‘Syriasly’ — my thoughts
“I can’t help but think of you while I’m watching this debate… I hate hearing all of this hate surrounding Muslims and Syrian refugees and all that. I’m so glad to have had you as a friend and to actually have some background and understanding of Syria as a country and of course the amazing people that have come to the US from Syria. Just needed to reach out and say that!” — (Thank You Lauren.)
I woke up this morning and that was the first thing I read after watching a heated Presidential debate. What makes America great is its Freedom to think, to believe, to speak, and more importantly is its open invitation echoed best by The New Colossus poem engraved on the Statue of Liberty:
In 1994, my family immigrated from Latakia, Syria to Oregon. I just turned eight, moved away from my home, my family and friends, and was embedded into a brand new world. Welcome to America. I remember my first day in 3rd grade — my teacher (If you’re reading this Mrs. Howard, thank you!) welcomed me with open arms, a giant heart and Goldfish, Skittles, M&M’s snacks during reading time. SNACKS in school?! I loved America.
At that time I did not consider myself different; I was an eight year old boy just like every boy in class. No one really labeled me. I learned to read, write and won a few spelling bee contests towards the end of the school year. I loved America.
After the morning of Sept. 11th, 2001
My first lesson in emotional intelligence was on this day — I was perceived differently. There were fingers being pointed at me and by the end of that day, I was called a ‘terrorist’ for the first time in my life. I set out a goal for myself: my goal was to understand other perspectives and have meaningful dialogue with those who thought differently than I did.
Fast forward to today, I have friends who support both Trump and Clinton and I respect their decisions. At the end of the day, this is a Democracy, and it’s not perfect, but I assure you, it’s much better than having Russian missiles raining hell on families, your own government dropping chemical barrel bombs, ISIS, Hezbollah and Al-Queda in your backyard.
It’s challenging being an optimist as I see Syria burn alive and international diplomacy failing humanity, but I am intrigued by those who rush to judgement about people: “Syrian refugees are terrorists!” and “We need to be more stringent with who we let in.” Easy is not how I would describe the refugee admission process. If someone can thoughtfully provide a structure to make this process more ‘safe’ please send it to that list of organizations, but keep in mind that no Constitutional right can be violated (no religious tests, etc).
When I take a step back to view our current landscape, I see many are scared who believe that putting a plug on the refugee and immigration process will “solve” problems. We’ve been conditioned to instantly be gratified by everything around us; Need a car? Uber. Need a place? AirBnB. Need food? Amazon Prime. Need a question answered? Google it. Think about that — one button and things you want just appear.
There is no Uber-like solution for international and humanitarian crises — there is no button that makes terrorists, advanced surface to air defense systems, missiles, and chemical bombs stop. Similarly, there is no app that makes Democracy take root in societies that are not accustomed to freedom — things do not happen over night and that is okay. Any change is painful, but being together is much less painful than being divided.
What is not okay is going against what the United States’ principles were founded on in the name of ‘patriotism.’
The irony is that our media skewer’s one-seventh of the world based on their beliefs (freedom of press declares war on freedom of religion), where facts are an after-thought (baseless opinions are valued more than facts) and where fear mongering is rooted in deep misunderstanding (anything Fox News). Yet, the patriots that so many people and politicians model themselves after, the same ones who carry the flames of freedom, are the ones preaching fear. America is stronger together because of its diversity — different ideas flowing between different people of all backgrounds instantaneously is what makes this country uniquely special. This is what gives us (all of us) a competitive advantage over the world.
Fear doesn’t make America great (again) — America’s open arms to people from around the world does. That is what made America, America…and I hope that is what will continue to make America great (forever).
As a Syrian and U.S citizen, I love America.
