The line between economic refugee and "refugee" is blurred.
That is a FACT.
Kidnapping, extortion and murder, forces people to flee their homes and abandon businesses, such as the case of this family who escaped from an area before ISIS took hold.
This family fled for economic reasons - before they were targeted as a religions minority.
The Elia family fled before IS was a major force, but gangs from neighbouring villages had already started kidnapping local businessmen for ransom.
"People with masks on their faces came to my shop five or six times," he explained.
"Once, a car pulled up, they opened the door, but I had a friend who had a gun on him and they thought he might be too much trouble."
"That's what it was, fear of abduction," Samira, Shlimon's wife, said.
"They wanted to abduct my husband and my kids, then ask for ransom."
While they have set about rebuilding their lives, the Elia family can not escape the horror.
"There are still hostages — there's my female cousin and my male cousin from the village. They are still hostages," he said, wiping tears from his eyes.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-12-15/syrian-family-tells-of-life-living-in-tal-hemes/7031596
