I've heard a few people here talk about Syrian refugees being terrorists and a drain on the economy. They are saying they're behind the recent attacks and mooching for benefits. I'd like to put a few of those inaccuracies to rest.
1. The refugees are all terrorists sent by the Islamic State!
If you look at the situation in Syria, and look where the refugees are going, over 1.1 million have gone to Lebanon, and their crime rate hasn't drastically increased, and if you look at Europe, France isn't at the top of the list. If we were expecting to see a correlation between refugees and terrorist attacks/hostage situations, countries like Germany would have an increase in terrorist attacks...
2. If they insist on fleeing their country, why not stay in the area?
As I said before, they are going to neighboring countries, but there's only so much room in any country before the infrastructure collapses. Another problem is that some of the countries surrounding Syria are either not very well off themselves or are overrun by the Islamic State (which, funnily enough, isn't Islamic nor a State.)
3. Well, if it's so bad there, why do I see all these pictures of refugees with smartphones or selfie sticks?
One little known fact is that most of the refugees that are fleeing are the ones who can afford to leave, which would explain the ones with selfie sticks and the like. There are poorer ones who have managed to get out of the country and are trying to get to safety. Unfortunatly we tend to not discriminate between them and we never seem to focus on the images that show us the living hell many people are living through, such as this:
or this:
4. ... Well, you're from the States! You have no clue what you're talking about, they destroyed their land!
"They" didn't destroy their land, their government and the Islamic State did. Now, before you go and tell me I can sit back in the States and bitch about human rights, because we're so far removed, remember that you have no clue where my family is from and therefore have no clue who I know that could be involved. One whole side of my family is from the UK, so we hear about the situation from them, as well as from friends with relatives scattered around the world, who all have their own take on this. I know it's not a subsitute for living it, but it can get you pretty close.
5. This isn't just Syria! Why are we focusing only on Syria?
You're right, this isn't just happening in Syria. It's happening in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Burma, and many other countries.That's why we need to provide aid and support for these people, especially the children growing up in refugee camps and areas like those, because they are the ones most at risk. This is what we want our future to look like:
not this:
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