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Syrian refugees are just like us — it’s time we started welcoming them

I recently spent three weeks in Greece volunteering to assist Syrian and other refugees. This is what I learned: these people are just like me.
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November 28, 2016

I recently spent three weeks in Greece volunteering to assist Syrian and other refugees. This is what I learned: these people are just like me. They had homes and good lives, and loved their countries before they were turned to war zones. They had never dreamed that one day they would flee with little more than the clothes they were wearing to make a dangerous exodus with their children. Who would risk such a thing? Only people who feared for their lives and the lives of their children.

The horrible experiences of fleeing their homes and their countries and the conditions in which they are forced to live in exile are not what I am focused on, as awful as those are. I want to see us give them a future. To get their children back into school so they can build lives.

Since returning home, I have stayed in touch with some of the individuals I met. Two in particular are always in my thoughts. They are sisters; Rima* is 24 and Haya* is 19. Rima is a pharmacist and speaks English quite well. They have a brother in Germany whom they hope to join, but the rest of the family is still in Syria. Although their mother and sisters have moved to a safer area, their father remains in danger in their home town because that is where he can earn enough money to support the rest of the family and, slowly, pay smugglers to take them all out of the country.

Rima told me about their frightening journey, during which she believed she was going to die on the inflatable boat in which they crossed from Turkey to Greece. She worries constantly about her father’s safety. At the refugee camp in Chios, she and Haya live in a container shared with four other people. They were strangers before they were forced to sleep next to each other. They have no privacy and no idea of when or if they will be able to move on.

Americans think that these refugees would be thrilled and unbelievably fortunate to gain acceptance to the United States. This may be true, but what they really want is to return home to rebuild their lives in the communities they love. It doesn’t look as if that will be possible, so don’t they deserve to go somewhere to start over in safety and dignity? 

I try to imagine what I would do in a similar situation. Where would I go? What if there was no country that would take me and my family? How would I protect my children? What would I tell them? How would I explain to them that people are afraid of us, that they believe we are dangerous? 

What would you tell your children?  

I would hope for someone to offer us the opportunity to reclaim our lives. I would not want charity – I would want the opportunity to work and support my family, send my children to school. I want to give this to the refugees I met, and to all those I didn’t meet. If the United States had a sponsor system like Canada, my husband and I would sponsor families to come here. That is why I am doing what I can to support legislation that allows U.S. citizens to do this and that provides for more—many more—to be welcomed to this country.

The United States has a luxury that much of Europe does not have – we can be selective about the refugees we accept. The vetting process is so much more efficient than it was a generation ago because of technology and social media. If there is even the slightest suspicion about someone seeking entry, they can be denied. The reality remains: there are many, many families and individuals seeking refuge who are clearly no threat to our security.

How many times will our nation make policies out of fear that in retrospect are acknowledged as shameful before we learn our lessons? I have no doubt that the U.S. response to the current global refugee crisis will be added to the list which includes the internment of Japanese Americans, the refusal to accept Jewish refugees fleeing Hitler’s Europe, and the denial of civil rights for African Americans.

What is it going to take for us to open our doors to a significant number of these people who just want what we all want – to raise our families and contribute to our communities? The people I met are proud and responsible. They are teachers, engineers, pharmacists. They do not want to accept handouts. What little they still have, they want to share. They are respectful of others, and we would be lucky to have them living in our communities.

Our elected officials need to know that this is important to us, that we care about refugees and that we want policies to become more welcoming. If you care, if you know that this could be, or that at one time this was your family, reach out to your members of Congress. Call, send an email, organize others to set up a meeting so that together, we can clarify priorities and be the welcoming country our Founding Fathers established and left it up to us to fulfill. 

*Names have been changed to protect the identities of the individuals.

Gail Dratch, MSW, is a resident of Orange and a member of University Synagogue in Irvine, one of more than 200 synagogues nationwide that participates in the Welcome Campaign organized by HIAS, the Jewish nonprofit that protects refugees.

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