Mother nature has in all of history been known to affect many lives with ease. In competition, however, war and violence amongst mankind have towered above mother nature in the numbers in which it has taken or uprooted. In the last decade, natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean Tsunami, and the earthquake in Haiti have affected a total of approximately ten million two hundred thousand lives. The Syrian Civil War, on the other hand, has been responsible for uprooting approximately twelve million lives in a span of almost five years (World Vision). This Civil War has broken up families, and many refugees are now starving and homeless. The crisis the world now faces is how to aid these people in their time of need to lessen and prevent any further hardships for those affected. Some suggest that the United States allow refugees into our country, and some argue that the latter would be unsafe. Those that believe the United States should offer refugees passageway into America disregard the obvious threat that these potential migrants possess. However, rather than shut out these people in need completely, the United States should continue their efforts in keeping Syrian refugees out of danger.
The Syrian refugees come from mixed backgrounds and are very difficult to vet. The Biographic checks used by the state department to many seems like a solution to the previously mentioned statement. However, according to the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey the United States "can only query against that which we have collected" (Ross). Director Comey brings up an excellent and quite an obvious point. Some argue that the United States did the same in Iraq and brought many migrants and immigrants over to the homeland after and during the conflicts. However, in Iraq, the Intel on many of the people living in there was much better than in Syria and consequentially allowed for Iraqi's to be vetted quicker and brought into the country. Due to the lack of influence the United States has in Syria it makes the two countries very different and thus renders the previously stated argument as irrelevant. So, in other words, Director Comey's statement is quite true, "we can query our database until the cows come home, but nothing will show up because we have no record of them" (Ross). By not having good intel on those entering America's borders it is difficult to know for a fact that these people are not entering to harm those within the United States.
Many touch bases on the aspect of the Syrian Refugees entering the United States as being primarily combat aged men. Firstly, the previously stated fallacy has been corrected by the State Department by giving the true statistic as being "two percent are single men of combat age" (Przybyla). Furthermore, even if the argument were true, it proves very little regarding the threat that those combat aged men pose on America because it is acting on a stereotypical assumption that men pose a greater threat than women or children. Terrorism is primarily psychological and can be, therefore, accomplished by man, woman, and child. However, the issue that the world is now facing is the approximate two to three million Syrian children not attending school according to World Vision International due to the Syrian Civil War. Those children, due to the craving children have for learning, will be educated possibly by those already radicalized enough to spread terrorism to other parts of the world. The issue that America faces due to the latter is not only problematic to the current generations of Americans but future as well. So, even without looking at the moral obligation that the Syrian Refugee crisis poses one can see that it is an apparent risk to America's National Security not to help these Syrian refugees by giving them humanitarian aid and the education necessary to ensure not only America's safety but the Syrian's as well.
The United States is already well invested in sustaining the region and bringing the fighting to an end. Due to the four and a half billion dollars America has poured into Syrian relief efforts America is already well invested in doing the latter according to an article from the Wall Street Journal, written by Felicia Schwartz. If America were to halt all relief efforts today, the four and a half billion dollars would simply go to waste and consequentially lead to an uproar amongst tax payers. By continuing to fund and aid Syrian refugees, America would not only appease their citizens moral obligations but it would also render the already great deal of money invested worth the investment.
There are many sides to Syrian refugee crisis. There are some that believe that America is morally obligated to allow migrants into the borders, and there are some that think America should have absolutely no part in this Middle Eastern conflict. However, as stated in a previous paragraph, both would present America with an unnecessary National Security risk. If America were to allow these Syrian refugees into the borders, the government would have to rely on intel in Syria that the Director of the FBI has already deemed as having "gaps" (Ross). To do so would not only be unwise in regards to America's security but it would also destroy America's worldwide image as a nation willing to lend a helping hand. Furthermore, the cultural shock that Syrians would witness when entering America would be great. It would be similar to Americans being relocated to Africa. The culture is simply not the same and therefore, makes those relocated culturally isolated. According to Presidential Candidate Ben Carson, who recently visited Syria, the majority of the Syrian people do not want to leave their homes (Przybyla). The latter serves once again as a reason the United States should aid the Syrian refugees with camps that could serve as a long-term solution for the millions of refugees. Camps in Jordan, Za'atari, Lebanon, and Azraq have all taken in tens of thousands of refugees already (World Vision). During Ben Carson's visit to Syria he said he visited some camps in and around the area and was quoted saying that "the camps would need about three billion more dollars" (Przybyla) annually to remain effective in acting as a long-term solution to an exponentially growing problem. By giving the refugees physical aid, shelter, water, and clothes in said camps America could ensure a more stable environment in which the refugees are truly thankful for America's aid in their time of need.
The Syrian refugee crisis is one that must be discussed and debated due to its relevance in today's quite unstable state. Between the possible security risk that the youth could pose towards future generations as well as the moral obligation that American's and many other people face, it is necessary for American's to set the pace in lending a helping hand to those in need. By doing so, America will not only be its best interest in regards to safety but it will also represent itself as the a beacon of hope in a world in disarray, and violence.
No comments:
Post a Comment