Image of Drowned Syrian Boy Echoes Around the World- Natalia Hernandez, 9th

His name was Aylan. He was 3 years old. And he drowned while trying to escape conflict in Syria... He was supposed to arrive at a sanctuary; the Greek islands of Kor, safe from raging civil war. Instead his and at least 12 other lives, including his mother's and 5 year old brother's, were taken, highlighting the plight of desperate people caught in the greatest refugee crisis since WWII. They had to be smuggled in dangerous conditions, because even in Canada where the Aylan's aunt lived denied the family of immigration.

Indeed, "its not only immigrants who are drowning in the Mediterranean, it is also our humanity." The Mediterranean has turned into a graveyard for refugees in dire need of help. The European Union is bickering over the distribution of refugees and Obama is willing to accept 10 000 of them (a step in the right direction yet not nearly enough), while much poorer nations like Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are taking them by the millions! Politicians and people justify the lack of morality in our turning a away these people by saying that we'd be admitting terrorism into the country, or worse- that this is "an European matter that should be left to Europe to handle" (according to Ohio Gov. John Kasich we're exempt from being a part of this world, because obviously the world is not part of the U.S and those Europeans they never concern us, and never affect us. Oh so logical). For god's sake, more than half a children! Each one of them in the U.S currently went through one of the robust security processes. You. Can. Not. Justify. In the past we've provided refuge to 207,000 Vietnamese and around the same time, the U.S took in more than 120,000 Cuban refugees during the Mariel Boatlift. Now, we've decided to become unprincipled because of terrorism, paranoid of everything and everyone where there's no room for any kindness in American anymore.

 Is this how we want to show the world that we're a country of freedom where humanity is preserved, where we endorse human rights elsewhere in the world, and where we value the pursuit of happiness? If so, what a letdown. What a terrible letdown... Rest in peace Aylan, and may your memory echo in the minds and hearts of the world, may your plea for help be heard.

 

  http://www.wsj.com/articles/image-of-syrian-boy-washed-up-on-beach-hits-hard-1441282847