Dear President of the United States,

I am not from Syria. I come from the Ivory Coast and I come from a country where there is war. I had to move to the United States because of the war in my country, and I can feel how the Syrian refugees must feel now. Leaving everything behind including your culture, education, friends, and family and beliefs is not an easy thing to do. You have to get used to the new ideas around you, getting used to the new cultures, adapting to a brand new language, the climate, make new friends and go to a totally different school.

Immigration has become a choice subject in the United States, where bad things are being said to the Syrian refugees, if the government should let the refugees in or not. Isn’t America where people all over the world come to live the “American dream”? Welcoming the Syrians is a good thing to do, and it would obviously be wrong refusing children and women the right to enter the U.S. Blocking Syrian refugees from coming to America is refusing thousands and thousands of kids and women who have nothing to do with the war but are getting killed. These are innocent people trying to find a home, to live again after all they have been through. 

Children and women shouldn't pay for a crime they didn’t do. They should be free and allowed to live in America just like any other refugees. According to Steve Peoples of the Associated Press, “Let us be clear: Every governor knows this is a country of immigrants with a long and cherished tradition of helping refugees.” It is the government's responsibility to take care of refugees, not reject them. They should be protected by the Constitution. That’s what America is known for: accepting immigrants, not refusing them because of their background, or what people are been assuming of them. If the government stops receiving the Syrian refugees, it is just allowing more and more innocent children and women to die. And if that happens, America no longer represents its people or the country itself. 

Lastly, according to Christine Armario of the Associated Press, "'I feel so sad I left Syria,'" said Abdulhamid, whose expression quickly shifts from joy to grief. 'Because it's my country. My home.' " This is a kid who misses his home country. It’s hard for him to stay happy, his expression changes too fast, due to all the bad things he has experienced. For a kid, it’s too much. He has seen dead bodies. His school got destroyed because of the war, and it's a nightmare thinking about this or trying to tell his story to someone. You can’t help but cry to think about all those bad things that have happened and are still happening. Everything you love is gone, you have lost some family members. This kid has seen a lot of nasty things even an older person wouldn't dare to look at what they have been through twice.

Innocent children and women are dying in Syria from the war, bombing, starvation, and these people are running to find a place to live their lives again. Most of these people are coming to America to have a safer environment, they are not yet to enter the country and all of these harmful words are being said against them. That they are terrorists, killers, they are this and that. How could anyone say harmful things to someone they are yet to know them, judging them based on their religion and their background? Doing that will not change anything. Get to know people before judging them. That’s what the American people are doing right now, judging. Isn’t what the people say that the America is known as a place for freedom and equality? A place where people from all sorts of backgrounds can have a peaceful life no matter their religion, or where they are from? From what I have heard the American people saying, even the government are something, that can turn someone down completely. It’s not nice things to say to someone no matter who there are. Dear future president, please have mercy on these refugees, allow them to see the sun shining again.

Sincerely,

Mamou Kone

References

Kausler, D., & Matthews, M. (2015, December 18). PRO/CON: Should state governors be able to reject Syrian refugees? Retrieved from https://newsela.com/articles/rejectrefugees-procon/id/13454/

C. A. (2016, October 24). Syrian refugee children continue their education at public schools in U.S. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from https://newsela.com/articles/syrian-students-enrollment/id/23199/