A couple of months ago John Green posted another good short video about Syrian refugees that’s worth four minutes of your time.
Syrians in general aren’t all that different from middle class families in Europe or the United States. The adults tend to be pretty well educated, and they’re often fans of American movies. Yes, there are of course cultural and religious differences, but everywhere people are still basically people.
Syrian refugees are people trying to get away from a horrific civil war. Most of them are living in camps in neighboring countries or in some relatively quiet area inside Syria. Some have been taken in by countries in Europe. Out of a few million Syrian refugees a mere few thousand have been allowed into the United States after a difficult and thorough vetting process that takes two years or so. Canada is admitting more than twice as many.
The people who say that Syrian refugees are being admitted without a thorough background check, or that Obama, Clinton, or anyone else is planning to bring in vast numbers wholesale, is either seriously misinformed or scaremongering for political purposes.
Link: https://youtu.be/7rdi9SZX2k8
Here are some previous posts on the same subject:
How much of a real-world threat are Syrian refugees?
This post from last November references information about the complex and thorough vetting process from The Washington Post, The Economist, Buzzfeed News, MSNBC, Fox News, and Republican former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.
A conservative Republican’s view on welcoming refugees
Republican Congressman Steve Russell of Oklahoma is a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a decorated veteran of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who was involved in the operation that tracked down Saddam Hussein. This post from November includes a video of his speech to the U.S. House of Representatives explaining why traditional American values require admitting refugees.
More about refugees from John Green
Young people in a refugee camp in Jordan
Short pieces on the background of the Syrian civil war and the refugee crisis
- John Oliver’s excellent report on HBO’s Last Week Tonight is informative, funny, and in places very moving
- The effect of an extended drought and resulting economic crisis
- A 6-minute graphic animation on the background of the Syrian refugee problem
- John Green again on the background of the refugee crisis
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