Last week's terrorist attacks in Beirut and Paris should raise - not diminish - compassion for refugees. Now is not the time to close our borders against the Syrian refugees who are fleeing these very same terrorists. Most of the global victims of terrorism are Muslims. None of the 750,000 refugees who have resettled in the USA since 9/11 have been arrested on domestic terrorism charges (source: The Economist). The terrorists win twice if they can rob us of compassion along with lives. How can we reverse this rising wave of xenophobia?
Some countries have learned from history. Germany is welcoming a million refugees, but the USA is only accepting 10,000. Our low quota reminds me of World War II when many Jews fleeing the Nazis were not allowed into the USA. My great grandfather Arthur Lamport and other American Jews raised funds to help Jewish refugees resettle in the Dominican Republic. That true story is told in Tropical Zion by Allen Wells (2009), a history professor at Bowdoin College.
Farish's novel touched me on a personal level. My children went to school in Portland with many immigrant children. My son's high school girlfriend was born in a Sudanese refugee camp in Kenya and resettled with her family in Portland. She graduated from Waynflete School with honors and is now attending Wesleyan University through Questbridge. We invited her family to share Thanksgiving in our home; it was their first after many years in the USA. Before you form an opinion on refugees, get to know one. Remember that the USA is a nation founded on immigration.
There are true stories about refugees with happy endings. The Lewiston Blue Devils have just won the Maine State Championship for soccer. Many of the players are immigrants. The coach shares their inspiring story about multicultural teamwork in a moving video below:
One Team: The Story of the Lewiston High School Blue Devils from LHSOneTeamFilm on Vimeo.
Reviewer's Disclosure: Allen Wells is a colleague of my husband at Bowdoin College and his wife taught our daughter history. My dad sent Tropical Zion to me without realizing that we knew the author. I'm friends with author Maria Padian and borrowed a galley for review purposes. I bought both young adult novels from indie bookstores and was not compensated for my reviews.
11 comments:
Thanks for this, Sarah.
I was moved by this wonderful project I only recently learned about: Libraries Without Borders. It's an NGO started in France. Nothing beats education for getting at the roots of all the -isms and -phobes that plague our world! Here's the link: http://www.librarieswithoutborders.org/
This time your post is more important because it contains not just your customary good review but also an important message to us all. First of all, you mentioned the attacks in Paris AND Beirut. Not much is known about the latter, sadly, and that's usually the case. Secondly, what you write about Syrian refugees is so true. We close our borders and Daesh will have a field day. No tjust int he many people they will kill but in the many people they'll recruit.
Thanks.
Greetings from London.
This is so true: "The terrorists win twice if they can rob us of compassion along with lives." An important post, Sarah--thank you.
Maria, thanks for writing about refugees with compassion. Libraries Without Borders, bringing books to refugees is a wonderful idea.
ACiL, we are of like minds. Excellent point about the security issue: welcoming refugees makes us stronger. I do hope our politicians will be as wise.
Cynthia, thanks for your support.
This is a very compassionate post. One of the things I've always liked about books is that they can increase our understanding and empathy of different situations all around the world that we'd otherwise not know very much about. The refugee issue is becoming a very divisive one and while I'm of a different opinion than you are about this, your points are good ones.
Donna, I appreciate that you considered an opinion different from yours and found common ground in compassion. It gives me hope that politicians from opposing camps will work out a solution.
My dad suggested another good refugee book: WHAT IS THE WHAT by David Eggers, a true story about refugee boys from Sudan. Going on my TBR list.
An excellent and timely post, Sarah. There have been several Facebook posts with the message that Anne Frank's family's request to immigrate to the U.S. was turned down. I don't know if that is true, but it should certainly make people stop and think, too. Knowledge and understanding are two keys in conquering fear.
I am so embarrassed by what some of my fellow citizens, including members of my own family, are saying about the refugee crisis. Their unwillingness to consider taking in refugees is inhumane and contrary to the ideals of this country. It is also very short sighted considering most of us have an immigrant lineage.
Great reviews, Sarah. And your comments on refugees are spot on. The rising tide of xenophobia is more than an embarrassment. It's a disgrace and betrays the best that this country stands for... The fear mongers are despicable....
Sarah, thank you for saying what really needs to be said. I have really puzzled over so many (way too many) Americans' attitudes towards accepting refugees . . . especially since, as you point out, America is a country of immigrants. Just yesterday I wrote a post about this issue -- and how literature is one of our main resources for developing compassion and understanding what we have not experienced. If you don't mind, I would like to link your post.
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