Our Home and Theirs: A Response to the Debate on Syrian Refugees
I’ve managed to remain out of the fray on this one for the first few days, but I just can’t sit quiet any longer. To provide some personal context, I just finished a community meal that my church offers free to the public every Wednesday night. This meal, in addition to seating Americans from all walks of life, also hosts many resident aliens largely because of the ESL class offered immediately after the meal. A quick scan of the room reveals families from Mexico, Colombia, India, Iran, Chad, and Myanmar. Not only are they caring for their own, but also mingling with each other, both natives and fellow internationals. Warm smiles, hugs, and heartfelt conversation filled the cold gym space with a glow of happiness I can’t describe. These people all came here in search of something better—some of them would fit the description of “refugees.” Which of course, brings me to the source of my grievance.
For me, it’s hard to view this issue any other way. But roughly half of those in my social circle whom have publicly weighed in are in complete disagreement with me. The problem is you’re wrong. You’re just wrong.
We have the potential to mitigate untold human suffering by opening our doors to the people of Syria. But you’ve let xenophobia (under the guise of patriotism and fear) lift your voice against the great American tradition of welcoming all. The reasoning behind this is flawed to the core. It all stems from fear of the “other,” whose humanity you’ve managed to minimize in your own justifications. The first problem is that fear (as an identity, not an individual response) is an un-American characteristic, at least when we’re being true to our ideals. I find it ironic that many of the loudest voices in favor of denying Syrians entry are also the most vocally supportive of our troops. You laud their bravery, risking their lives to sustain an ideal, but you are unable to show the courage to provide a safe haven for thousands when it might invite a small degree of heightened risk (infinitesimally small, but more on that later) to yourself. You have done nothing to deserve the safety and comfort you enjoy over the displaced. Nothing. Yet you’d like to claim it for your own, and prevent others from gaining access to that security you were grateful for on Veteran’s Day, but take for granted a week later.
The second problem with the fear response is that it’s simply unwarranted. There have been 325 mass shootings in the United States this year (not turning into a gun control essay, I promise), and in only one of them was the perpetrator a Muslim. He had been in the United States since age 6, and the FBI has not been able to settle on extremism as a motive. The other 324 cases were carried out by good ol’ Americans, and we obviously can’t keep them out. 9/11 didn’t need a refugee crisis, and neither did the Boston bombing. Chances are, we’ll get hit again before the problem of radical, militant Islam is wiped clean, despite the impressive job as our national security agencies and service branches are doing. There’s just no way to prevent it without dismantling the core. The same can be said about our own issues here at home, which some of you have leaned on to support your case. You say that bringing in more people will only add to our problems of hunger and homelessness. First, I’d like to offer up a quote from a humorist and former classmate:
"Why should we help any of those refugees?! We've got starving, homeless Americans here on the home front!"-person that didn't give one single [pottymouth] about 'starving, homeless Americans' a week and a half ago.
–Brandon Kline
Really, what have you done to end these tragedies here at home? If you’re already doing something about it, you realize how our institutions have come up short. The United States could entirely eliminate both homelessness and hunger by making some relatively minor budget adjustments. But the systems in place, and our willingness to help have failed to provide a lasting solution. Adding more people to the pot (who history has shown would likely become productive citizens rather quickly) will not make the problem any worse when we are the actual problem.
By closing our nation to the people of Syria, we are condemning thousands of innocent men, women, and children like the ones I ate dinner with this evening to die. Let go of your unfounded fear, and open your arms, your homes, your red, white, and blue hearts.
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
-The New Colussus, found in the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French.