I want to talk about the resettlement of Syrian refugees in the United States of America. I want to look at the situation from a neutral standpoint that looks at the pros and cons of both sides. We need to look at the facts and then draw a conclusion, not jumping to a decision without learning from all different angles about what our options are. Let’s take a step back and clear our minds and simply look at the facts.
First, here is some background information.
World Vision says, “12 million Syrians have fled their homes because of conflict…four million are refugees.” Over half of the refugees are children. These children have needed to put their lives on hold because escaping the civil war is the most important thing right now. Millions don’t go to school. Many have witnessed terrible acts or are at risk of being exposed, leaving many families that have lost loved ones or orphans. These are children who have had to grow up too fast because of the situation they are placed in with little to no basic resources such as food, water, and clothing. Over 700,000 refugees put their lives in jeopardy by trying to reach Europe with more than 3,200 dying trying to reach there.
Why are the Syrians leaving?
Worldvision says that the three major reasons that they are escaping are violence, the collapsed government, and the promise of a better future. The violence is from the current civil war. BBC says that more 250,000 people have died since the beginning of it with 12,000 of them being children. Over 1 million Syrians have been injured because of the war. There is no stability, and many Syrians would rather risk their lives escaping to freedom than staying in their own homes. The main places that the refugees are currently located are Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, the UK, and Iraq. Most of them live in refugee camps with unsanitary conditions and many people. Most Americans cannot imagine being in this situation.
What does this have to do with the United States?
In September, President Obama announced that United States would be resettling about 10,000 Syrian refugees with the next year. The House has agreed to make a stricter system for the resettlement of the Syrian refugees. After what occurred in the terrorism attacks in Paris that left more than 130 people dead, 31 governors have said that they will not be accepting any Syrians.
Speaker of the House Paul Ryan said, "Our nation has always been welcoming, but we cannot let terrorists take advantage of our compassion. This is a moment where it's better to be safe rather than to be sorry. So we think the prudent, the responsible thing is to take a pause in this particular aspect of this refugee program in order to verify that terrorists are not trying to infiltrate the refugee population."
America’s safety is at risk. We are afraid of another act of terrorism against our country. Our people’s safety comes first, they argue, and they aren’t willing to put them at risk for the refugees. CNBC says that the United States currently has about 2,200 Syrian refugees living in the country and that the screening process takes 18-24 months “with the process continuing for many years to come.” The resettlement would have cost millions of dollars on top of our already piling debt. When our country already has a high poverty percentage, the Republican governors argue we don’t need to spend this money.
In Conclusion
I hope that you all realize that this is a complicated decision. This isn’t a simple yes or no question. There are many parts to the decision about what is supposed to happen to these 11 million people who are struggling to find new homes and start over in a new place. Saying no to the refugees is essentially put their lives at risk. But at the same time, if we did bring the Syrian refugees here, how would we afford this? I don't know the answer to solve this problem -- I just know that each side has problems. However, I do know that a decision that could determine the fate of 10,000 people needs to be considered carefully.
