Videos to Help You Understand Daesh(ISIS) and the Syrian Refugee Crisis

Now that ISIS has found their way into an active role in mainland Europe, the world’s eyes have become opened and focused upon the radical group and the refugees their conflict has displaced. But even with the abundance of coverage we’re seeing minute to minute, it is an extremely complex situation that is incredibly difficult to understand with most of us on the outside looking in. And to make matters worse, the western world’s media and public opinion seems to be nearly as polarized as those at war.

But we need to be as objective as possible if we are to ensure we’re not swayed by sensualism and propaganda. So in an attempt to give people as simple an understanding as is possible, I’ve gathered four videos of increasing complexity and detail that helped me gain some insights into the state of this crisis.

Note: I present these videos only in an attempt to demystify and set the groundwork for your future free-thinking. It is up to you to remain curious, compassionate, and open-minded.

I’d recommend this video by Kurzgesagt first as it helped me understand the factions at play the most.

This video by Vox helped fill out some of the details

Now that you have some rudimentary understanding of the conflict, now you can appreciate the horrors the refugees are fleeing from and why it is important we consider compassion over xenophobia.

Lastly, with a handful of short and sweet videos under your belt, this Vice documentary gives a much closer and in-depth look into the reality of the situation.

 

For further study, I found this guide by Vox to be helpful as well.

Again, this is only meant to be a primer to help ramp you up on your understanding of the conflict. I cannot confirm or deny the facts presented here, and cannot say bias did not play a role. However, these videos were extremely beneficial in helping me set a foundation on which I could build my own understanding.

As always, stay curious, my fellow apes.