GOVERNMENT SHOULD ACCEPT REFUGEES AND ALLOW THEM TO

RESIDE IN THE COUNTRY

Just a few weeks ago, the world was shaken by the image of a little
boy, who was stranded on a beach. He was among the refugees from Syria
that flee from their country due to the war that arises there. He was among
the number of Syrian refugees that were found dead because of drowning.
His final journey was supposed to end in sanctuary in Europe; instead it
claimed his life and highlighted the plight of desperate people caught in the
gravest refugee crisis since World War II. The images of the toddlers lifeless
body on a Turkish beach have reverberated across the globe, stirring public
outrage and embarrassing political leaders as far away as Canada, where
authorities had rejected an asylum application from the boys relatives. The
child pictured face down in red T-shirt and shorts was identified as Aylan
Kurdi, a Syrian Kurd from Kobani, a town near the Turkish border that has
witnessed months of heavy fighting between Islamic State and Syrian
Kurdish forces. He drowned after the 15-foot boat ferrying him from the
Turkish beach resort of Bodrum to the Greek island of Kos capsized shortly
before dawn on Wednesday, killing 12 passengers. Aylans 5-year-old
brother, Galip, and his mother, Rehan, were also among the dead. His father,
Abdullah, was the only family member to survive.
The term refugee is applied to a person who is outside their home
country of citizenship because they have well-founded grounds for fear of
persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a
particular social group or political opinion, and is unable to obtain sanctuary
from their home country or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail
themselves of the protection of that country. There were 19.5 million
refugees worldwide at the end of 2014 14.4 million under the mandate of
UNHCR, around 2.9 million more than in 2013. The other 5.1 million

Palestinian refugees are registered with the United Nations Relief and Works
Agency (UNRWA). During the year, conflict and persecution forced an
average of 42500 persons per day to leave their homes and seek protection
elsewhere, either within the borders of their country or in other countries.
Developing countries host over 86% of the worlds refugees, compared to
70% ten years ago. In 2014, the country hosting the largest number of
refugees was Turkey, with 1.59 million refugees. By the end of 2014, Syria
had become the worlds top source country of refugees, overtaking
Afghanistan, which had held this position for more than three decades.
Today, on average, almost one out of every four refugees is Syrian, with 95%
located in surrounding countries. Last year, 51% of refugees were under 18
years old. This is the highest figure for child refugees in more than a decade.
An estimated 13.9 million people were newly displaced due to conflict or
persecution, including 2.9 million new refugees. By the end of 2014, the
number of people assisted or protected by UNHCR had reached a record of
46.7 million people.
It is inconceivable that the pleas of these desperate people should be
ignored. We can no longer stand still and sit idly by. Thousands are risking
their lives every day to get to a place of safety. However, if they survived the
perilous journey, they are forced to wait in dire, inhumane conditions while
world leaders argue what must be done. It is our duty to accept the refugees
as many as we can and not criminalize them. The government must help find
a solution to the crisis in Syria and Africa especially, to avoid an even greater
humanitarian disaster from happening. The daily images of desperate men,
women and children fleeing the escalating violence have shocked the world.
We should help refugees because they are just like all of us. Except, they are
suffering hardships, unimaginable violence, starvation, death of their
children and even forced migration out of their own country while we are
living our life, overwhelmed by all those things that the refugees never
dreamed of. Those situation involving refugees are now happening in some

parts of our world for example in East Africa. Refugees there have limited
access to food, living in the houses that were made of sticks and
experiencing insecurity all the time. Accepting the refugees into the country
will project that country leadership and soft power. Not to mention, building
respect among the international community for its people and principles.
Plus, refugees are not burdens to the society and they are not foreigners
because they are all like us. They are people who want to seek protection by
entering our country. They are people who want to build a better tomorrow
especially for their children. For example the refugees in New England are
alive today because people there accept them and provide protection for
those refugees.

In addition, countries like Australia, Germany, United Kingdom and

Saudi Arabia have started to accept refugees and allow them to take
sanctuary in their country. Australian Prime Minister, Tony Abbot is sending
his immigration minister to Geneva to talk to the UNs refugee agency on
what more Australia can do to help with the growing crisis in Syria. Their
government will take more Syrian refugees, as part of its already generous
allocation of humanitarian visas. Over the decades, millions of refugees have
resettled to countries around the globe to rebuild their lives. Accepting more
refugees and boat people into the country is one of the greatest
contributions a government can make to improve the world around us and
enhancing our own living standards. Rather than accepting people because
we have an "obligation" under international law, why not accept people
because we have an opportunity to improve living standards? Allowing more
people into our country to work and improve their lives will have massive
spillovers on the lives of their families and friends back home. Perhaps the
greatest flaw is the argument about the welfare state. The notion that
refugees come here simply because they want to get on to welfare is often
heard. Milton Friedman once argued that an open borders policy was
inconsistent with a welfare state. But why define ourselves by welfare; what
about the rule of law, freedom of contract, freedom from persecution and so
on? Our welfare policies have not made us comfortable, rich and prosperous,
rather our work-ethic and our "propensity to truck, barter, and exchange one
thing for another". Of course, we might hear that immigration brings
unemployment and infrastructure stress. But the unemployment argument
rests on the lump of labor fallacy. There isn't a finite amount of work that
needs to be shared out amongst more and more people. The infrastructure
argument is just lazy government making excuses for their lack of service
provision. They levy the tax every year, they can provide the services.
The bottom line is this; rather than trying to keep people out, we
should be looking to bring people in. The need for some or other orderly

process (we will always have customs) is being hijacked by an anti-migrant

and anti-refugee debate. It is also being morphed into an anti-Muslim debate.
There needs to be leadership on this issue. All worthwhile reforms are
difficult and often require leadership in changing public attitudes. All in all,
the government should and must accept the refugees and allow them to
reside or take sanctuary in our country based on the above statements.
Refugees are also human beings like the rest of us and they have every right
to be accepted and allowed to live life as normal as other person. Antonio
Guterres once said, Refugees are not terrorists. They are often the victims of
terrorism.