Becky and I are now in northern Iraq. We're not far from the city of Erbil, capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, much of which is now controlled by ISIS militants. Erbil was attacked by ISIS forces last summer, but was repelled by U.S. airstrikes and Kurdish soldiers. We feel quite safe here—at least 50 miles from ISIS-controlled Mosul (where just a few days ago, ISIS militants publicly executed, by machine gun, 13 teenage boys for watching a soccer match on TV).

Lebanon's Syrian refugees are different, generally speaking, than refugees in places like Africa. Many Syrians fled from very adequate houses and farms. Some had cars, which they drove to the safer places where they now live. Some brought their savings (although many had savings stolen at gunpoint at ISIS checkpoints).