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Why Welcome Refugees?
By maudeaster on 2016-01-08 11:39:39
Each night we see TV images of families risking everything to flee for their . z
lives from the carnage-filled war zones of Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Afohanistan, The danger of their j journeys, their uprooting,
tears at our hearts. The compassionate, moral case for the US welcoming refugees is a deeply human response and is also
supported by all our country’s faith traditions (see_a beautiful letter to Congress from over 400 faith leaders). But there are
also reasons to welcome refugees rooted in security concerns and the role of the US in the world. If the US cares about
lessening the appeal of terrorist groups, Washington needs to open its doors much, much wider to wars’ refugees. It isn’t just
EA AMERIC# GREAT A aA
Donald Trump whose anti-Muslim rhetoric has imade him a recruitment poster boy for
the Islamic State. Sadly, current US refugee policy also gives terrorist groups a powerful recruiting tool while undermining
US credibility and flexibility in the diplomacy so necessary to end these conflicts. The world sees Germany welcoming over
a million refugees this year, while the bigger, richer US has admitted only 2,004 Syrian refugees with shameful plans to
increase only to 12,000 in the period ahead. And even these refugees a are likely to remain in painful limbo for up to 2 years
communities taking pride in ‘ : orking together to offer temporary housing, needed
survival supplies, and welcoming support. I’d love to see our Capital District and other US communities have the
opportunity to organize to welcome Syrian refugees as well. Our public discourse, no doubt highly influenced by the
Republican field of candidates, has obsessed over potential security concerns. Recently I read a comment of a German man
which moved me greatly: he said there might be a tiny chance that a refugee might cause him harm, no doubt greatly less
than the threat of existing German hate groups, but to him there was no question that it was worth taking a little chance
when the human need was so great. We need a shift in our thinking. Global migration is an inescapable part of our future
because of unwise policy decisions in our past. There are already 60
people in the world displaced by wars and the famines and floods of climate chaos. They need homes and food and support.
And the only way to slow this flow is change our policies. We need to stop feeding the 2 big causes of migration: endless
war-making and climate change. The US is the world’s largest supplier of weapons, with sales at record levels of 36.2 10
billion in 2014. These arms shipments and US special forces, now in 85 countries, are generating war refugees every day.
And, with respect to climate refugees, the US failure to date to adopt a carbon tax reflecting the true social cost of goods is
delaying our transition to a carbon-free economy which would be a big contribution to limiting climate displacement. So
here’s my prescription: * Stoke our refugee compassion: During this holiday time I learned of one way to strengthen our
heart string connections with those fleeing war zones - my nicest present was a solar powered WakaWaka light given in my
name to help a Syrian refugee family in their journey to safety. Check this out. * Tell President Obama to increase refugee
quotas: Call 201-456-1111. * Tell Congress to end the arms sales feeding the conflicts in Syria, Iraq Yemen and
Afghanistan (more on this in future blog posts). * Tell Congress we need a carbon tax now.
