Why So SYRI-US ?

Almost a decade and a half has passed since that terrifying Tuesday when four American planes were hijacked and a few moments later a couple of them rammed into one of the world’s greatest office complexes- The World Trade Center. While one of the flights slashed open the Pentagon, the last one, thankfully diverted, crashed in an open field in Shanksville. That day the sun, hidden behind the dark smoky clouds of destruction, set on a defeated and recontoured skyline of Manhattan.

We’ve come a long way since that horrifying date, fourteen Septembers later the once crippled city is reviving itself gradually, the WTC is being rebuilt and so are the broken souls of people which once appeared beyond atonement. The fight against terrorism has not only given people hope but has also ensured that the promising shores of America weren’t infiltrated again. It might seem like a small victory for a nation against terrorism, but what the recent images of the dead body of a three year old boy, Aylan Kurdi, washed ashore a beach of Turkey, reiterate to all of us is that the war is far from over.

The ‘Immigration crisis’ as it is put by the media, has drawn attention of the world of late. It’s rather painful as to how these people have been labeled as migrants without realizing their plight, these are people who are fleeing a civil war like situation at their home, men and women running away from poverty and persecution. They aren’t people who are choosing to migrate for better education opportunities or lucrative employment, they are absconding owing to the single fear that they and their families might have no future literally. They are refugees and they should be recognized as them.

Calling them Immigrants might as well be another ruse of European nations who don’t want to acknowledge these people under the Refugee Convention signed some sixty five years ago, which puts these countries under legal obligation to provide asylum to all refugees despite geographical limitations, culture, religion, race etc. These people, ideally, cannot be sent back under the present circumstances when the sole reason that pushes them to board one of these smuggling boats and take this near fatal trip to reach the safe shores of Greece or Italy, is the possibility of living a fearless life.

But what has gone so horribly wrong that they are stretched too thin? The American War against terrorism is somehow at the bottom of this crisis, though there might seem only a remote connection.

The Arab Spring which triggered around 2011 in the Middle East countries, gave a lot of people hope of a rule free from autocracy. Some of these pursuits succeeded while some quests engendered new dictators. Syria saw the Assad regime continuing the dictatorial rule.

Vested by this sense of self-righteousness and the need to live up to the title of the World Savior, the US intervened to tackle the Assad Empire. In this fight against Bashar Al Assad, in this rage to help the Syrians, the US perhaps created an even bigger monster by supporting the rebels and furnishing them with top notch artillery. With so many American, Iranian and Arabic weapons infused in the Syrian nation, the situation worsened from being manageable to beyond handling. Some believe that these rebels are the ones who later manifested into the current day ISIS. The US probably wanted to help but what ensued is nowhere near to a desirable situation.

Presently there’s a war out there and four million Syrians displaced from their own country since then, bears a testimony to the fact that the problem has exacerbated. What more, it’s not just Syria, the problem stretches across North Africa and a lot of other Asian countries too which are infested with terrorism. Countries like Lebanon and Jordan have been housing these refugees since years now but they don’t have the economic and financial means to provide for millions of these people. The ‘Fancy Pants’ nations have to intervene and take hold of the situation for it’s time they do so. The intervention does not mean waging a war against ISIS, providing aid to the homeless would do. And not just these nations, we all should step up in the name of humanity lest we lose it altogether.

What we need right now is a mere recognition of the fact that above these shallow strings of citizenship we are a connected species which owes its existence to each other. We are certainly bound to provide for our fellow countrymen, but during such a tragic scenario where another human is seeking help not for any other motive but for his survival, we should give up these trivial differences and open up our arms to these people. It’s no more about a legal obligation, it eventually boils down to an ethical situation, and I believe we are morally obligated to help these people who are only giving up on their homeland because nobody wishes to go to bed, bidding goodnight to one's children and fearing it deep within that this might be the last time they kissed their loved ones.

EPILOGUE

There is a lot of debate about the origins of these people, most Europeans fear that by letting these people arrive in their countries, they are allowing ISIS to expand their coverage. There is a fear, which is well founded, that terrorists might use this situation to their advantage in sending across their people to these countries and then later orchestrate another 9/11-esque event.

But with all the available resources at the disposal of these rich nations, probably an extensive research about the whereabouts of these people, once they have arrived, might help.

Not allowing these people a safe haven, denying them shelter on the pretext of evading a possible terrorist intervention won’t actually help us win this situation, in fact refusing help to the needy, abnegating from perhaps providing a new life to these people, is what will certainly seal our defeat against these terrorists and their motives.  

The world cannot afford another Aylan Kurdi, and so can’t you.