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In addition to over 150 killed with scores injured, the recent attacks on Paris by ISIS were unfortunate in many ways. Seeing that one of the attackers came to France from Syria, calls have increased to impugn the millions of Syrian refugees as potential terrorists. While a certain amount of common-sense skepticism is warranted, Syrian and other refugees should not be feared or demonized. After all, we are dealing here with hundreds of thousands of refugees as opposed to possibly a couple of dozen terrorist infiltrators.
I Am Syria has prepared a series of articles to help educate our viewers on what it is to be a Syrian Refugee and what conditions are like for those fleeing Syria. Our friends around the world have helped contribute to our series by providing us their point of view and what they have experienced. Jordan Hattar - The Lens Of A Humanitarian Journalist
Who Are those Syrian Refugees Really? |
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Ammar Abdulhamid is a liberal Syrian pro-democracy activist whose anti-regime activities led to his exile in September of 2005. He currently lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with his wife, Khawla Yusuf, and their children, Oula (b.1986) and Mouhanad (b. 1990). He is the founder of theTharwa Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to democracy promotion. His personal website and entries from his older blogs can be accessed here.
As a Syrian asylee who found a safe haven in this country long before the revolutionary upheavals, and as a person whose life experiences took him from being a young radical Imam to an agnostic author and prodemocracy activist who strongly embraces secular values and advocates the right to heresy, he thought it incumbent upon him at this stage to contribute to the ongoing debating regarding Syrian refugees: who they are, what they want, and what can they bring with them by way of contributions. |
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Teaching About The Syrian Refugee Crisis: What You Do Matters
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Joseph Karb and Andrew Beiter are the Education Directors of I Am Syria, and are nationally recognized educational leaders who teach Social Studies at Springville Middle School outside of Buffalo, New York. Karb is the founder and Co-Director of the NYSUT/Robert F. Kennedy Speak Truth to Power Human Rights Video Contest. Beiter is the Director of the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies in Buffalo, and is a Regional Education Coordinator for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
What makes the Refugee crisis compelling for educators is that the Syrian revolt was started Daraa by a group of 9 to 12 year-old boys, who brazenly wrote on the side of their school “The government must go!”. The students’ efforts were followed by other Syrian children who courageously pressed their painted green hands against the walls of their community as a sign of symbolic protest. |
All Refugee's In America, Deserve Compassion
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TJ Rogers is the Program Manager for Freedom House Detroit. Freedom House Detroit is a temporary home for indigent survivors of persecution from around the world who are seeking asylum in the United States and Canada. In addition to his work with refugees, Rogers has worked with the UN on LGBT rights and is an annual speaker and supporter for the Summer Institute for Human Rights and Genocide Studies.
TJ Rogers has in depth knowledge and experience inside the refugee process in the United States. Rogers says once in the U.S., these refugees have a legal protected status and are entitled to eight-months of mainstream public assistance through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Refugee Resettlement. They also receive a work permit upon arrival, social security number, and are eligible for state identification. While support mechanisms are in place, their journey of perseverance is far from over. |
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