In late September of last year a photograph of Aylan Kurdi, a young Syrian refugee, broke American news, bringing a huge amount of focus to the crisis. The photo captured the harsh and tragic reality that children, women and men were facing when attempting to flee from their war-ridden world. Americans finally saw and realized that thousands of families were/are fleeing the civil and international war raging in Syria, because of this truly heartbreaking photograph. While most people became aware of the severity of the crisis in 2015, the crisis actually began in April 2011 when Syrian citizens began to emigrate into neighboring countries such as Lebanon and Turkey. Over the last five years, the crisis has intensified greatly leaving millions of people without a home. As I continue with this article, I will ask you to ignore the complicated politics of this issue. I understand that the war, both civil and between Russia, and an array of middle eastern countries is exceedingly intricate, however, I beg of you to look at this as a humanitarian crisis, not a political agenda. Think of them as people, not an election debate question.
The definition of a refugee is "a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster." The Syrian Refugee Crisis has left 13.5 million people in need of urgent humanitarian aid and at least 250,000 people dead. That means that there are more people who are in desperate need of food, survival supplies, medical care or resettlement than there are people in countries like Cuba, Portugal, Sweden, Ireland and New Zealand. 4 out of 5 Syrian refugees are women and children. The idea that all these people are terrorists, and fleeing in order to attack western countries is not only detrimental to the refugees but also blatantly racist rhetoric. Too many politicians have objected to offering aid or resettlement opportunities due to Syria's geographic location, and the somehow inherent connotation with terrorism. These people are fleeing war, famine, airstrikes and bombings. They are being forced to leave their homes, and it appears to me that too many Americans have forgotten that our nation was founded on refugees. Our country was meant to be a safe haven for people fleeing from all forms of danger and instead we have found ourselves engaging in circular political arguments while children die.
Since the child washed up on the beach, there have been a few videos and pictures on social media that have shown the painful and devastating reality of the remaining Syrian population, especially those in Aleppo. One of the videos that I think shows how truly horrific conditions was posted by CNN this last weekend. This child is not a terrorist, he has just (hopefully) survived yet another bombing.
It is absurd that just five countries support 4.5 million refugees, and the U.N's humanitarian appeal for financial support was only 61% funded by the end of 2015. These people need our help and we, as a nation and as a global community, have failed to offer even enough food or shelter to so many people. I would hope that if something like this were to happen to me, my family, and my fellow citizens, we would be offered the aid that we have all failed to offer the Syrians. While talking about these issues is a vital part of creating change, and to reiterate a terrible cliche, 'actions speak louder than words'. Make donations to worthy organizations, and get in contact with your local representatives and senators to inform them that this is a serious problem. They need to know that you want there to be serious conversations about this at all levels of government. Our actions will help stop this kind of human rights violation. So, here's a list of some options for organizations to donate to. I know that throughout this piece I have neglected to address the complicated and difficult international politics that are at play, but too often people forget that when we discuss the Syrian Refugee Crisis we are discussing human lives.
