What conditions are refugees facing outside camps?

Some Syrians know people in neighboring countries who they can stay with. But many host families were already struggling on meagre incomes and do not have the room or finances to help as the crisis drags on.
Refugees find shelter wherever they can. People have seen families living in rooms with no heat or running water, in abandoned chicken coops and storage sheds.
Most refugees must find a way to pay rent. Without any legal way to work in Jordan and Lebanon, they struggle to find odd jobs and accept low wages that often don’t cover their most basic needs. The situation is slightly better in the Kurdish Autonomous region of northern Iraq, where Syrian Kurds can legally work. But language is still a barrier.
The lack of clean water and sanitation in crowded, makeshift settlements is an urgent concern. Diseases like cholera and polio can easily spread — even more life-threatening without enough medical services. In some areas with the largest refugee populations, water shortages have reached emergency levels; the supply is as low as 30 liters per person per day — one-tenth of what the average American uses.


The youngest refugees face an uncertain future. Some schools have been able to divide the school day into two shifts and make room for more Syrian students. But there is simply not enough space for all the children, and many families cannot afford the transportation to get their kids to school.

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This is relevant because it is the situation Alice's family is in in the show. The sisters of Alice want to go to school but can't, and the mother and father feel helpless as they can't provide.