Letter: Some are ready to welcome Syrian refugees

…homeless and veterans versus Islamic refugees—the two are not mutually exclusive.

To the editor:

A flurry of letters and Facebook posts demanding we stop the Syrian refugee immigration and take care of our homeless and vets before refugees, got us thinking.

We have made donations to two school Christmas funds, the Nelson Food Cupboard, the Calgary Food Bank, the Calgary Mustard Seed, the Poppy Fund, the Canadian Red Cross, UNICEF, UNHCR, the Nelson SPCA, Nelson Cares and a small congregation in Strathmore. We are blessed to be able to afford a bit of modest help to those in need.

I would suggest that those so eager to post support for the “homeless and veterans versus Islamic refugee” rhetoric realize that the two are not mutually exclusive. It seems obvious that ISIS is no more representative of Islam than the Ku Klux Klan is representative of Christianity. I hope they would be eager to offer their help to all those in need.

In the meantime, does anyone know of a reputable organization directly dealing with Syrian refugees coming to Canada that I can assist?

Ryan Lengsfeld, Nelson

 

Kelowna Capital News