By now, everyone has heard of the Syrian refugee crisis and has formed an opinion on whether or not America should accept more refugees into the country or why America accepted refugees in the first place. One of the most heard arguments against admitting refugees is that unless allowing them to seek refuge here benefits the American people, refugees should not be permitted into the states. This argument fails to take into account the hardships and tribulations the refugees are facing on a daily basis. They have been indirectly forced to flee their homeland and their lives as they know it to seek a life of safety that their country can no longer promise them. Many European countries are also facing the decision of how many refugees to let into their borders and are seeming to have next to no opposition from their citizens on the refugees’ admittance. America, on the other hand, seems to lack any empathy and want no part in assisting these misplaced people unless there is a beneficial factor to it, which is shameful and selfish.
The U.S. has an area of 3.806 million square miles and has recently confirmed that 10,000 refugees will be processed and admitted into the states within the next year, which seems fair until you compare the numbers to other countries with much smaller land area and fewer resources and how many refugees they’ve admitted and are processing to become citizens. Germany, with a land area of only 137,903 square miles, has already admitted about 57,000 and many more are on their way to acceptance. France with 248,573 square miles, Austria with 32,386 square miles, England with 50,346 square miles as well as other countries who have significantly smaller land areas have admitted an equal, if not a larger, quantity of refugee and have promised to allow many more than a mere 10,000 in over the upcoming years. Surprisingly, no other countries seem to be complaining about the lack of benefits when admitting refugees, only the U.S.
The statistics leave me pondering, what if the tables were turned? What if there was a crisis such as the one in Syria, here in America? Would citizens be a bit more open to welcoming people who fear for their lives if they had an inside look into what they faced? If they were afraid to do anything but the norm in fear of retaliation? Always in fear’s shadow, not daring to bring attention to yourself because who knows what reaction you’d receive. What if my family could be killed at any moment? What if I left for work one day and came back to discover my house had been bombed? Would I dare rummage through the wreckage in terror that I’d see a familiar hand sticking out of the debris, floating lifeless with the wind? In our protective bubble that surrounds us, we are blind to such horror, but the refugees are seeking asylum from situations similar to these. Would we be so quick to turn a cold shoulder?
As a country based on refugees seeking a place to call home without the fear of persecution, it is laughable that now, when faced with the decision of admitting others who are in the same boat we were once in, we are so reluctant. If we are nearly as accepting as we project ourselves as American citizens to be, we would scoff at the idea letting in a mere 10,000 refugees. We would give all we could and freely offer support and solace. Instead, we cower in the fear of the unknown and stay in our boxes safe and sound, simply avoiding and turning a blind eye to the refugees suffering. Why? Because we gain nothing from it, besides the knowledge that we’ve saved who-knows-how-many lives and offered a place to call home for those who can no longer call their own country home. So much for Land of the Free, Home of the Brave, more like Land of the Hypocritical, Home of the Judgmental.
