"Smartphones Bring Solace and Aid to Desperate Refugees"
“The very first thing they do is ask for Wi-Fi and charging stations so they can call family members.”

ALESSANDRA RAM

12.05.15

MAKING THE 1,300-MILE journey through Western Europe from Syria is a treacherous feat, and one that requires many tools: Water. Food. Almost bottomless perseverance. But the most important may well be the Internet, and, more specifically, a smartphone.

More than 4 million people have fled Syria’s civil war since 2011, most of them headed for the beleaguered nation’s neighbors. Faced with overcrowded camps, religious persecution, and the hostile borders of Eastern Europe, many continue on to Western Europe. More than 500,000 refugees, the majority of them from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, started arriving there in October.

Many of these displaced people rely upon smartphones to find safe passage. Maps and GPS help chart the best course. Messaging apps provide a lifeline to loved ones. Apps of every kind help find a place to sleep, translate foreign languages, offer guidance on what to pack, and help manage money. Almost every need is met with mobile.

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Continua qui: http://www.wired.com/2015/12/smartphone-syrian-refugee-crisis/