after four and a half years of civil war, nearly half of syria's population has been displaced and russia's air strikes since september 30th are only making it harder for those who remain. joining me now is gale ahman, senior fellow at the council on foreign relations who just returned from the syrian-turkish border where she saw the struggles faced by refugees firsthand. thank you very much. good to see you safely back in new york. tell me your take-aways from your reporting trip to the border. >> you know, the gap between the conversation in washington and the reality on the ground for people who are seeking safety could not be bigger. you have people in washington talking about ticking time bombs or keeping syrians out and when you are on the ground, what you meet are moms who are stretching mealtimes to two a day so that they can feed their kids, moms who are fleeing barrel bombs, who have seen their children thrown from balconies on to the ground below and are really just trying to find a way to get to