Refugees leave Scottdale

This is an old story now--it was originally published about a month ago--but now that I have a little time to sit down and examine the goings-on in the Nam, I want to talk about this.

In July, the Herald-Standard ran a story about Syrian refugees leaving Scottdale. It gets right to the point--"Discrimination stonewalled them from building a new life." The article goes on to detail how the family came here fleeing violence and couldn't find jobs due to discrimination, with some employers specifically stating they would not hire a Syrian and one going so far as to say, "We hate Muslims a lot here in America, so you should accept that." In school, their daughter experienced bullying, including having her coat stolen and being pushed down, while the school's principal didn't seem to do much about it.

Fayette County, I'm not going to sugarcoat this--we should be ashamed. We should be ashamed that when a family comes here looking for a new start, fleeing violence and destruction, that our response is to judge them because they don't look, sound, or worship like us and to prevent them for moving forward in life. For all the small-town conservative talk about God and Jesus, for all the signs in yards proudly displaying the Ten Commandments, we're choosing to insult, degrade, belittle, ignore, and we're refusing to lend a helping hand, all out of ignorance, nothing more. You can't give me a single good reason to treat a family so deplorably.

But for some of us, this isn't at all surprising. In fact, if you'd told me before there was a refugee family moving into Scottdale, I'd expect that this is what would happen but pray that I'd end up being wrong.

It's crucial to move past prejudice and preconceived notions and actually understand not just the issues Syria faces, but who these people trying to join our community actually are. That means not listening to fear-mongering talking points on TV but actually educating yourself on the refugee issue.

For example, according to World Vision, factcheck.org, and Global Ministries:

• This is the largest refugee crisis of our time, with 5.1 Syrians having left the country as refugees and 6.3 million displaced within the country. Half of all affected are children, and most refugees are women and children.
• Nongovernmental agencies place refugees within the U.S., typically based on family ties and employment.
• Refugees are not welfare-dependent. The median household income for Syrian refugee families is $62,000, which is actually higher than the median income of U.S.-born households.
• No Syrian refugee has ever been involved in a terrorist attack. Out of the general refugee population, fewer than 10 have been involved in terrorist attacks since 9/11.
• ISIS has condemned refugees for leaving the country.
• Refugees are put through a vetting process before they enter the country, which is more rigorous than procedures in place in Europe.

Take this information and learn from it. Be a better person. Don't judge people, and certainly don't hurl verbal abuse at them. If you witness someone being discriminatory, speak up. If you're in a position to help a refugee family, do so--consider volunteering your time and skills to HIAS Pennsylvania.

And to that family, I hope they find peace and acceptance. I hope they know that despite some horrible experiences with horrible people, they don't speak for everyone.