We as Canadians must do more. For a nation that is supposed to be a multicultural mosaic, that is supposed to be peacekeeping worldwide, we are letting ourselves down.
Right now, there are millions of people worldwide who fear persecution and death for simply being born into countries rife with war. There are many more who have lost everything already; their jobs, homes, possessions and even their entire families.
But more specifically, right now the world has a problem with Syria and its refugees. And this is wrong.
In light of recent events in Paris, it is understandable that you may want to be wary of certain areas in the Middle East. But here’s the thing: Syrian refugees are fleeing for a reason. They, like us, fear ISIS (or if you prefer, Daesh) for what they’ve done to them. Daesh has brought all sorts of attacks from Western countries upon Syria because of their efforts to instill fear in their extremist organization.
But furthermore, the serious threat to the Syrian people is not just air strikes from foreign nations, or attacks from Daesh. It is their own government. Yes, the civil war in Syria is their true reason for leaving. An article by the New York Times from Sept. 14, titled Death in Syria, highlighted the destruction of the Syrian people.
Over 200,000 people have been killed over a four-and-a-half-year period of war between the Syrian government and insurgents in the country. More than 28,000 of these deaths are civilians who have been killed in shootings. Somewhere around 27,000 civilians have been killed because of mortar and artillery fire, while 18,866 were killed in air strikes by their government and another 8,871 are dead “After being kidnapped, detained and/or tortured.”
Almost 1,000 civilians were killed by chemical warfare and about 650 medical workers are dead because of attacks on hospitals.
And these numbers are all just estimates.
Syrian refugees are not fleeing to Canada in an effort to spread Daesh ideologies and cause harm to Canadians. They want, and deserve, to live in peace. They want to raise their families without fear of persecution for visiting a neighbour or being bombed by an airstrike while buying bread at the local market.
So do what you can to help out our newcomers. You can donate gently-used clothing to various drives here in Ottawa to help clothe them when they arrive over the next few months. Or you can volunteer your time to help integrate Syrians comfortably via groups like the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization. But whatever you do, don’t just sit there and let your phobias guide your rationale.
These people are seeking peaceful lives as Canadians. Let’s welcome them with open arms.