It took the sight of waves lapping at three-year-old Alan Kurdi’s lifeless face to grab the attention of the world in a way no media report could have ever hoped to accomplish. That photograph, which surely ranks among the most powerful images ever taken, has suddenly brought the plight of millions of suffering people into comfortable lives around the world. Who could not be shocked and moved by that visceral photo of a life cut so short? Who does not want something to be done to ensure this needless tragedy will never happen again?
That photograph has made it impossible for North Americans to ignore the world’s escalating refugee crisis any longer. Since its publication, it has dominated the news cycle. It has taken over both national and international conversations, in a way that the constant stream of previous news stories about refugee suffering failed to evoke in the past. It has educated us, but as we look at this extremely complicated issue, we must be wary to be guided only by emotion or partisanship. We must think about our actions and, in all good conscience, show compassion.
Syrians by the millions have fled their country into neighbouring nations that absolutely deserve the help of the rest of the world in dealing with this sudden influx of humanity. But, Syrians account for only about half the 380,000 refugees who crossed the Mediterranean for Europe by early September. Like the Syrians, according to the United Nations, about three-quarters of the refugees are fleeing armed conflict or humanitarian crises in their own countries such as Afghanistan, Eritrea, Nigeria, Somalia, Pakistan, Iraq and Sudan.
Reaction to this wave of unsettled humanity has been mixed, to say the least. According to one source, Germany, to its credit, will officially take 800,000 refugees this year a year. This hasn’t made everyone happy for a number of reasons, some perhaps reasonable and some seemingly racist. But much of the world is stepping up. The United States now says it will take 10,000, as France and the United Kingdom have also promised to accept more. Prime Minister Stephen Harper started his election campaign with the promise to bring 10,000 refugees to Canada. He appears to be sticking to that number, but promises to speed up the process, which appears to be complicated and horrendously slow.
Church groups around the country, including Edmonton, have been unsuccessfully working to sponsor refugee families for months, long before the little Alan Kurdi’s death. Some have gone on the record to complain about the slow bureaucracy and screening process even as waiting accommodations and resources sit unused. We have heard reports that some churches in St. Albert have also been working to help bring refugees here, though they have not yet confirmed that with us.
These efforts all deserve warm appreciation. But no matter how many people flee terror and uncertainty, the truth remains that other countries will not be able to house them all. We can’t forget that what all of these people really need is a stable place to live, raise families and carry on their trades and businesses just like us, without brutal dictators, bloodthirsty religious fanatics and the constant fear of war. Does the rest of the world have the stomach to deal with that?
