Future President Syrian Refugees

Dear Future President,

The news has recently highlighted the civil war in Syria and the fleeing Syrian refugees. There are a lot of different opinions as whether the United States should let some of the refugees into the country or not. I think that we should do our part and let the Syrian refugees into our country. As Hillary Clinton said, “We cannot allow terrorists to intimidate us into abandoning our values and humanitarian obligations.” America was built as a beacon of hope, so why are we turning our backs on these people who need our help? Since the war began in 2011, about 13.5 million Syrians have fled their homes. About 4.8 million have fled to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt and Iraq. 6 million have been internally displaced in Syria. At least 386,000 have been killed. The Syrian economy has been destroyed. The environment is no longer suitable to live in, and it has many health risks not to mention violence. We need to do our part as a nation and help the Syrian people fleeing from danger, displacement, and economic hardship.

The main argument in opposition to letting refugees in, is that it will make us vulnerable to ISIS and other terrorists. Hillary Clinton also said, “Remember, many of these refugees are fleeing the same terrorists who threaten us.”Some Americans think that refugees have links to terrorists or even are part of a terrorist group themselves. Bustle studies show that since September 11, 2001, only 3 out of the 784,000 refugees American has taken in, have been linked to terrorism. The American security process is very intensive, and there is no way nor no reason that terrorists could get past it.

I have a relative that is housing a Syrian refugees family living in their garage apartment and will tell you their story. They are a family of four, with a mother, father, 12-year-old daughter and a 9-year-old son. They lived a nice life in Syria. The father was a manger. They were a middle class family. When the war broke out, they were forced to leave, so they walked for six hours at night, and they arrived into Jordan. They stayed in a camp in Jordan for four years. They applied to be placed in the US and waited four years and then were granted asylum. My aunt and uncle heard about the family through their church. Since my aunt and uncle have a garage apartment, they decided to help them out. As I was talking with my aunt, she was getting a little choked up when I asked her why she took in the family. She was expressing how when they were considering housing the refugees, she thought what if these events could happen to her own family.The Syrian family came in July and is staying with my family for a year. This is an inspiring story. This shows that we need to help the refugees. They are everyday people that are just trying to have a good life and they need our help.

In conclusion, many American families were immigrants who fled their country to come to America as a place of new beginnings. We should allow refugees into our country because they are innocent families that need the United States as a place to escape the violence of their home country.

Sincerely,

Maggie Baum