SYRIA

In 2011, just after the Arab Spring, the Syrian civil war began. Since then, the country has experienced waves of destruction. Most recently, Aleppo saw the worst of it. In the midst of the chaos, thousands had been evacuated from the city alone, leaving the remains nearly vacant. Thousands more have been killed.

CHINA

China, home to more than 1 billion people, has been in a brutal battle with a smog problem for the last few years. Recently, the government declared a red alert in 24 cities due to the severity of the situation. The red alert enforces the closure of schools, businesses and prohibits some forms of transportation.

VENEZUELA

Since Venezuela’s oil economy crashed in 2014, the country has
suffered a major economic crisis. Venezuela is not able to support itself because the value of its currency — the bolivar — has seen a drastic decrease in the past years. In turn, the country has been unable to pay for food such as meat and bread

SOUTH SUDAN

Just a few years after attaining its independence, South Sudan entered an ethnic civil war, of which has yet to end. More than 3 million civilians have been displaced in the country or have fled it entirely. Even after multiple attempts to instate peace in South Sudan, war crimes rage on.

UKRAINE

In 2013, Ukraine witnessed protests against its president. President Viktor Yanukovych decided not to expand their economic integration with the European Union and later fled the country after heavier protests. Subsequently, Russia took over Crimea, annexing the region. This heightened ethnic tensions in the area and incited violence between Russia and Ukraine, killing around 9,000 people in the area and causing approximately one million to flee.