The intimacy of tyranny: Syria's de facto state legitimacy
There is a refugee crisis because of Assad's use of terror to cling on to power, he's still there because foreign powers protect him, and we don't hear this explicitly because so many of the refugees rely on not being identified by this terrorist state.
"As empirical evidence of this, the Syrian refugees I interviewed across Lebanon from 2011 to late 2013, predominantly coming from the areas of the political opposition, suggest that the Syrian government’s legitimacy has been maintained through the diplomatic moves of the foreign powers, as well as the need of Syrians themselves to preserve their own life chances, professional achievements, personal satisfactions - their desire to remain “legal citizens” despite their aversion to the government. Everyday life, sometimes sees no other alternative."