The Foreign Service Journal, April 2016

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | APRIL 2016 27 island, usually Lesbos in the north or Kos if they are departing from farther south. They board inflatable rafts, wooden boats and even jet-skis under the cover of night. Many eventually migrate from Greece to other Western European countries. We paint a picture of the realities for these migrants and for border security and humanitarian actors trying to address the issue. January 2016—Progress, Albeit Slow I have worked on a Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, where I didn’t have official days off, and thought I understood fatigue. But the work in Turkey lacks any sort of routine. I find myself living and working from a suitcase; I travel 80 percent of the time. While I miss some of the mundane activi- ties of normal life, this rewarding yet exhausting job continues to enchant me. During the past few months, world leaders have focused on the refugee and migration crisis, and we are making progress, albeit slowly. By the end of 2015, approximately 300,000 Syrian children were enrolled in school. The government of Turkey passed regulations giving Syrians limited permission to work. Donor countries pledged increased amounts to assist in crisis response. However, the problems continue. Turkey now hosts more than 2.5 million registered Syrian refugees, a few hundred thou- sand who are unregistered, and another 250,000 Iraqi, Afghan and Iranian refugees. I arrived in Turkey to work as a one-person refugee-coordinator shop to oversee a few million dollars of assistance, but I am now helping set up a five-person office in addition to handling increased political reporting, emergency response and program oversight. More long days and weekend work are in my future, but those efforts are more than worth it when I see suffering people being assisted with the things they need to live a self-sufficient life with dignity. n Made up of Turkish and Syrian youth, the soccer teams offer opportunities for friendships and common links to develop.