In February 2016, Richard Flanagan was invited to Lebanon, Greece and Serbia by the international aid organisation, World Vision, to witness and report on the refugee crisis.
There’s a lot of talk about the refugee problem. I don’t see it. I see a politician problem. I see people who have no morality, no ethics, beyond their own advancement… (Richard Flanagan approx. 39 mins)
51 minute interview here:
Flanagan’s essay “Notes on the Syrian Exodus” is here:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/05/great-syrian-refugee-crisis-exodus-epic-inconceivable-witness-lebos-islamic-state
Onesimus Files 
Interesting how men who didn’t really speak Arabic, other than a few words, suddenly showed up from all over the world. And Russia is stirring things up on the internet, so the west will leave its principles.
Exactly !
Some thoughts on “the politician problem” of Syria: https://cross-purposes.blogspot.com/2016/12/syria.html
I recently read another book abut the crisis in Syria. The writer lived in a small town that was taken over by Daesh (Islamic State). At first they seemed to be a good thing for the town, bringing order where there had been violent and disruptive rivalry between different anti-government groups in addition to attacks by Assad forces; and then an increasing number of foreigners flooded in to join the original Arab speaking members, and things changed, and the extreme violence we are now familiar with began.
Thanks for that link Steve.
A journalist granted a rare recent interview with President Assad.
http://www.npr.org/2017/02/10/514566875/yahoo-news-reporter-interviews-syrian-president-bashar-al-assad