Stand For Refugees: Donate

Friends and family! As you know, this blog has been for my writing class where we have been learning about and raising awareness for refugees. 

There are 1,100 refugees who come to Salt Lake each year. I created a donation page for the Refugee and Immigrant Center in Salt Lake. Even if you’re not in Utah or not interested in donating, you should take a look. 

Many of us don’t realize there are refugees who need help very close to us, so I’d encourage you to find out about those near you.

Click here to go to my page. 

Through the Eyes of a Syrian Soldier

Most of you have probably heard of “Humans of New York”, the photojournalistic work founded by Brandon Stanton. It now has over 17 million likes on Facebook and 4.9 million followers on Instagram. Humans of New York began as a photography project in 2010. Brandon’s initial goal was to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers on the street, but over time it turned into much more. Over the past five years, Brandon has travelled and featured stories from over 20 different countries. About four months ago, he travelled to Greece and interviewed people affected by the crisis in Syria. 

The story the young man above shared really stuck with me. You can read it here. Before the war, he joined the Syrian army because he wanted to serve his country. But then things got bad, and he was “forced to do horrible things”. He was commanded to lead an attack on a village and kill every last person. “Anyone who disobeyed would be killed themselves,” he said. He and the other soldiers tried to aim above the heads of those running away, but forty people were still killed. “A few nights later I fled in the middle of the night,” he told Brandon.

I had never before considered the Syrian crisis from this perspective—that of a soldier. I am sure many young soldiers, like this one that Brandon happened to stop and talk to, don’t want to be part of the inhumane violence. They are individuals with lives, hopes, and ambitions, just like those on the other side of the conflict. It is difficult to imagine being in the position of this young man. What was the right thing for him to do as a soldier? March on obediently as he did, choose to be killed himself, try to escape…? Reading his story has reminded me just how complex the Syrian crisis really is.

Keeping Syrian Refugees in School

Syrian refugees at school in Lebanon (Khaled) 

I have come to understand the Syrian refugee crisis a little more this week through learning about their civil war. Follow this link to read a brief BBC article that sums up everything that’s happened since 2011 in 8 short chapters. Also, this article, here, helped me better understand the overlapping conflicts in the Syrian war.

I am beginning to realize the many problems that are rising, and will continue to rise, with Syrian children not being in school. According to the UN, more than 2 million refugee children are out of school (“Syria: The Story of the Conflict”). In Lebanon, for example, 51 percent of registered refugees in the country are under 18, and the majority of children face problems accessing education. I couldn’t believe it when I learned that “only 20 percent of the registered children [in Lebanon] are currently enrolled in school. Many more are not even registered” (Khaled).

Language is one of the biggest problems. The Syrian school system is run entirely in Arabic (Khaled). Even if children have only moved across the border to Lebanon, they are already required to know French or English to be taught math and science. All refugee children who have flocked to Europe and over seas, of course, have the same issue. 

I know it is complicated to get refugee children in school, but I think it is extremely important for their future, and the future of their communities. Basic needs like food, water, shelter, and health care need to come first, but then education for children needs to quickly follow. According to the UN, four out of five people in Syria live in poverty (“Syria: The Story of the Conflict”). If kids who manage to safely leave and settle somewhere else can’t get into school, they are unable to get the education they need to qualify for a decent job, which means they will never make it out of poverty. It also means they’ll find it harder to integrate into their new community. This will become a never-ending cycle until all children can be taught the language of their new home and keep moving in school.

College students, like me, or anyone else who doesn’t have the means to donate significantly to help refugees, can make a difference through giving their time to helping local refugees learn English (or whatever your country's native language). I think we will have the greatest impact through helping in ways like this. 

Works Cited

"Syria: The Story of the Conflict.” BBC News. BBC, 3 Feb. 2016. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

Khaled, Wadi. "No School Today - Why Syrian Refugee Children Miss out on

Education." IRIN. N.p., 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 04 Mar. 2016.

Left to Tell

I just finished reading Left to Tell, an autobiography by Immaculée Ilibagiza. Immaculée is the only member of her family “left to tell” their horrifying experience in the Rwandan genocide of 1994. Her parents and brothers were all slaughtered, simply for being part of the Tutsi tribe. They were only four out of an estimated 500,000 – 1,000,000 killed in about 100 days. Immaculée barely survived through hiding for three months, with seven other women, in a tiny bathroom owned by a pastor, and then through the protection of French soldiers and kind, brave Hutus.

I am ashamed to say that I had never heard of the Rwandan genocide until reading this book. Other people in my writing class also didn’t know about it. I think everyone should read it, especially those in my generation who may not be aware of this terrible holocaust that happened just a couple years before we were born. If nothing else, it will teach you about this important historical event through the eyes of a victim. Immaculée’s strength, determination, and faith will also astound you as she describes discovering God amidst the unspeakable pain and violence around her. It is miraculous that she survived. I believe her words were meant to be heard. 

Abdi and the Golden Ticket

Abdi Nor

“Abdi and the Golden Ticket” is a radio show that tells the story of a Somali refugee living in Kenya who wins a lottery ticket that can completely change his life. This lottery is the US Diversity Visa Lottery that allows a small group of people from a wide range of countries the chance to enter the US each year. Abdi explains that, “in any given year, between 8 and 15 million people apply, with over 100,000 winners.” Abdi had studied and dreamed of America his entire life, so winning was literally a dream come true. However, winning the chance for a visa was only the beginning of Abdi’s journey to actually obtaining it.

This story had me gripped. You listen to a serious of phone calls recorded over time between Abdi and news reporter Leo Hornak. After hearing Abdi won the DV Lottery, Leo decided to call him every night and follow his story. I was surprised to learn that only about 50% of the people who win this lottery actually end up making it to the US. The reasons why became clear through hearing Abdi’s struggles. He was hunted day and night by Kenyan police who were searching for Somali refugees to take to jail, and then back to Somalia. In order to complete his necessary papers, Abdi had to somehow obtain a “certificate of good conduct” from the Kenyan police department—the very people trying to arrest him.

Through a serious of extremely close calls over many months, Abdi eventually obtains his visa and makes it to America. I couldn’t believe how much I learned through listening to his daily reports. His story has made me more aware and appreciative of refugees like him in the US. Understanding a little about Abdi’s life prior to moving to the US gives me a whole new perspective on refugees similar to him. It also made me want to help ensure that living here is the “dream” that so many of them have longed for.

You can follow this link to listen to and/or read this incredible story.