Syria Refugee Crisis Essay

In Margaret Wente’s article, “Syrian refugees: the romance and the reality” (Oct 1, 2016), she argues that Canadians must stop looking at the refugee crisis through rose coloured glasses and realize that there is far more to helping those living through this crisis then simply taking them out of the battleground. Wente backs her argument using data and facts as well as personal anecdotes from those providing social assistant to those in need. She hopes to bring attention to the problems Canada is facing regarding immigration and realize that simply bringing Syrians to Canada isn’t enough. While people have left the warzone coming to Canada without the ability to speak the language or support themselves will put the same pressure

The refugee crisis that plagues the world is often referred to as the Syrian refugee crisis, and Western countries are usually concerned only for the affect it has on them and their country. Yet the countries taking in the most refugees are the relatively stable nations in the Middle East that are closest to those in crisis, like Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey, not the wealthy nations most capable of supporting the refugees. These countries are often small and suffering their own economic and political woes, and struggle with the masses of refugees entering the countries. Various groups are working to raise money and support for these refugees, and other poor African and Middle Eastern countries are attempting to do their best, but without the help of the wealth West, the refugee crisis is not going to go away. A question has been posed to the nations of the world; are they willing to take in any of the millions of the desperate refugees?

Due to the many different attitudes and views on the Syrian Refugee crisis, and the opinions that vary by country, Canada should further explore their options when considering to accept more Refugees. While doing so Canada and the rest of the world should offer support in various ways. The Refugee crisis has been in the media for many months, and is the world's number one focus at the moment. Countries have different thoughts on the situation, and many believe that it does not concern them. The government of Canada needs to address the concerns that Canadians have regarding the resettlement of Syrians.

Has United States or Canada been more effective with implementing and abiding by refugee rules and laws? Before discussing and comparing which of these countries had been more successful, the historical context of refugees needs to be explored. Although refugees have existed throughout the course of history, the definitions of what a refuge is had shifted and evolved over time. The League of Nations in the 1920s defined refugees “by categories, specifically in relation to their country of origin.” Up until 1950s, the League of Nations, which later became the United Nations, “established and dismantled several international institutions devoted to refugees in Europe.” After World War II, creating and facilitating solutions for refugees were of high importance internationally. This is evident in the first session of United Nations General Assembly in 1946 when it adopted the principle that no refugee who had “expressed valid objections to returning to their countries [sic] of origin ... shall be compelled to return.”

The devastating Syria civil war is one of the worst humanitarian crisis in society. This war caused half of Syria’s population to die or forced to flee to another country. Families are struggling to survive or live in neighboring countries. Certain people are risking their lives over a trip to Europe hoping to find acceptance and opportunity. Since winter is coming soon, refugees in settlements have less resources than ever before. They need adequate food, warm clothes, shoes, blankets, heaters and fuel. As you can see, Syria’s economy is completely shattered, yet some Syrians are repudiating Canada’s amazing, one-time offer to living a completely better condition? Omaymas al-Kasem is a brave, forthright

Canada has always been recognized as an accepting and “go-to” country in crisis. However, in recent years, there have been changes. Refugee legislation has become extremely strict, qualifications for refugees have become unfair, and limitations regarding what Canada offers refugees have been set.

Between September 2015 and February 2016 Canadians had donated a total of $31.8 million to the Syrian emergency relief fund to support humanitarian relief efforts in response to the conflict that is happening in Syria the government of Canada with the help of peacekeeping forces and U.N has helped resettle 25000 Syrian refugees between November 2015 and February 29 2016.this has been a positive role for Canada because it shows that Canada is willing to help people who have been affected by war and that Canadians are willing to donate to help with humanitarian aid for Syrian

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).

One of the things brought up into the argument that I would like to elaborate more on was the fact that Canada is willing to accept 25,000 refugees, which is more than double of what the United States agreed to resettle. Both Canada and the United States are close geographically and culturally; however, the response to the Syrian refugees has differed between the two countries. According to an article concerning this matter, the difference in acceptance seems to be due to the countries’ differences in multiculturalism and incidence of Islamic terrorism. Based on a study done between the two countries, a multiculturalism policy index score of 3/8 was given to the United States, while Canada received a 7.5/8, meaning that Canada has more multicultural policies for immigrants in place (Carlier, 2016).

It is in our own lives we define what we believe and what we believe in ultimately defines us. Not only do our views of ourselves matter as to who we are, what we stand for, and what we deem important, but also others’ view of our own person are sometimes just as or more important. In reference to the Second Amendment and gun control, the author, Saul Cornell, makes a case for how sometimes every group can think they are the ones in the right, but at the same time, every group can ultimately be in the wrong. It is important to think of not just right or wrong and the rights given to citizens by the Second Amendment to the Constitution, but to think back deeper into history as well and what helped to found the United States of America.

Cultural revival refers to the resilience of unique traditions or group identities from the past for current social and political affairs. People recover the loss of vital ethnic practices due to forced or voluntary relocation, colonization or oppression in the past. The process of cultural revival such as consolidating political identity, personal rights and recognition often consciously or unconsciously associated with the minorities. The adaptation of past musical elements and genre into prevailing events in the society. Huelga song is a great example in illustrating the cultural revival of corridos, and plays an important role in U.S. American music.

Critics have said that this is unfair be¬cause not all countries are safe for all people, even if they are relatively peaceful. For example, some religious, sexual or cultural minorities may be at risk in countries that are otherwise safe for the majority. Syria is not listed under the “safe” countries list therefore it appears that Canada went above and beyond standard policy. Through research I found that the process of resettling the first 25,000 Syrian refugees had five phases. Canada worked with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to identify people in Jordan and Lebanon, where they have an extensive list of registered refugees. Following that visa offices were setup in Amman and Beirut for processing and then beginning in December 2015, many refugees flew in on government-chartered aircraft, and commercial flights. When refugees arrived in Canada, Border Services Officers processed and admitted them to Canada. This included verifying their identities when they arrived. Refugees were also screened for signs of illness when they arrived. Anyone who was ill was

Writing about myself has always been awkward. Retelling my personal stories hasn’t been easy for me either. But here I go.

A refugee is defined as an individual who has been forced to leave their country due to political or religious reasons, or due to threat of war or violence. There were 19.5 million refugees worldwide at the end of 2014, 14.4 million under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). With the displacement of so many people, it is difficult to find countries willing to accept all the refugees. There are over 125 different countries that currently host refugees, and with this commitment comes the responsibility of ensuring these refugees have access to

Since 2011, Syria has been engaged in a Civil War with protestors against the government and members of the extremist group ISIS, and approximately 7.6 million people have been displaced from their homes (usnews.com 2015). As the conflict destroys more homes and livelihoods each year, an increasing number of civilians have been forced to leave Syria and try to find safety elsewhere. Already a contentious issue, the Syrian refugee crisis has awakened tensions, both economic and social as debate erupts over what to do with the refugees.In response to the crisis, while some countries like Germany have pledged to help the refugees, (New Statesman 2015 1) only 2,340 have been admitted. Clearly, more needs to be done in order to help the refugees. Although there are economic and population concerns to be considered, the humanitarian conflict that faces the refugees and solutions already available are reason enough for Europe to increase the numbers of Syrian refugees allowed in.