She was 11 years old and I was 15 when she told me, “I’m scared. I can hear explosions outside.” Her school was closed for weeks because it was too dangerous to leave the house. Her hometown was no longer a place to ride bikes around the neighborhood; it was becoming a place where exploding bombs were the norm.

Homs, Syria was becoming the center of country-wide civil war; it was the rebels versus the government and their leader Bashar al-Assad. Since 2011, the violence has only escalated in the countries. According to The Atlantic, Andrew Tabler, an expert on Syria at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, summed up the civil war in a few sentences saying, "The Syrian Civil War is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War, with over a quarter million killed, roughly the same number wounded or missing, and half of Syria’s 22 million population displaced from their homes. But more than that, Syria today is the largest battlefield and generator of Sunni-Shia sectarianism the world has ever seen, with deep implications for the future boundaries of the Middle East and the spread of terrorism.”

World Vision stated that about 12 million refugees have fled Syria, and almost half of those are children. These children are in danger and surrounded by violence, sickness, and poverty. Swedish photographer Magnus Wennman has photographed where refugee children sleep and the results have become viral. Some were born into the violence, some remember when all was well and most of the children vividly remember the bombs exploding.

Days after the Paris attacks, President Obama stated that he plans to allow 10,000 Syrian refugees into the U.S. after they receive a thorough screening. On Thursday, Nov. 19, the House of Representatives passed a bill to suspend Obama’s plan. However, according to The Examiner, Obama has stated that he will immediately veto the bill. Several state governors have said they won’t allow Syrian refugees, including Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia.

I remember coming back from class on Sept. 30 only to find out Homs had been bombed by Russia. Of course, they were targeting ISIS, but they hit my family. I remember messaging my cousin in a panic, praying she would answer.

I remember she told me that there were bombs outside. She said, “A lot of people had been hurt and they were moved to the hospital.” Most of her friends have escaped to Germany, but my family is staying.

Many of you against allowing refugees into the country have questioned why we would help refugees when there are Americans who need help. I ask you, why are you just caring about them now? Why haven’t we pushed to help them before?

To those of you saying that terrorists could penetrate our borders before anyone is accepted, they must undergo thorough security scans. Before the refugees are put through any screening, The Washington Post states that they must fall under the definition of a true refugee: “someone fleeing their home country due to a well-founded fear of persecution.” If they do, they are sent to resettlement posts overseas, where they undergo much more in-depth screenings and background checks.

By conducting in-person interviews, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services does its job in discovering every detail about every refugee.

Next time you tuck your child into bed, kiss a loved one or merely crawl into your own bed, imagine not being able to do that. Imagine that your child cannot go to sleep at night without having nightmares of explosions and gunshots. Imagine not being able to keep your loved ones safe.

John 15:12 says, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you…”