The middle east has been in turmoil for years, civil war and religion disputes have led to radicalized groups taking control of most of the region. Right now there are approximately 13. 5 million Syrians that are in need of humanitarian assistance and 4. 6 million Syrians that are refugees. Half of that 4. 6 million are children. Countries like Germany, Sweden, Turkey, and Egypt have already begun to accept Syrian refugees.
Allowing people who are fleeing their country is what the United States was built on and how the country was founded, we should allow Syrians to enter, following what we have done in the past that has made our country what it is today. Although certain Syrian refugees may disrupt our national security, they should still be allowed to come into the country because the large majority of them will not be terrorists and the country was founded on the idea that refugees seeking safety can come to the United States to escape danger and start a new life.
Many Syrians are in trouble and need a place to flee the radicalized religious war in the middle east. Cristina Silva, an author at the International Business Times website wrote, “The war has killed more than 200,000 people, cut life expectancy by 20 years and displaced more than half of the country’s population of 21 million people” (“Why are people fleeing Syria? ”). People are not just leaving because they feel like it. Thousands of people are dying and it does not show signs of stopping anytime soon.
In the 1770’s the United States was being founded on the main idea that it should serve as a beacon for those whose countries were in trouble or civil unrest just like Syria and the rest of the Middle East. For the United States to not allow them in would be going against the very idea that started this wonderful country. In an article on Mercycorps. org they shared some frieghtning stats about the crisis in the middle east: “Half the country’s pre-war population — more than 11 million people — have been killed or forced to flee their homes” (“Quick Facts: What You Need to Know about the Syria Crisis”).
The middle east is deteriorated now. The portion of that 11 million that has been forced out of their homes definitely does not want to stay in the country because their family was either killed or their house was destroyed so they have no reason to stay. It is highly unlikely that the people whose house was destroyed will be fleeing to other countries just to commit terrorist acts there.
If one is fleeing their country in search for a new life to support what family they have left, the ideal thing not to do would be to carry out a terrorist attack. The middle east is not stable, constant war and religion disputes make it a very hard place to live and I do not blame the people there for wanting to leave. If the United States wants to reduce terrorism, we should focus not on the individual but on the environment they are raised in. The United States not letting refugees is exactly what the radicalized groups of the middle east want.
Simon Cottee, an author from The Atlantic wrote an article addressing “What Motivates Terrorists” in the article he wrote, “The scholarly consensus now holds that the roots of terrorism lie not in the individual, but in the wider circumstances in which terrorists live and act” (The Atlantic). If a child is raised in a very unstable environment, then they will not be taught the basic morals of life and may lash out in a radical way. Civil war causes many children to live their lives as orphans which leads them to think what they want to think and side with a radical terrorist group.
Terrorists do not come from a red brick, white picket fence home. If young refugees that are orphaned in Syria could be moved to a more suitable location like the United States than they would be so much less likely to perform a terrorist act. In 2015 Dan Merica, an author from CNN Politics recalled Hillary Clinton saying “Trump “is supplying [ISIS] with new propaganda” and “playing right into their hands” (“Hillary Clinton Says US Can Stop ISIS Recruiting Online”). The statements senators have been made such as ones by Donald Trump regarding the refugee problem fuel Isis.
The United States rejecting fleeing refugees would make it to where Isis would have more potential recruits that could one day try to destroy the country that rejected them. If we were to look back in history to the 1770’s, the British Empire was run by a very dictative king who did not allow his people to have their own religion; This made people revolt and leave, resulting in the creation of the United States that served as a safe haven for people of all ethnicities and races all around the world to flee to.
This resulted in creating the most powerful and well known country in the world. History is known best by being useful for repeating itself, we should indeed let Syrian refugees in and “make America great again”. Focusing on giving aid to those in need and providing places for fleeing refugees to stay will be the first and most important step to the most prevalent issue in today’s society: Terrorism. Many United States senators and governors claim that letting refugees into the country puts our national security in danger because letting them is directly related to a rise in terrorism.
Owen Daniels, a researcher for Middle East Peace and a writer for the Huffington Post shared a very eye opening statistic, “The US has resettled nearly 800,000 refugees since September 11, 2001, and only three have been arrested for activities related to terrorism” (Daniels). Saying that you are scared for Syrian refugees to come in the country because some could be a terrorist is not a good argument because if 800,000 have been let into the country since 2001 and only three have been arrested.
The number of people who are not terrorists compared to the number that are not is of no comparison, if we join forces with our allies, we will be able to keep the few bad refugees at bay. Refugees should not be denied access to the United States out of fear because while so few are looking to create ruckus, all most all of them are simply looking for places to start a new life. As a society we are ignorant to think that a race is responsible for terrorist acts, what makes it worse is that one of the main political parties that leads our country believes the same thing.
Eric Bradner and Ted Barrett of CNN wrote, “Republicans, however, are stressing the security concerns posed by the potential influx of people from the war-torn country” (“Republicans to President Barack Obama: Keep Syrian Refugees out”). Republicans claim that refugees are a threat to our society because they result in terrorism, that they can’t take that “risk”. Well by not letting the refugees in you are denying millions of women and children who have just lost everything, they are trying to start over their lives and we as a ally should be honored to let them resettle here after what they have been through.
The people coming from these war torn countries are not trying to start a war. They have just survived their own war in which they may have lost their belongings, family members, or even their homes. The refugees are looking for a safe place to stay and it is the idea of letting refugees of disputed territories into the United States that formed our country as we know it. The argument that some people have said that refugees have a threat to our national security somewhat right, but there are many other civil liberties that “endanger” our national security such as cars for instance.
Automobile accidents are one of the leading causes of death every single year, but we don’t ban it because there is a possible threat, the way we feel about refugees should be that way too. The bottom line about the Syrian refugee crisis is that an overwhelmingly large section of the refugees are harmless and are seeking places to start a new life. The settlers in the late 1700’s had been doing just that; trying to start a new life, and leave all of the war, homelessness, and prejudice of their corrupt society.
So, if we truly want to make America great again we should stop turning down the families and the hardworking men and women that had to fight to get where they are. We should stop keeping the millions of refugees from getting into our country and start making real steps in the right direction by letting them in and changing the environment that they are raised in, to prevent future terrorism.
