“Yearning To Be Free”: The Syrian Refugee Crisis
The refugee crisis has been one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our lifetime. While this is not an unprecedented phenomenon, the emergence of social media has forced people around the world to confront the atrocities being committed in war-torn countries and their flight from their homes. While the plight of previous refugees such as the Lost Boys of Sudan might have been ignored, the use of social media has kept the refugee crisis alive in the public consciousness. These human rights crises are still happening around the world. Men, women, and children in war torn countries are subjected to unimaginable violence and destruction. The inhabitants of these countries have seen their homes destroyed, loved ones massacred, and way of life decimated. The most poignant example of this crisis is in Syria.
The Syrian refugee crisis began with the Syrian Civil War, which originated from the Arab Spring protests in 2011. The violence escalated when President Assad of Syria answered this protest with violence. This has grown into a conflict between multiple factions including The Syrian government, ISIS (ISIL), the Sunni Arab rebel groups, and others. This civil war brought unimaginable violence to Syria and has led to its citizens fleeing their country and looking for refuge in other countries. The United Nations estimated that 11 million people have fled Syria due to the conditions in the country.
In Syria, the situation has deteriorated for its citizens. As seen on social media in the last couple of months, cities like Aleppo have been overrun by opposing factions of the Civil War and has led to the remaining civilians to be subjected to unspeakable horror. They have seen their families tortured, beaten, and killed. They have seen their homes laid to waste by artillery and have seen their lives become consumed by violence and fear. These issues have not subsided for the people who escaped their homes alive. Many Syrian refugees have been relocated to Lebanon. 70% of these refugees now live below the Lebanese poverty line. This is the same in Turkey, Jordan, and many other countries with refugee camps. The refugees have trouble finding work, which leads to their lack of ability to provide food for themselves and their families. They also have a very low standard of health and are subjected to many illnesses and diseases due to lack of sanitation in their living environment. Many refugees are starving to death and need more assistance than currently being provided. This crisis requires international assistance. UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres stated that this crisis can be mitigated if the international community steps up efforts to alleviate the suffering of the refugees. While this is a people that are deserving of help from the international community, especially the United States, this has been a contentious issue for our country. Our leaders have been debating whether there are security risks within the ranks of the refugees and whether we have an obligation to help these people. This debate reached fever pitch in recent months.
On January 27, President Donald Trump cemented this issue as a hot-button issue by signing executive order 13769 also titled “Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States.” This executive order was aimed to give the administration time to restructure the screening for refugees as well as the immigration process itself. This manifested in Section 3 which “blocks entry of aliens from Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and Yemen, for at least 90 days regardless of whether or not they have a valid non-diplomatic visa.” The countries named in the executive order have not produced anyone who has committed major attacks on the United States. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which were involved in 9/11, were excluded. If the purpose of this executive order was to stop terrorists from entering the United States, then this order misses that purpose. On February 9, the Ninth Circuit struck down this order and upheld the stay of enforcement. This is not the end of this executive order. It will likely be heard before the Supreme Court in the coming months.
This executive order has inflamed the debate about refugees and has led us to lose sight about who these refugees are. People like Donald Trump have utilized divisive rhetoric that targeted Muslims and Muslim refugees. This has done nothing but prey on our fears as a nation. We see people dying at the hands of ISIS on the news and we fall victim to fear. This is playing into ISIS’ mission to create an atmosphere of fear and tear apart the fabric of our country. The rhetoric about refugees has been toxic and categorically false. We have forgotten what these refugees have gone through and who they are. This has led us to shut down our borders and deny the refugees safety. We, as a country, cannot turn our backs on what makes America truly great; our acceptance of other people and the freedoms we afford everyone regardless of religion, race, or gender. We cannot continue to ignore this crisis and be ignorant about who it is affecting. When someone suggests a Muslim ban or national registry and you feel like it might be a good idea, look up the refugees from Syria and see who they actually are. They are not ISIS militants or dangerous people. They are people living in poverty in refugee camps who have seen their homes destroyed, family killed, and have experienced what no one should ever have to experience. They are not dangerous people, they are people in need and the sooner we realize that the sooner we will get back to our humanity and realize that we need to help these people more than ever.
Pope Francis said, “It’s hypocrisy to call yourself a Christian and chase away a refugee or someone seeking help, someone who is hungry or thirsty, toss out someone who is in need of my help.” We, as Catholics and as Americans, cannot turn our back on these refugees. We cannot let fear distract us from our duty to these refugees. We have a mandate to help the poor and destitute around the world and the refugees around the world are deserving of our help. One thing I have always found interesting is the quote inscribed on the Statue of Liberty. Inscribed on this symbol of American acceptance is, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It has always struck me that the first thing immigrants saw when they came to this country was the message that they are welcome that we understand that they come from extreme poverty, oppression, and hardship. We acknowledge that they want to achieve a new life for their family and themselves. We welcome them into our border and allow them the freedom to realize their wildest dreams and to live free from discrimination and judgment based on their ethnicity or religion. Refugees are these poor huddled masses. They have experienced unimaginable pain and as Americans, we must stay true to this message of accepting these poor huddled masses from around the world and allow the refugees to finally breathe free.
If you feel compelled to help these refugees: donate to Doctors Without Borders or other refugee charities. Call your representatives to implore them to stand up against this divisive rhetoric and oppose any restriction on our refugee acceptance programs.
Make your voice heard.
Stand up for the refugees.
Stand With refugees.
Sources:
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52893#.WKE9VGQrKWc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syrian_Civil_War#Human_rights
Images:
http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/syrian-refugees/salopek-text
http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/syrias-suffering-families/u-s-way-behind-its-goal-accepting-10-000-syrian-n552521
