Editor: There is a fear among Canadians that within the number of 25,000 Syrian refugees immigrating to Canada there may be ‘jihadists’.
The reality is, yes, there may be some terrorists who will sneak through. There is no guarantee this will not happen. It is difficult to do security checks on Syrian refugees because background information may be non-existent.
Syria does not have its infrastructure now — data sets, police and intel services do not exist.
But four million Syrian refugees have left war-torn Syria since 2011. The UN high commissioner Antonio Guterres said in 2014, “the Syria crisis has become the biggest humanitarian emergency of our era, yet the world is failing to meet the needs of refugees and the countries hosting them.”
Concern for our fellow man warrants seeing the refugees’ plight, feeling compassion, taking action to help (even when not knowing whether they are friends or enemies).
Adaptation in Canada will be difficult for these new refugees.
They may have to learn a new language, obtain employment and adjust to our culture, in order to succeed.
They may even have to struggle with overcoming past trauma. And there will be a cost to Canadians (each Syrian refugee could cost $40,000 in the first year) and that cost could mount if the refugees are not able to work right away for various reasons.
Yet, any hardships or discomfort we may experience will likely be minimal compared to the hardships new immigrants will have to face.
Hopefully, these Syrian refugees coming into our country will be grateful to this country, which welcomes them.
A country, which they can now call home. The majority of refugees will most likely become proud Canadian citizens and contributing members of our society. And make a difference.
The 25,000 Syrian refugees immigrating to Canada is a drop in the bucket compared to our Canadian population. Canada can easily absorb these refugees. And surely, the risk for us is substantially minor in comparison to the benefit for these people and possibly our country, long term.
The problem with fear is that it often tends to produce the very thing that one is afraid of.
Cora Goodyear,
Langley
