Re: Canada and the current refugees
We did not cause the current refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe but we need to do something about it because of our moral obligation to others. However there are several facts that need to be stated plainly before we commit to action.
These refugees are fleeing political instability caused by ISIS and the Assad regime.
The poorest of the refugees are in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan, not in Europe.
The refugees in Europe have had or still have access to significant wealth.
Some of these refugees have obtained their money through illegal activity.
Some of the European refugees are the best and brightest that these areas have to offer and will be required to create a stable society.
Some of the refugees are terrorists planted to infiltrate ISIS’s declared enemy (western democracies).
The best possible outcome for these people is to return to their lives in Syria and Iraq.
The first and most useful thing we can do is use the resources available to provide assistance to the poorest of the refugees stuck in camps in Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.
The next most useful thing that we can do is to rid their home of the evil that has driven these victims into exile.
However there is no point in cleaning up the existing problem without a commitment to provide the financial aid to re-establish a functioning economy. Europe needed financial help after the Second World War. These people will require help on the same scale.
The worst thing that we can do is use our resources to bring refugees from Europe to Canada!
In the best case we rob a future Syria and Iraq of citizens capable of creating and amassing wealth; in the worst case we import destabilizing elements that impair our ability to help.
Chuck Dandy
Duncan
