Refugee nobodies to the world, everything to their family.

I felt the need to alter the direction in which I am completing my homework for my Media culture class that starts today.  My social media accounts were drowning (pun intended) in the images of washed up Syrian refugees fleeing persecution.  I was left to wonder what is wrong with the world? 

I proceeded to post the horrifying event and brutal image of a 3 year old boy, face down on the beach, as dead as his dreams.  The post generated 14 likes and 7 comments.  I have 250 friends.  Something is clearly wrong with either the Facebook feed generator or my choice in friends.  One friend knew nothing about the Syrian revolution or the Assad regime.  Nor the fact that he has been wiping the entire population with a cocktail of weaponry, the world didn’t know still existed. 

I can’t help the tears as I type, my heart sinks, as I know every minute that passes, every word I type, a Syrian heart stops somewhere.   As of today, around 190,000 are dead and 10.8 million in urgent need of humanitarian assistance inside Syria and 3.8 million refugees around the world.  This issue has received almost no media coverage in the U.S. since the revolution started.  The censorship prevailing over the media networks and concealing the screams of many passionate journalists is now causing lives.   The New York Times article, and various other news outlets covered the story of the boy who washed up on the shores of a Turkish beach.  However, they failed to showcase the wasted innocence, a great loss to humanity but even bigger to the surviving father.  Only a photo of a rescue worker carrying the child was published.  Censoring critical facts as such is unethical, and makes for mild news.  I think Americans can handle the picture of a face down little boy.  I think it should be in their face front and center, as they read their morning news, sipping their perfectly brewed coffee and eating a nice warm coffee cake.  We deserve the truth, reality without make up or blush.  Because the ugly will wake up that moral beast in us, shake us up to do something.

But there aren’t enough passionate hearts, not enough senators who care or UN representatives who rise up.  Shame on the world for not doing enough.  Shame on our government, officials, community, schools and educators.  They are Syrians but we are all part of a global community, with responsibilities to each other.  We have the responsibility of opening doors not building fences. 

This week, every country had an emergency review of their refugee crisis policy, not to find a solution and help, but to justify shutting the door in their face.  It’s international policy, they are following treaty agreements they said.  What policy? Why does that matter? These are starving children, tired mothers and desperate fathers.  They are flesh and blood not ink on paper!

Wake up world! This could have been you!