it,
0:25:20 > 0:25:24and they got very good marks in their A levels.
0:25:24 > 0:25:29- You're very proud? - Yeah. Thank God.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33# Now I know my ABC
0:25:33 > 0:25:36# Next time, won't you sing with me? #
0:25:36 > 0:25:38Yeah. Nice.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41Just two years after coming to Northern Ireland,
0:25:41 > 0:25:45Ihsan got 2 A stars and a B in his A levels.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50- Hello, how are you? - I'm fine, thank you.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53This month, he started at Queen's,
0:25:53 > 0:25:59the same university his Syrian grandfather Hamza went to in 1964.
0:25:59 > 0:26:02- This is my Queen's. - Yeah, it's nice.- Isn't it lovely?
0:26:02 > 0:26:06Yeah, it's lovely. How different did you find it?
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It is very much the same.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13All these buildings and the quarters
0:26:13 > 0:26:17are exactly what they were 50 years ago.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19- Yeah?- Exactly.
0:26:19 > 0:26:24Hamza and his wife Thelma spent most of the past 50 years in Syria,
0:26:24 > 0:26:27until the war forced them out of the country.
0:26:27 > 0:26:32It is a sad thing to leave your country after 50 years.
0:26:32 > 0:26:39What made it very, very... happy occasion,
0:26:39 > 0:26:41although it's very sad,
0:26:41 > 0:26:46is you and your mother and your father are coming here
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and you are doing a course in Queen's.
0:26:49 > 0:26:56That made my journey a bit happier.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59I know you've got to Queen's, but I don't know
0:26:59 > 0:27:03- if you will get an Irish girl. They are good girls.- Yeah.
0:27:06 > 0:27:11The question of how Northern Ireland should respond to the refugee crisis
0:27:11 > 0:27:13has prompted a lot of debate.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17- RADIO:- 'We have to feed them, we have to clothe them,
0:27:17 > 0:27:20'we have to educate them, we have to put a roof over their heads,
0:27:20 > 0:27:23'and if we don't have jobs for our own people,
0:27:23 > 0:27:26'how are we going to find jobs for these refugees?'
0:27:26 > 0:27:30'I would like to ask Martina, does she think the MLAs
0:27:30 > 0:27:35'should give their holiday homes over to the refugees?
0:27:35 > 0:27:37'They're not our problem.'
0:27:37 > 0:27:42'Why don't we let some in and we can help them
0:27:42 > 0:27:44'and just let them be on their way?'
0:27:47 > 0:27:52Like it or not, this issue isn't going to go away any time soon.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56European governments are now debating the numbers.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00But behind every number is a human story.
0:28:04 > 0:28:09In Halba, the aid workers are now gearing up for winter.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11For Concern director Elke Leidel,
0:28:11 > 0:28:15it promises to be a long and difficult few months.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18When we discuss the crisis, the refugee crisis in Europe,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22we need to see what is happening here in the Middle East.
0:28:22 > 0:28:27It cannot be that because there is now a crisis in Europe
0:28:27 > 0:28:30that part of the funding would go to Europe.
0:28:30 > 0:28:32We need the funding here.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34But what people here need most
0:28:34 > 0:28:38is an end to the war that is raging just a few miles away.
0:28:38 > 0:28:42We will not solve the crisis, not here and not in Europe.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46What is needed is a political solution to this crisis.
0:28:46 > 0:28:48And I think we need a solution very fast.
0:28:49 > 0:28:52My time in Halba is at an end.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56What's clear to me now is that there's another refugee crisis,
0:28:56 > 0:29:01beyond the European one, here, in the countries that border Syria.
0:29:01 > 0:29:04And it's even bigger in scale.
0:29:04 > 0:29:08The tide of refugees lapping at the shores of Europe
0:29:08 > 0:29:09is a big story back home.
0:29:09 > 0:29:12But it isn't the only one.