International Affairs Professor: U.S. Should Resolve to Help Syrian Refugees
November 24, 2015
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In an op-ed in The Hill, Carla Barqueiro, assistant professor in UB's School of Public and International Affairs, and graduate research assistant Katherine Teresa Towey say that the United States should be firm in its efforts to assist refugees fleeing from the conflict in Syria.
"Despite horrific photos of drowned children floating onto Greek and Turkish shores, the plight of refugees from Syria undertaking treacherous journeys through Europe to escape violence and warfare has only served to temporarily refocus American attention on the suffering of civilians," the pair write in the op-ed. "Initial calls for further U.S. action to protect refugees in September 2015 were met with tepid responses by the U.S. government. Under rising public pressure, the Obama administration pledged to increase its quota of Syrian refugees to 10,000 beginning in 2015. After four years of conflict in Syria, and with death tolls reaching upwards of 200,000, the U.S. government thus far has only accepted a meager 2,200 Syrian refugees into the United States.
"The Syrian civil war, and ISIS territorial expansion, has sparked the largest exodus of people fleeing conflict since World War II, and has resulted in one of the most severe humanitarian crises of our time. Indeed, as many experts have noted, U.S. public opinion has regularly displayed opposition to 'doing the right thing' when faced with refugees seeking asylum in the U.S., including Jews fleeing Nazi Germany in the 1930s."
Read the op-ed.
Learn more about Prof. Barqueiro and UB's College of Public Affairs, home of the School of Public and International Affairs.