Compared to the previous month, the number of refugees entering the United States from Syria doubled, giving reality to President Barrack Obama’s goal of accepting 10,000 refugees by the end of the fiscal year. The Syrian refugees are settled all across the United states, with 5,000 more to go in the next three months to meet the administration’s goals. The Council on Foreign Relations stated that since the start of the Syrian War in 2011, millions of Syrians have escaped their country, causing heavy burdens on the neighboring countries. This led President Obama to take humanitarian action. Although the effort was first faced with terrorist fears and other negative efforts, the latest polls and figures seem to show support for accepting the refugees.
I feel that President Barrack Obama’s humanitarian effort is a very good thing for the whole of the world. I was surprised that majority of the people in the United States supported having refugees from Syria and other middle-eastern countries. Early in June there was the tragic shooting, and I thought more people would have fear for the refugees. When I read these articles concerning humanitarian efforts for the refugees, I always get sad at how unkind Japan is. This semester, I did a report on Japan’s immigrant acceptance, and I learnt that Japan has the acceptance rate of 0.2%. We are a country that has gun laws insanely more strict compared to the US, and minimal record of foreign terrorist attack. What’s stopping us from reaching out a helping hand?