Nicholas Kristof, in his Op-Ed entitled, "Compassion for Refugees Isn't Enough (September 10, 2015)," examines the burgeoning refugee crisis and asserts that having compassion for the refugees isn't enough; the international community must repair the situation at "home" (Syria, Jordan, etc.) in order to truly attack the crisis. Kristof uses an appeal to logos, statements made by experts on Syria and the current situation, and suggestions for future action, like enacting a no-fly zone, to emphasize the crucial state of the refugee crisis and urge the implementation of a systematic manner in which to solve the displacement of almost 60 million people (note: this is a worldwide estimate, not limited to Syria). His purpose is to educate and persuade his readers into envisioning a logical approach to helping the refugees, rather than relying solely on emotion, in order to spur a different type of thinking in dealing with the crisis. His audience spans all across the spectrum, and is a plea to everyone around the world to begin the steps necessary to solve the crisis.
I definitely agree with many of the points that Kristof makes. Especially with the release of the picture of Aylan Kurdi, people, particularly those in America, have become more alert to the refugee crisis. FOX News reported America as having been "sleeping" in regards to the refugee crisis up until they saw the picture, and only know have they truly realized the gravity of the situation. However, it's easy to have an emotional response without stopping to think about the implications of such a crisis. The refugee situation is devastating, yet it is not realistic to transport them all to the West. Kristof mentions that the international community needs to focus more on fixing the grassroots issue, which, quite frankly, has been ignored for a number of years already. The problem is just growing and growing, and until it knocks on their door (literally), countries have not paid much attention to the dangerously terrifying situation in Syria. The refugees cannot stay in the West for eternity; there's simply not enough room to take them all in. But at the same time, if we don't do anything about it, we're facing a gloomy future. We have an entire generation among us that is uneducated and impoverished, and without doing anything about it, we run the risk of developing a generation involved with terrorism. The world perches on a steep slope, and it can only skirt around the issue so much before the ramifications start to settle in, and the global community finds itself in an even more twisted situation it cannot wriggle itself out of.
Link to article: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/10/opinion/nicholas-kristof-compassion-for-refugees-isnt-enough.html
The precis was written very well, but I would like to a highlight a few points that could maybe improve it. I thought that the first sentence was written very well, and the second sentence didn't summarize too much. However in the third sentence, you discuss the tone, and the fourth sentence only touches on the audience. Maybe for next time you should emphasize the tone more in the fourth sentence and not in the third. The precis was still very good, and it really gave a clear and coherent view of the article.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the point that we can't let refugees pour into the West, and I like the idea of fixing the problems at 'home". However, I think that the "problem" that you mentioned can be solved with warfare. Kristof seemed to be against this approach, but I feel that warfare would attack the Syrian issue at its heart. Syria needs a new type of government, presumably democracy. We are not going to be successful, if we simply lock down the aircrafts. As Kristof and you mentioned, there are women in dire need of safety and a new government could help. The country needs a strong leader to succeed. What do you think would be the best method for changing a country at "home"?
Is there really not enough room? I think there is. I think people say that, but what they really mean is that they don't want to bother with the work it will take to integrate all these people, when they don't even want them there in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAlso, do you really think all these people can go home? I could be wrong, but there doesn't seem like ISIS is leaving much of a home to return to.