Rise With Refugees

Couple of days ago, CHARGE Peer Educators were invited to table alongside with Peace Action for Refugee Visibility Day, an initiative that is part of the Rise With Refugees Campaign. The invitation to this program really got me into thinking about all the events that has been happening surrounding refugees. Refugees are a group of people who had to leave their own land due to difficult circumstances (ie, wars/attacks) and move to another country for a better shot at life.

Lately, there has been a lot of talk about whether or not United States should be letting Syrian refugees in to the states and provide them with homes. I have read many comments, articles and blogs that provide the pros and cons of having refugee in the states. The balance for whether or not to have the refugees in the states tended to tilt more towards the negative.

I think one of the many fears this country faces is the fear of letting someone from the terrorist groups into our land, by mistake. They are to house the terrorist in our native land and destroying our country from within. Due to this frightful thought, many of us forget about all the children and families that are in dire need of a shelter. So many innocent children and families are getting attacked on a daily basis because of the conflicting political party of their countries. It is important for us to see both sides of the argument before choosing a side. It is important that we rise with the refugees who have already resided in the states instead of isolating them. It is important that we show kindness and compassion and provide a helping hand to those  who is in need of one. It is important that we educate ourselves, our children, our friends and family before we jump into any conclusions.

Thank you Peace Action for allowing us be part of such a great event, for allowing us to go that extra mile and think about what it means to be refugee and how we can help make lives better for other humans.

CPE Faerie Akhter, University Apartments