By Meghna Padmanabhan ’17

For many years, America has been the country of freedom and salvation for people escaping political, religious, or social oppression. American values include empathy, compassion, and a fight against discrimination. It was founded upon those escaping religious persecution in England in the early 1700’s and continues to be a beacon of hope for victims subjugated to violence and despotism everywhere.

By definition, a refugee is someone who is forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or a natural disaster. Currently, 13.5 million people in Syria require humanitarian assistance, 4.6 million of whom are refugees. 2.5 million reside in Turkey, and even Iraq, in the middle of its own armed conflict, hosts about 250,000, yet millions are attempting the migration to the United States, where they can raise their children away from the terrors occurring in their own country.

Syrian children face malnutrition, dangerous and demeaning labor, and a severe lack of education every single day. Many cannot afford school or there areas which are too war-torn to offer sufficient education. The coming winter only accelerates the mortality rate of those who die from disease and starvation. From a very young age, they are victims of rape and other forms of abuse; yet, their families do not have the resources to relieve them of this vicious cycle. Their intention is not to terrorize the country that allows them a new home; rather to seek new lives and gain the sense of freedom that we, as Americans, consider a right to every individual. Kiran Damodaran, a junior at Newark Academy, supports this idea, and empathizes with the families experiencing this struggle, saying that, “It’s important to remember most of these are simply terrified families seeking safety and help; there are no ulterior motives. The United States has always been willing to accept refugees fleeing oppression and danger while maintaining a balance with the need for security, so we must not be too rash in our decisions regarding these people.” If this tenet can be upheld for those who live on American soil, who are we to decide who is allowed to experience the same opportunities and who is not?

This controversial topic has sparked much debate, especially in the 2016 Presidential Election. There are many who believe that allowing Syrians to enter America’s borders will allow passage for terrorists and threaten our security. There has been evidence of violence involving these refugees. Still, a majority of them, according to President Obama, are “the most harmed by terrorism”. The war waged within their country has taken an innumerable amount of lives due to bombings, unnecessary shootings, and disease. The process by which the refugees are entering the United States is long and unreliable, and many die before its completion. Those who finally are accepted are scrutinized and looked upon as dangerous, allowing them little difference in the sense of security they had in Syria. There are supporters of the idea of each refugee who enters the country should be tracked, yet that is inhumane and does not uphold the American values that this country was built upon. In 2015 alone, we’ve had over 290 mass shootings around America, yet there isn’t even the slightest consideration of tracking Americans who may pose an internal threat to our safety.

By opening our doors to those seeking refuge, we are not only fighting the fear the terrorists want to instill in our minds, but also allowing others to experience a small taste of the privileged life we all have. 60 years ago, we made the mistake of turning away hundreds of Jewish refugees attempting to escape Hitler’s tyrannical rule and Nazi violence, for fear that they were Nazi spies. Due to paranoia, we only helped with the displacement of countless innocent people. We cannot make that mistake again.