some friends of ours who live and work
in Turkey with Syrian refugees about a
year and a half of go isis detonated a
suicide bomb in istanbul killing 11
people
the explosion was directly on the route
our friend matt takes to work every
morning and thankfully he wasn’t injured
but hearing this made me realize how
unstable the situation is and the danger
they face in turkey
initially my interest in the syrian
refugee crisis was prompted by a number
of stories i’ve been reading on the
humans of New York web site I was
gripped by these personal stories of
children drowning families being torn
apart and homes reduced to rubble and I
started to wonder what that meant for me
as a 14 year old girl living a happy and
comfortable life in Mamaroneck New York
I was struggling to reconcile how there
could be such upheaval on the other side
of the world while life in New York was
nothing out of the ordinary I hope that
after this talk you’ll have a better
understanding of the crisis and its
effect on Syria and its people and
whether it’s the economic policy or
moral arguments you’ll hear tonight my
deep desire is that you’ll be inspired
to take action turning this crisis
around starts with us as individuals as
communities and as a nation serious
civil unrest began almost six years ago
in March of 2011 peaceful protests
demanding democratic reforms were met
with violent responses from the
government opposition groups began to
form and although they were all fighting
to overthrow the same group of people
they were divided along the lines of
according to BBC over half of Syria’s
population of 22 million people has been
displaced by the civil war that means 11
million people are on the move 6 million
people are still in Syria and 5 million
have become refugees of these refugees
half are children
so why is this a crisis and why should
we care well four hundred seventy
thousand Syrians have died because of
this violent war that’s equivalent to
one year of experiencing a 911 attack
every other day the movements of people
from Syria combined with refugees from
Afghanistan and Iraq has resulted in the
world’s worst refugee crisis since World
War two even after hearing statistics
like these it’s impossible for me to
imagine the heartbreak tragedy and loss
Syrians have to deal with every day the
United Nations recently released a
report that detailed the cost to
children of this file of war it stated
that eighty four schools were attacked
in 2016 alone one of the teachers at
these targeted schools described his
experience he said on a clear morning
warplanes attacked a school compound
while class was still in session
they kept bombing while children and
teachers tried to flee witnesses to this
horrific assault described the body the
describe the scene as bodies being
littered on the floor and schoolbooks
mix of blood since over half of the
refugees are children it’s children who
are being affected by the poverty
disease malnutrition and exploitation
accompanying their Exodus people in
wartime situations leave quickly with
few possessions and little money as
their homes are reduced to rubble they
become desperate for food water and
medicine in addition the average price
for one seat on a transit boat costs
about 1500 US dollars and once refugees
get to the new country they’re
attempting to go to they have no legal
way to make money this puts them in a
position to easily be abused oppressed
and taken advantage of I’m going to tell
you about a Jordanian woman who brokers
marriages between young Syrian girls and
older Muslim men now the men come
looking for
twelve-year-old Syrian brides whom they
often abandon within days or weeks of
the ceremony no longer virgins the girls
are then resold at a lower price for the
next bidder in what has become a
sanctioned prostitution business
arrangement
a woman who arranged marriages for her
two daughters said as a single mother I
cannot support them
I cannot feed them I wanted to make sure
they were okay imagine being a single
mother and watching your two daughters
starve to death sometimes the solution
isn’t pretty in this case when it comes
to starvation versus sexual exploitation
for their children many parents choose
the latter but what if we could respond
to these horrific situation and urgent
needs with compassion and hope knowing
that a hundred years later it could be
our country torn apart by Civil War our
schools targeted our hospitals hit by
airstrikes our homes bombed and our
children orphaned and what if you’re a
an ocean away looked at us and demure
citing innumerable reasons not to help
us though I feel it’s our obligation as
people to address the problems caused by
this mass migration it won’t be easy
there’s a fear that terrorists will come
into countries under breath eg visas
Germany has experienced several tax by
people who came into the country as
refugees and this plays into the
mistaken motion notion that all refugees
are terrorists this is simply not the
case another fear is that refugees will
take jobs away from citizens of the host
country but in reality refugees often
take jobs in domestic and agricultural
fields which citizens are unwilling to
take therefore accepting refugees would
not increase unemployment among citizens
the opposite would actually be more
likely to occur it would boost the
economy by filling more domestic jobs
and creating an increase in purchased
consumer
an article by John Cassidy stated that
in 2015
the Turkish economy grew by 3% in
Libya’s economy grew by two percent in
the same year
far from siphoning resources away from
these countries accepting refugees
contributed to their overall economic
growth so what can I and others in the
US do to address this crisis well some
might say this is not a responsibility
we have no obligation to citizens of
another country into that point I
respectfully but firmly disagree our
country was founded on the notion that
everyone should have a safe place to
build their lives and practice their
religion ever since the war refugee
board in world war ii the u.s. standard
has been to admit those who have a
well-founded fear of persecution we
upheld this notion when we signed the
1967 protocol on refugees which defines
refugee as a person fleeing persecution
and gives them a right not to be sent
back to danger Syrians definitely meet
this criteria they’re fleeing chemical
violence conscription into local
militias government violence and
oppression by Isis on a national level
there should be legislation devoting
resources and supporting efforts to
resettle and integrate Syrian refugees
Obama’s goal of accepting 10,000
refugees was met in September of 2016
and although some peel this is an
embarrassingly low number for country of
our size and wealth others feel this
number is too high to that end our
current president Donald Trump is taking
extreme orders to restrict and limit
immigration from middle-eastern
countries via executive orders no matter
the number of refugees u.s. accepts we
cannot leave support organizations like
the United Nations and World Food
Program that are on the front lines
meeting the felt needs of refugees if I
was walking along the Long Island Sound
and I saw someone in the water drowning
wave
their arms above their head and calling
for help I would do everything I could
to save them
wouldn’t you I’d like to share a story
of someone who did just that in November
of 2015
Oscar camps and a friend to live parts
from Spain went to the coast of briefs
to see what they could do over the
thousands of refugees drowning off the
shore now you have to understand
refugees for Refugees this trip to a new
country via vote is not fun experience I
mean they’re crammed on these tiny very
dirty lifeboats that do not have the
capacity to hold this number of people
and in addition to that the boats aren’t
filled up with enough gas to get them to
the place they’re trying to go to and
therefore these boats are often left in
the middle of the ocean and the refugees
can’t swim so they sink they drown along
with the boat within two hours of
arriving at the coast of Greece the men
had stripped off their shirts thrown on
their swim fins and dove into the water
to save refugees from a sinking boat
this sparked the men to create a group
called proact Eva which goes out and
donated boats along the coasts of Greece
and lesbos to rescue refugees at sea in
one day alone per Activa rescued over
700 people when I think of active in
solution I think of this one of the
volunteer lifeguard said they are
drowning and I know what to do I know
how to save them wouldn’t you do the
same this is a question we all must ask
ourselves I’m also impressed by a few
examples of ways people help that are
closer to home some women in New Jersey
organize dinners where refugees cooked
and people could pay $50 to attend for
the cooks it was a way to meet new
people make money and connect to those
in their communities while the attendees
got to learn about new cultures and form
relationships of people they normally
wouldn’t know notably the organizers are
members of a synagogue who’s leading
efforts to acclimate refugees in New
Jersey these are just two examples of
ways people helped
as a 14 year old girl living in
Mamaroneck there’s a lot to do I’m part
of an organization called hearts and
homes for Refugees which is working
closely to support and help refugees who
have been screened and vetted by the US
Department of State to live in America
we help provide clothing household goods
and furniture for these refugee families
along with tutoring their kids to
prepare them for school and helping them
navigate the public transportation
system my friend and I also raise $700
for International Rescue Committee by
doing a bake sale
all my other friends spend Martin Luther
King Day organizing and sorting supplies
to be sent to refugees in Iraq other
things you and I can do include donating
to organizations that provide
humanitarian aid in Syria and other
countries and writing to your legislator
or senator urging them to support
refugee resettlement efforts now you may
be thinking it’s all well and good that
we should help refugees but how does
that benefit us what do we gain by
helping Syrian refugees well on a
national level we maintain our integrity
by upholding our promise to help those
seeking asylum and our country which was
founded on immigrants grow stronger by
incorporating their idea Drive and
differences into the fabric of our
nation on a community level we build
bridges and break down barriers between
differences in race religion background
and culture on an individual level we
understand and empathize with those
fleeing desperate circumstances and
it”s as individuals that hundreds of
thousands of people in Los Angeles
Seattle Chicago New York and right up to
the White House doorstep have raised
their voices protesting president
Trump’s immigration ban Americans across
the United States have made it clear
that we will be a country that accepts
welcomes and gives immigrants hope
whether it’s taking to the streets
riding to your local legislature opening
your home for a meal
even teaching one child English
individuals have made it clear that we
will fight to reclaim our national
identity as a country where refugees are
welcomed
I plan to be one of those voices I hope
you will too [Applause]