Immigration Impacts
What does immigration cause?
Immigration has caused countless families to lose their loved ones throughout their journey to a safe place. An illustration of this is that “more than 2,600 people have died this year trying to make the journey to the continent's shores, turning the Mediterranean into the most dangerous border crossing in the world. In April, European leaders agreed to triple funding for coast guards and helicopters in the area, but hundreds continue to die on Europe's doorstep: 200 people drowned on Aug. 5 when a boat stuffed with migrants capsized near the Libyan coast,” (Bajekal 2015). Furthermore, “more than four years after it began, the full-blown civil war has killed over 220,000 people, half of whom are believed to be civilians. Bombings are destroying crowded cities and horrific human rights violations are widespread. Basic necessities like food and medical care are sparse,” (Mercycorps 2015). This proves that plenty of citizens have died, causing various families to lose members. Other families are fleeing or sending their children away, trying to reach a safer place. Many families are leaving behind members who have a low chance of surviving. This demonstrates the cost that innocent civilians have paid, in the process of seeking asylum and the consequences that families need to face because of the ongoing conflict.
Discrimination on the Muslim religion has provoked now multiple states in the U.S. to block the refugee’s acceptance. These Governors are not ‘suspending’ because of safety measures, but due to the fact that they’re Islamophobic and fear that the refugees might actually be terrorists. For instance, “The governor’s spokeswoman, Sara Wurfel, said: “[The] Governor is not saying we won’t accept refugees – just suspending until complete review of clearance procedures is complete to ensure safety & security.” But Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders told a crowd at Cleveland State University on Monday the US must not “succumb to Islamophobia” by turning its back on refugees fleeing the fighting in Syria,” (The Guardian, 2015). This manifests discrimination in an undercover manner by stating that it is only for security matters, when infact, they are turning their backs on the refugees for inferring that all migrants are terrorists. Moreover, Moatassem, an 11- year-old Syrian boy living in Lebanon,who has been enduring bullying from Lebanese people since he found refuge in the country fleeing the war home, “ tries his best to avoid his Lebanese peers. Even outside of school he is often stalked and harassed on the street, as children follow him, beat him or try to get their dogs to attack him. A few weeks ago, he was followed by three children. One of them had his dog, which kept growling and trying to attack Moatassem. The boy was brave enough to push the dog back before fleeing for home, although the dog bit him in the process. Luckily, this time, the dog’s bites on Moatassem’s hand were minor and shallow and did not require any medical cure. Moatassem’s story is not unique. Instead, it is representative of what many Syrian children, regardless of their poverty level, go through on a daily basis—bullying and mistreatment. This tension between the two groups is not because the Lebanese children are full of hatred, but instead because both the Syrian and Lebanese communities are facing daily challenges they are unable to deal with,” (World Vision International). This explains the bigoted harassment thousands of people experience by virtue of their Syrian nationality. Additionally, Ela, an american teenager, went through a discriminating occurrence also where she “ went to the mall, and a little girl called [her] a terrorist. My friend and I pinned scarves around our heads, and then we went to the mall. Normally, vendors try to get us to buy things and ask us to sample a snack. Clerks usually ask us if we need help, tell us about sales, and smile at us. Not today. People, including vendors, clerks, and other shoppers, wouldn’t look at us. They didn’t talk to us. They acted like we didn’t exist. They didn’t want to be caught staring at us, so they didn’t look at all. And then, in one store, a girl (who looked about four years old) asked her mom if my friend and I were terrorists. [...] This experiment gave me a huge wakeup call. It lasted for only a few hours, so I can’t even begin to imagine how much prejudice Muslim girls go through every day. It reminded me of something that many people know but rarely remember: the women in hijabs are people, just like all those women out there who aren’t Muslim,” (Tumblr, 2012). This authenticates the unequal treatment of people towards not only Muslims, but other religions too. The countless impacts of the immigration disaster, has only generated more trouble within trouble; will there ever be an end?
|
|