Refugees

by Martha Sprackland

I sit on my coat

and think about home:

the warm cosy glow of the fire,

the smell of home baked bread…

I brush tears to the grass.

A small child wanders over,

sits down with a bump.

I glance at him,

and he gazes at me intently.

A sharp, blue gaze,

I offer him a piece of bread

and he takes it. A flicker of a smile.

I put my arm around his skinny shoulders.

I stumbled upon this work by Martha Sprackland after a quick google search for the keywords “refugee poems.” I knew I wanted the focus of my audio essay to revolve around the continuing crisis of refugees and migrants fleeing Syria.

The Head of the UN Refugee Agency, Antonio Guterres, has stated this crisis is a result of “a failure of leadership worldwide.”

Many critics have pointed to President Obama’s hesitancy to intervene forcefully in the Syrian civil war as a grave mistake, one that has been a large factor in the current refugee crisis.

I would like to provide some context for some of these criticisms of President Obama. In 2012, the President stated that the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons against their citizens presented a “red line,” that would bring about a military response from the US and international community.

In August 2012, military intelligence confirmed that Bashar al-Assad and the Syrian government had used chemical weapons against the rebel forces and the citizens. By late August it appeared--and has been confirmed--that the Obama administration was going to use military force against the Syrian government with the help of the British and the French.

However, when Britain’s parliament voted against the use of ground forces in Syria, it seemed to make Obama hesitant to act. Instead of directly ordering the military into action, he instead went to Congress and asked for an authorization for the use of military force against the government of syria. The American public was not in favor of another interventionist war and Congress knew this and consequently the bill was never brought to the House floor. Some argue that this inaction led to much of the continued instability in Syria.

The rise of the Islamic State has also wreaked havoc on Syria. IS has been waging war into Syria, trying to spread their Islamic caliphate. Syria has now been rendered uninhabitable, as the government fights islamic terror groups like the al-Nursa front and IS, while the syrian opposition fights all three. All the violence has brought cities to ruins, displacing millions of Syrians just trying to live their lives.

Reading this poem makes me reflect on the innocent lives affected by this crisis, how we are so lucky to not live in a place where one’s entire neighborhood could be reduced to rubble overnight. I reflect on Nicholas Kristof’s New York Times piece aptly titled “Compassion is not Enough.” He is right. The Obama administration publicly stated that they would admit 10,000 additional Syrian refugees to the United States, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the 4 million displaced refugees. Germany has estimated they will take in 800,000 refugees this year, an extremely beautiful, compassionate gesture.

(news clip)

The Head of the UN Refugee Agency, Antonio Guterres, has called the Syrian Refugee crisis is a result of “a failure of leadership worldwide.”  Many critics have pointed to President Obama’s hesitancy to intervene forcefully in the Syrian civil war as a grave mistake, one that has been a large factor in the current refugee crisis. But now the President might combat fear mongering from across the aisle to promote American values of acceptance in the context of the refugee crisis.

(clip of Obama)

The rise of the Islamic State has also wreaked havoc on Syria. IS has been waging war into Syria, trying to spread their Islamic caliphate. Syria has now been rendered uninhabitable, as the government fights islamic terror groups like the al-Nursa front and IS, while the syrian opposition fights all three. All the violence has brought cities to ruins, displacing millions of Syrians just trying to live their lives.

(gun and bomb sounds throughout)

Nicholas Kristof’s argues that  “Compassion is not Enough.” He is right. The Obama administration publicly stated that they would admit 10,000 additional Syrian refugees to the United States, but this is a drop in the bucket compared to the 4 million displaced refugees

Democratic Presidential candidates have called for 65,000 additional refugees, the number recommended by the UN.

(Martin O’Malley Clip)

The numbers are not just policy minutia, these are real lives at stake. We must do better in Syria, our policy there has been an abject failure. We must, as the global leader, end the civil war, restore stability with the help of our friends like France and our enemies like Russia. Because to really allow our fellow humans to live the life they deserve we need to remember, the ultimate solution isn’t to resettle Syrians but to allow them to go home. Here are some parting words from Barack Obama.

(clip)

here is the final version:

Capturing the Revision Process:

Reflections:

This was not my favorite project to do but I found it to be the most important. I think we have a duty as American citizens to promote our liberal values worldwide. The demagoguing of the refugee issue to me has been sickening and I was happy to create a work that combats that behavior. The revisions were important to me because it allowed for a narrow focus which I felt helped to be more successful at reaching the objective. It was no longer a poetry piece but turned into a political piece. The ability to be flexible is one of the greatest parts of this class, as it allows for the students to explore their own interests and achieve what their own goals may be. I am a very political person, so to create something that I felt was both politically and morally salient was a great feeling. Walking though the revision process was odd. I probably did that in an informal manner. I was unable to simultaneously revise and record so I just gave the gist of the revision process. That was less successful than the creation itself.