Europe has recently experienced the largest wave of migration since World War II, and many countries are wondering how to address it. Surprisingly, the most helpful country turns out to be one of the smallest. Iceland made headlines with its citizens' reaction to the issue. After the Icelandic government recently announced that it would only accept 50 refugees from Syria, citizens grew angry. Instead of channeling that anger into hate, Icelanders decided to rally together to try and help.
Bryndis Bjorgvinsdottir set up a Facebook page "Syria Is Calling." The page urges the country's welfare minister, Eygló Harðardóttir, to increase the number of Syrian refugees that will be accepted. The page has attracted thousands of Facebook users from around the world, and nearly 12,000 Icelanders have offered to house Syrian refugees.
Bjorgvinsdottir writes on the page:
"Refugees are our future spouses, best friends, our next soul mate, the drummer in our children's band, our next colleague, Miss Iceland 2022, the carpenter who finally fixes our bathroom, the chef in the cafeteria, the fireman, the hacker and the television host."
Harðardóttir has since announced that the Icelandic government will consider increasing the number of Syrian refugees allowed, causing many to rejoice. However, this news story has not only affected those in Iceland but people all over the world. Well-known figures in literature are urging other countries to join in on addressing the issue of immigration. Author J.K. Rowling recently used her Twitter account to rally supporters in Britain after the U.K. Prime Minister agreed to let more migrants into the country. Patrick Ness, an award-winning children's author, also put together a fundraiser to collect money to aid the Syrian refugee crisis. With help from other YA authors such as John Green, Rainbow Rowell, and Maureen Johnson, Ness raised over £200,000 for Save the Children in 24 hours. Although these examples of generosity and hope are extremely inspiring, there is still much work to be done. John Green recently addressed this in a recent Tumblr post, writing:
"In just under 12 hours, YA novelists and readers have raised over £120,000 to help Save the Children’s work with refugees. This is great news, and I hope we are just getting started. Donate here!
But the terrible news is still overwhelming to me.
I am heartbroken by our collective failure to assist refugees from the conflicts in Syria, Yemen, the Central African Republic, and elsewhere. I’m disgusted by the racist and dehumanizing response to the refugee crisis that we’ve seen from governments in Europe, Canada, the United States, and Australia.
Ethiopia–one of the poorest nations on earth–is currently home to more conflict refugees than the United States, Canada, or the United Kingdom. Ethiopia can help, but we can’t? Bullshit.
Those fleeing the civil wars in Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere are not someone else. They are not some mere Other that can dismiss as less fully human than ourselves. When they die, their blood is on our hands.
When the vulnerable and oppressed die because they are vulnerable and oppressed, the powerful are guilty. I’m proud of what Patrick Ness started this morning in the YA lit community, but let’s make this a beginning rather than imagining it as a solution."
The United States is now under more pressure to aid the thousands of refugees in the world, but the government and many citizens are still confused on how to tackle this issue. The good news is, though, that even we don't know when the U.S. will propose a solution, there are still ways citizens can help in the meantime. You can start by donating directly to Save the Children, an amazing organization that invests in the lives of child refugees, or join Ness' fundraiser. I encourage everyone to continue to educate themselves on this topic, learn how we can make change, and pray for the lives of those living this horrible reality. We should also pray for the governments in charge of making political decisions concerning this issue.
Here are the links if you'd like to donate! God bless!
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4...
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PatrickNess
