Summary Of 'The Drowned Boy'

A refugee is a person who was forced to leave their country. Whether it be from warfare or natural disaster, their homes are no longer safe to live in, so they need to relocate elsewhere. Once someone sets foot on the journey of becoming a refugee, they become vulnerable and dependent with no sense of what the future will bring. In an attempt to accommodate them, first world countries with the resources necessary to assist these refugees, are struggling to determine whether or not they should step-in and help. Some argue that taking them in could come with excessive consequences, while others believe they could be assets. Although there may be a few consequences, they are outweighed by the benefits and undeniable severity of the situation.

On September of 2015, the image of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi went viral. “The toddler’s lifeless body on a Turkish beach had reverberated across the globe” (Parkinson & George-Cosh, 2015). Aylan’s family had “fled the brutal civil war in their native Syria and only attempted the boat crossing after Canada denied their application of admission as refugees. The image led to an astonishing outpouring of support for Syrian refugees” (Hein & Niazi, 2016).

In the battle of refugee resettlement, America is its own worst enemy. By abandoning and victimizing harmless refugees, America robs them of their chance at the American Dream. After spending two years interviewing refugees, Anna Husarska was able to support her argument that America is outrageously unfair to foreign refugees (90). In Husarska’s journal, “Exile Off Main Street: Refugees and America’s Ingratitude,” Husarska emphasizes how widespread and commonplace America’s refugee abandonment is, as well as how seldom America attempts to reconcile for it, and how poor it is at doing so.

The dilemma regarding the American refugee policy and America’s stance on refugees at this point in time is a challenging topic for many to discuss. Not only is this controversy affecting Americans, it is also hurting refugees in desperate need of our help. America needs to start handling the emerging refugee crisis by first working to remove the stereotype associated with refugees, then the U.S. needs to assess which refugee countries should (if any) actually be banned, and after accomplishing those-- America needs to work to help the countries in need by letting refugees in, and working to help the refugees live happily in their country of origin.

As a first generation U.S citizen, I understand what America means to refugees. I I see it in my mother’s look of hopefulness for us, even after her long shifts at work, that leave her fingers cracked and bloody. It’s my grandmother’s late night calls, urging me to do well, and to succeed. It’s my uncle’s reminders to be grateful, for I have the education and opportunities he did not have. For many, America symbolizes hope and opportunity.

Empathy and Angst in a German City Transformed by Refugees is an article by Katrin Bennhold that describes the conflicting perception held by German nationals towards the influx of Syrian asylum seekers. The article captures the reaction and perception of the German uptake of the Syrian refugees by the German nationals. The author suffices as the untold voice of the German citizens that are directly affected by the Syrian refugee crisis. The author, Katrin Bennhold, seems to be keen on highlighting the shunned opinions of the citizens in Germany that have found themselves in a crisis that is not of their making. Her intended audience seems to be the policy makers as well as the world citizenry willing to offer refuge to the Syrian

Earlier this week The New York Times issued an account in their Sunday paper discussing the critical topic in regards to America accepting Refugees from the Middle East. The Times honed in on this topic in the column “ U.S Will Accept More Refugees as Crisis Grows”, written by Michael R. Gordon, Alison Smale, and Rick Lyman. The feature begins to discuss the problems that are being raised in the Middle East. Hundreds of thousands of men, women, and families in countries like Syria, Iraq, Somalia, and Bhutan are in danger due to the fact that their countries are facing war. This leads to the people of these countries being forced to leave in order to escape the war and oppression. These people are called Refugees. The problem cultivates as wealthier neighboring countries become reluctant in helping these refugees because of their anti-refuge politics. Refugees are then forced to travel as far away as they can, paying until they can no longer go any further. They are then forced into labor, later leading them to escape in an unsafe and deathly manner across the Mediterranean sea to Europe. This being the cause of the many deaths of men, women, and children across the Middle East as they had hopes of a better life elsewhere.The Washington Post also reflects on this subject in their column, “Refugees in America: Syrian family rebuilds life in the U.S” by Deepti Hajela. Hajela interviews a Syrian family, the Roustom. The father Hassan Al Roustom exclaims,

The different journeys being taken by these individuals and families all beg the question over what obligations society has towards these people. While many would agree that action has to be taken in order to ensure the safety of these individuals and help them as much as possible. This is demonstrated through Sadiq’s journey because when he stopped at a charity center they provided clothes for his trip to Finland and also breakfast. The help being offered by this place gives the refugees not only a place to stay for the night and guarantees breakfast, but also gives them hope to continue on as they approach their final destination. The assistance offered by organizations like these demonstrates that these refugees are humans who are in need of necessary supplies for their survival, and that society is obligated to fulfill these individuals needs to secure their journey and secure their well-being.

Immigrants created America, a nation that has embraced immigration. Throughout the years, America developed its “American Dream” concept, which states that anyone can succeed in the United States as long as that person works hard and does gives up. That concept, hope or dream attracts thousands of individuals, many of which leave their native countries with their hearth full of hope and the illusion of reaching and living the “American Dream.” However, the wonderful dream in many occasions has become nothing but a horrible and unbearable nightmare. They arrive to “the land of opportunity” that they thought was awaiting for them with fortune and instead encounter a divided society, in which some people understand their plight and sympathize with them while other look at them with anger, resentment, and even hate as if they are anything but human beings.

Guilt that derives from the fact our country is not doing more to aide in the refugee crisis. Likewise, this article provokes me to ask the question: why are these images not shown more often in western media? I feel that currently our media is cluttered with useless information regarding inherently trivial stories, none of which compare to the struggles of not only children, but also millions of people. The refugee problem is currently one that I feel is ignored by many for various reasons. However, this article brings to light the horrors that are currently occurring and I feel it should be seen by more people, as the lives of refugees are no less than our own. Even though politicians make out refugees, and even immigrants, to be murderous extremists, the reality is most are nonviolent, normal families seeking a home, something often taken for granted by those in western cultures. The Syrian refugee crisis is, in my opinion, the most overlooked problem in recent history, and demonstrates in inherent issue in our society- we as a culture view these lives as less than our own. Overall, I feel this article does a thorough job of emotionally evoking readers and impacting their views on Syrian refugees and the lives they are forced to

Now across the other side of our globe in Middle East Syrian refugees have fled their country due to continuous attacks on them. Among those escaping the conflict, the majority have sought refuge in neighboring countries or within Syria itself. Some countries are Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, and Iraq. These refugees have been able to adapt to their new community (country) faster since their identity is similar to the people living in the country. But what raised awareness to all the refugee crisis is when people found a lifeless 3-year-old boy lying face down on a beach in Europe. Ever since this event people all over the world have been more aware of the identity of Syrian refugees. People have noticed that Syrian refugees are the citizen like the rest of us, but they have not been treated like it, instead, they have been called as `terrorists`, and elsewhere ‘a burden on economy’. All over the world citizens from different countries including Canada have been donating food, clothes, and other necessities. As a community, we can respect and stand up for other identities and together we can create an enabling environment for them in the

A common misconception about refugees is that America is allowing the wrong people to relocate here, this, however, is not the case. In her article, “How Syrians

As many are aware of, as is the case with Alan Kurdi, refugee problems are catastrophic as ever, needing a solution. Also, recently, the intake of refugees had emerged as a largely debated issue as refugees are reported as the perpetrators of sexual assaults. However, this delegate will do anything possible to find an resolution to this and believes that Finland would have the most generosity and willingness to give a helping hand to the migrants of Syria.

This issue was chosen due to its scope. The Syrian refugee crisis is among a list of issues that will not only shape the world in 2016 but also dominate news outlets in upcoming years. Because of the despairing situation, many governments are struggling to find ways to handle the rush of individuals seeking asylum, for the fact that it seems the crisis is worsening. In addition, the media coverage on the topic sparked my interest and led me to research information because I had no idea what was occurring and the detriment of the issue.

The influx of Syrian refugees to Europe in the past year has sparked what is being called the ‘European Migrant Crisis’ and has drawn attention and the concern of the international community. In spite of the majority of Syrian refugees remaining in the region (in either Turkey, Lebanon or Jordan) the arrival of over 700,000 refugees in Europe has tested the limitations of political infrastructure in the face of development and human rights issues. In this paper I will argue that the historical, geographic, political, cultural, social and economic differences between the Middle East and Europe are main causes for the failures of the international community to uphold the 1951 U.N. Charter on Refugees. I believe that the fundamental ideological division between Syria and the West causes the insecurity accompanying the admittance of large numbers of Syrians (or other people of Middle Eastern origin) into Europe. This, coupled with the purely logistical challenges of moving people through the continent, dispersing refugees and distributing resources appropriately, is one of the main factors hindering the smooth integration of Syrian refugees. The ability of the international community to adequately address the needs of refugees (and particularly those whose lives have been torn apart by the Syrian civil war) should be an international priority, particularly due to the