Los Angeles should welcome refugees

The ongoing civil conflict in Syria has displaced thousands of Syrians and forced them to flee their homes to traverse across borders, only to be met with backlash and violence. More than 7.6 million have been displaced within Syria’s borders and more than 4 million have fled the country, seeking refuge all over the world, mainly in Europe. The Obama administration has pledged to take in at least 10,000 Syrian refugees for the fiscal year. But despite being one of the world’s wealthiest countries, the United States takes relatively few refugees.

Instead of turning away Syrians, the United States should welcome them with open arms —  not only on a humanitarian basis, but also on a diplomatic basis that will improve the reputation of the United States in the Middle East, an area that has historically viewed the U.S. in a negative light. On a local scale, a growing number of refugees have been relocated to California, including Los Angeles. As residents of L.A., the USC community has a responsibility to make accommodations to provide these refugees with funds, care packages and welcome arms.

A total of 1,500 Syrian refugees have been admitted to the United States since the start of the civil war in 2011. Fifty refugees have been relocated to the Sacramento area, 53 to San Diego and 19 to Los Angeles. Though President Obama has agreed to admit at least 10,000 refugees, this is a small number compared to other wealthy European countries such as Germany (800,000), Serbia and Kosovo (52,000+) and Sweden (80,000+). Neighboring countries of Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan have accepted million of refugees, but due to economic and political instability, refugees are forced to relocate to safer buffer zones that will provide food and shelter.

However, an increasing number of clashes at European borders has prompted policymakers to dispatch riot police. Refugees are also receiving backlash from locals who are reporting refugees to police. Others attempt to profit from refugees by selling them tents and other supplies instead of donating out of a sense of basic human decency.

The United States should be a role model for humanitarianism to show that it has learned from the past. Unfortunately, history repeats itself — the United States turned away thousands of Jews during the Holocaust and now we are accepting an allotted amount of Syrians and turning away the rest of them in a modern-day genocide.

The resettlement of refugees in the United States is a long, complicated process. Syrian refugees are subject to intense interrogation to ensure they do not pose security threats, which rests on the assumption that all Syrians are potential terrorists. Perhaps the problem is the hypersensitivity Americans have toward Muslims and terrorism. The correlation to bigotry is based on the association of religious principles.

The Syrian narrative is one of irrefutable hardships and tests of survival caused by evacuation from a war-stricken, broken country that will take many years to mend. Many refugees fleeing to Europe by sea face capsized boats, stolen money and starvation along the journey to freedom.

Refugees arrive here with little to nothing, carrying their belongings on their backs and pleading for their lives. It is unfair, unethical and inhumane for the privileged to ignore the problem. Once the refugees arrive, a caseworker helps them attain Social Security cards, apply for food stamps and sign up for medical services. They are also enrolled in employment preparation programs and classes acquainting them with U.S. customs. L.A. has one of the largest Syrian communities in the United States, making it a great place for refugees to settle.

A majority of the USC community is privileged, and as a student body, we can make tremendous efforts to support Syrian refugees in L.A. The best way to help is to donate and, volunteer with committees that directly help the refugees. The International Rescue Committee of Los Angeles helps with refugee resettlement, providing immediate aid, immigration services, education and more. On campus, Ansar Service Partnership, a Muslim community service organization, is holding a Syrian refugee fundraiser on Thursday. Service clubs like the Ansar Service Partnership are easy to get involved with. If change does not take place on a political level, it is our duty as citizens to rebuild the social framework of our communities through welfare programs, which directly affect those who need it the most.