President Barack Obama renewed U.S commitment to take in more refugees as the Middle East and Europe continue to grapple with the epic movement of people.
Speaking at a UN meeting on refugees, he underlined that the world has a collective responsibility and said countries like Turkey and Pakistan are hosting the largest number of refugees.
“It’s a test of our international system where all nations ought to share in our collective responsibilities, because the vast majority of refugees are hosted by just 10 countries who are bearing a very heavy burden — among them Turkey, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, Ethiopia. Countries that often have fewer resources than many of those who are doing little or nothing.”
He said the leaders are assembled here are here “because, right now, in crowded camps and cities around the world, there are families — from Darfur in Chad, Palestinians in Lebanon, Afghans in Pakistan, Colombians in Ecuador — who’ve endured years — in some cases, decades — as refugees, surviving on rations and aid, and who dream of someday, somehow, having a home of their own.”
“We’re here because, right now, there are young girls — like Yusra, like my daughters — who are just as precious and just as gifted — like the 16-year-old refugee from Myanmar that I met in Malaysia — who’ve suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of traffickers, modern day slavery, girls who pray at night that someone might rescue them from their torment. There are boys, fleeing the fighting in South Sudan, violence in Central America, wars in North Africa and the Middle East — who are at the mercy of criminals who pack them into trucks or makeshift rafts, and who die on treacherous seas — like little Alan Kurdi from Syria, lifeless, face down on a Turkish beach, in his red shirt and blue pants.
“We are here because, right now, there are mothers separated from their children — like the woman in a camp in Greece, who held on to her family photographs, heard her children cry on the phone, and who said “my breath is my children…every day I am dying 10, 20, 30 times.”
“We’re here because there are fathers who simply want to build a new life and provide for their families — like Refaai Hamo, from Syria, who lost his wife and daughter in the war, who we welcomed to America, and who says, “I still think I have a chance to make a difference in the world.”
Obama spoke as more than 65 million people – the biggest since WWII- faced untold difficulties as refugees in several parts of the world.
“This crisis is one of the most urgent tests of our time — our capacity for collective action. To test, first and foremost, our ability to end conflicts, because so many of the world’s refugees come from just three countries ravaged by war — Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia.”
“The mentality that allows for violence with impunity is something we cannot excuse. And collectively, we continue to make excuses. It’s not the subject of this summit, but we all know that what is happening in Syria, for example, is unacceptable. And we are not as unified as we should be in pushing to make it stop,” said Obaama, who in recent years has faced criticism for not doing enough to end the Syrian war.
Continuing, Obama said, “it is a crisis of our shared security. Not because refugees are a threat. Refugees, most of whom are women and children, are often fleeing war and terrorism. They are victims. They’re families who want to be safe and to work, be good citizens and contribute to their country — I was talking to Yusra — she’s now in Germany. She already speaks some English. Now she’s trying to learn German — who are interested in assimilating and contributing to the society in which they find themselves.”
Here are excerpts from Obama’s remarks during which he also took a swipe at the idea of building walls without naming Donald Trump who has been peddling the issue of erecting a wall along US-Mexico border.
“In recent years, in the United States, we’ve worked to put in intensive screening and security checks, so we can welcome refugees and ensure our security — in fact, refugees are subject to more rigorous screening than the average tourist. We’ve seen in America, hardworking, patriotic refugees serve in our military, and start new businesses and help revitalize communities. I believe refugees can make us stronger.
“So the challenge to our security is because when desperate refugees pay cold-hearted traffickers for passage, it funds the same criminals who are smuggling arms and drugs and children. When nations with their own internal difficulties find themselves hosting massive refugee populations for years on end, it can risk more instability. It oftentimes surfaces tensions in our society when we have disorderly and disproportionate migration into some countries that skews our politics and is subject to demagoguery.
“And if we were to turn refugees away simply because of their background or religion, or, for example, because they are Muslim, then we would be reinforcing terrorist propaganda that nations like my own are somehow opposed to Islam, which is an ugly lie that must be rejected in all of our countries by upholding the values of pluralism and diversity.
“And finally, this crisis is a test of our common humanity — whether we give in to suspicion and fear and build walls, or whether we see ourselves in another. Those girls being trafficked and tortured, they could be our daughters. That little boy on the beach could be our son or our grandson. We cannot avert our eyes or turn our backs. To slam the door in the face of these families would betray our deepest values. It would deny our own heritage as nations, including the United States of America, that have been built by immigrants and refugees. And it would be to ignore a teaching at the heart of so many faiths that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us; that we welcome the stranger in our midst. And just as failure to act in the past — for example, by turning away Jews fleeing Nazi Germany — is a stain on our collective conscience, I believe history will judge us harshly if we do not rise to this moment.
“First and foremost, we must recognize that refugees are a symptom of larger failures — be it war, ethnic tensions, or persecution. If we truly want to address the crisis, wars like the savagery in Syria must be brought to an end — and it will be brought to an end through political settlement and diplomacy, and not simply by bombing.
“We have to insist on greater investments in development and education and democratic institutions — the lack of which fuels so much of the instability we see in the world. And we need to continue to speak up for justice and equality, and insist that the universal human rights of every person are upheld, everywhere.
“As Americans, we’re determined to do our part. The United Nations [United States] is the largest single donor of humanitarian aid around the world, including to refugees and to the people of Syria. We resettle more refugees than any other nation. As President, I’ve increased the number of refugees we are resettling to 85,000 this year, which includes 10,000 Syrian refugees — a goal we’ve exceeded even as we’ve upheld our rigorous screening. And I called for this summit because we all have to do more. ”
“Obviously, Jordan is carrying an enormous burden as a consequence of the conflict, and we are grateful for His Majesty and the work that they’ve done. Mexico, which is absorbing a great number of refugees from Central America. Sweden, which has made enormous humanitarian contributions in addition to taking on refugees. Germany and Canada — two countries that have gone above and beyond in providing support for refugees. And I want to personally thank Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Trudeau, and the people of both those countries — because the politics sometimes can be hard, but it’s the right thing to do. And Ethiopia, which as was noted in the video, bears an enormous burden.”
“We can learn from a young boy named Alex, who lives not far from here in Scarsdale, New York. Last month, like all of us, Alex saw that heartbreaking image — five-year-old Omran Daqneesh in Aleppo, Syria, sitting in that ambulance, silent and in shock, trying to wipe the blood from his hands.
“And here in New York, Alex, who is just six years old, sat down and wrote me a letter. And he said, he wanted Omran to come live with him and his family. “Since he won’t bring toys,” Alex wrote, “I will share my bike and I will teach him how to ride it. I will teach him addition and subtraction. My little sister will be collecting butterflies and fireflies for him…We can all play together. We will give him a family and he will be our brother.”
“Those are the words of a six-year-old boy. He teaches us a lot.”
