What it's really like being a Syrian refugee in Egypt

When the body of a 3-year-old Syrian child, Aylan Kurdi, washed ashore recently on the Turkish coastline, the whole world reacted. It was as if the haunting picture of a lifeless body of a child woke everyone's conscious; everyone, who somehow managed to still be humane despite the world's worsening conditions, is grieving.

The world is grieving for this child, his brother, his family, and all refugees who are seeking a safe haven from their war-torn homelands.

However, with the worsening conditions of Syrian civil war and the constant danger of ISIS, thousands upon thousands need to make a difficult choice: Leave home and possibly die on the way to "safety" or stay and get held in between the horrors of ISIS and Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The decision, though difficult, is a decision that needs to be made nonetheless. The results of that decision consist of humiliation, poverty, lack of care and food and in some cases, death.

And yet, the people who managed to make it to "safety" are still facing an uphill battle towards extreme conditions.

Some countries that are bordering Syria have opened their borders to the refugees escaping the horrors of war. Turkey has taken in 1.8 million refugees, Lebanon 1.2 million, Jordan is housing 628,427 and Egypt is now home to 133,000. Gulf countries that have an abundance of wealth, such as Kuwait, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, have taken none.

Global action, governments, politicians, NGOs, and the everyday citizen must intervene in this global crisis because many international organizations are relaying solely on donations. Without that, refugees that were able to survive a war may not necessarily survive that struggles of being a refugee in a new country.

Syrian refugees in Egypt, for instance, are facing horrific day to day up hill battle due to the fact that the Egyptian government is not providing the needed assistance to help people who have have just escaped a war torn country.

There are no shelters, no food nor medical assistance that is provided by authorities. Instead, they're left to fend for themselves by selling sweets, tissues along with other items on the street.

According to the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR), Egypt is currently home to more than 133,000 Syrian refugees. However, many of whom are in limbo due to the decline of assistance received from international organizations and foreign governments. In December of 2014, food vouchers provided by the World Food Program significantly decreased from 200 to 120 Egyptian pounds. Financial assistance from UNHCR has also decreased to the point that they can only help a certain number of people.

"The day people buy items I sell is the day I can feed my family," said Amjad, a 44-year-old father of five sitting solemnly on a chair in the middle of the street. "I came here in 2013, everything was okay in the beginning because we were living off our savings but that's all over now."

"It's difficult but life is not always easy."

"It's hard to make a life out here but I am still trying" said Adnan, a 26-year-old waiter and father of one.

Adnan came to Egypt in 2012 and at first, a gleam of hope seemed to appear.

"My family was given food and money allowance to be able to live until we settled in," he said. "When money started running low, they explained to us that we will have to be cut from program because we are young couple and will find jobs."

However, no help in finding or securing jobs for the young family took place.

Those are just a couple of the heart wrenching stories from refugees who are trying to make something out of nothing.

Socio-economical and legal statuses are causing many Syrian refugees to leave the country because many are unable to get visas or passports renewed, secure work permits. This leaves them at at risk of being jailed for being "illegal immigrants."

Other issues such as the inability to secure a proper education for children, discrimination by some Egyptians, and the inability to obtain something as simple as a birth certificate is becoming a never-ending struggle.

All these issues combined are making Syrian families urgently flee toward the Mediterranean and countries in the EU. The risk of death by drowning has become the only option for hundreds, if not thousands, of refugees that thought they could come and start over in Egypt.

There is no magical solution to the Syrian crisis or any refugee crisis for that matter. We can all go ahead and declare ends to the multiple wars that are going on but that would not even start to build up the ruined lives of millions. The whole world is moved and is calling for a reform from governments but donations to NGOs are desperately needed as the UNHCR received less than 25 percent of its targeted funding in 2015.