Syrian Refugee Questions. Question #1: Where Are The Neighbors?

By Anton Kaplenko

This is the 1st in a series of posts addressing issues surrounding the current effort by the Obama Administration to bring in an unknown number of unvetted and unverified refugees from Syria and other Middle Eastern countries.

Question 1 - Where Are The Neighbors?

Why aren't other, much wealthier, and currently stable, nations in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (57 countries) doing a thing to help these refugees?

• Syria is a member of OIC.
• Syria is a member of CAEU - Council of Arab Economic Unity.
• Syria is a member of the Arab League.
• Syria is a member of the Parliamentary Union of OIC Member States.

There are at least 4 layers of commitment that Syria shares with other nearby nations.
Syria is very close to other OOIC countries geographically.
Syrians speak the same language, follow the same religion, and have a similar culture as other OOIC countries.

Since the OIC/CAEU/AL/GCC involvement is a bit complicated, here's a diagram to explain where Syria fits in with things. Syria is the flag directly below the "Council of Arab Economic Unity" caption.

Geographically, Syria is located next to many OIC member nations. Why are the refugees being forced to travel 1000's of miles, when their immediate neighbors could help them out?

It's not like they can't afford it, either.

The combined GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the OIC is 6.87 TRILLION dollars (in terms of Purchasing Power Parity - 15.87 TRILLION).
Quatar's per-capita income is $ 108,000.
For reference, the US per-capita income is $ 53,042 - less than HALF.

These guys can afford gold-plated cars, but can't afford to help out their brethren?


It's not an issue of housing, either.
Saudi Arabia even has 3.3 million accommodation spots for the Hajj pilgrimage - permanent tents with plumbing, electricity, and air conditioning.
Why aren't these accommodations being used to house refugees?


Another aerial shot of the Hajj encampment, just to put things in perspective (image credit: Boston.com):



The hypocrisy has not gone unnoticed by online meme-makers:


So, the question is, with all this money, with all these empty spaces...

Why are the other member nations of the OIC / CAEU / GCC REFUSING to help Syrians?