Imagine being in a world where war never seems to end. One day, bombing-- the next day, chemical attacks. Imagine constantly living in fear, praying for a happy ending but to no avail. Imagine your life falling apart as you watch your family wither away one by one: screaming as you hold their flailing hands and silent when you clutch their limp fingers. Imagine not knowing why your country was plagued with death. This is what life is like for many children in Syria today. Now imagine that even in the darkest times, you still hold onto a glimmer of hope - a vision of living in peace. A refugee mission has arrived to take young Syrian children to America and you are one of those children. You weep with joy as you make your journey across the Atlantic to the freedom land. As you approach the Statue of Liberty, your heart soars. Her beautiful figure holding a gleaming lamp seems to speak the words of the New Colossus:
Imagine the tears in your eyes as you stare at the incomprehensible height of the towering skyscrapers. It was a miracle. At last, you're in the land of liberty! Finally, after going through several inspections, you await your answer. Your heart pounds, your mind turning over the thought that you were going to live in America. You were going to be safe, and you would never have to hear the sound of bombs going off again. Democracy. Freedom. The words taste sweet on your tongue. But when the officer comes out, he has a troubled countenance. "The president won't allow…" "public security…" are the only words you hear. Soon enough, you and the rest of the group are back on the boat again, heading toward Syria. Someone explains it to you on the way out: because you and the other children were Muslim, which is now lumped together with ISIS, an extremist terrorist group, you couldn't be trusted because you could somehow be a threat to national security. You stare at the Statue of Liberty through bitter tears, and somehow you knew from before that you could never have a happy ending in the United States. You drift off and awake to the sound of bombs exploding in your ears…
The Syrian Civil War has been going on since 2011, yet tensions started before when the people decided that they didn't agree with their totalitarian president, Assad. In the beginning, people adored their president, but the tides were turned when he enforced harsh rules favoring a minority group, the Alawites, over another. He also didn't help the common people when a drought plagued their crops, causing chaos in Syria. A series of revolts (known as Arab Spring) against leaders have been quickly successful in the Middle East such as in Egypt and Tunisia, so Syria decided to follow and try to overthrow their own tyrannical leader. However, the peaceful revolts suddenly turned violent when Assad used his armed forces to fire on the public. The people started to carry firearms to protect themselves, and soldiers even began to switch sides to fight with the rebels. Tensions rose even more when Russia and Iran sent troops and supplies to support Assad, their ally. Officially, in 2011, the civil war began. Even though the common people in Syria greatly outnumbered Assad and his soldiers, the combined troops from Russia and Iran helped crush the innocent citizens. Ironically, terrorist groups such as ISIS began to help the rebels defeat Assad-- not because they wanted to instill democracy but because they wanted to take over Syria themselves. This created mass confusion as to which Muslims were terrorists and which Muslims were innocent Syrian citizens. Assad actually rejoiced the fact that ISIS was fighting against him because it would make it seem like he was against terrorism and the rebels were dangerous radicals. This would prevent other countries from interfering and taking sides with the rebels.
Meanwhile, Assad's soldiers were using chemical weapons in the fight, harming many innocent Syrians. The horrible news was broadcasted all over the world. Eventually, President Obama, alarmed that the Assad and other totalitarian leaders helping him were winning the war in Syria, decided to step into the war without permission from Congress. "It was in America's best interest," he said. Because he didn't want totalitarianism to spread to Syria, he trained soldiers from the military to fight with the rebels against Assad. However, it was not clear which people were rebels and which were terrorists. In the end, America began to go after ISIS and other radical groups instead of defeating Assad. More chaos occured when America stepped in and bombed terrorist sites, killing common folk. Some theories suggested that the terrorists were using the rebels as shields and America was actually targeting their allies. This complicated war is still going on today.
This topic is important because many innocent young children and Syrian citizens are being killed daily. People theorize that the chemical weapons that they use to terrorize cities have killed more than a thousand people. Alongside the contaminated water, dangerous living conditions, and bombs, chemical gases can cause people to choke and suffocate by building up vapor in the lungs. Not only can it cause health problems, but chemical weapons can cause psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
All of the horrible situations that people in Syria went through makes me feel so humbled and grateful for what I have now. Usually I complain about getting my homework done or worry about what to pack for lunch every day. However, learning about the Syrian refugees reminds me of how there are other people in the world who don't have access to education or are starving. They need a safe place to recover and call home, and America isn't letting them in. This year, America has only allowed 11 Syrian immigrants to take refuge here, compared to 790 in the same period of time during Obama's administration. Why? 'Trump administration officials have said that tougher vetting of visitors and refugees was needed because of national security concerns,' National Public Radio states. How could young children be a threat to national security? Unfortunately, some people confuse ISIS, a terrorist group, with normal Syrian people. They think that all Syrians are radical terrorists just because they share the same race and religion as ISIS. However, the majority of Syrians have the same ideals as us and long for peace and democracy in their country. ISIS is actually causing part of the human crisis in Syria by killing innocent Syrians! It is devastating to believe that America has turned away young children who desperately needed help just because of their race. Many died because they couldn't receive the help they needed and had to return to their war-ridden country. We need to change this.
To fix this horrible problem, we need to spread awareness on this human rights issue. Many people don't know much about Syrian refugees, and if we show that their lives are at stake, we can convince more Americans to join the fight to save young children. By joining protests, writing articles about the topic, and donating money for the cause, we can help save Syrian refugees one step at a time. This is not only about Syrian refugees, but also for all the refugees and immigrants around the world who are suffering and need help. Additionally, we should make sure that America will welcome immigrants and refugees with open arms by having an efficient and thorough security-check.
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." Emma Lazarus eloquently illustrated the foundation of America in her poem: explaining that our country is built on immigrants. Everyone deserves to share the same privileges and liberties, and we should accept our brothers and sisters with open arms.
UNHCR - Refugee Agency
https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/
ACA - Arms Control (Syrian Refugee Timeline)
https://www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/Timeline-of-Syrian-Chemical-Weapons-Activity