A Brief Comment by Niagara At Large publisher Doug Draper
“Except for our Aboriginal people, we all came from somewhere else.” – Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne, during a media conference this November 17th after re-affirming her government’s commitment to welcome up to 10,000 Syrian refugees to the province.
Remember this Syrian boy, washed up dead this past summer on a Turkish beach?. He nd his family were hoping to make a new home in Canada.
As some of Canada’s political leaders and others question whether, in the wake of the recent Paris terrorist attacks, our new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, should follow through on his pledge to welcome 25,000 Syrian refugees to our country by this coming January, Trudeau is so far standing by that pledge.
Across the border in the United States, President Barack Obama is facing similar pressure from governors of several U.S. states to back away from his plan to welcome 10,000 refugees fleeing a Syria that is being ravaged by terrorist groups and their country’s own leader. And just as Ontario’s premier did, he too reminded his fellow citizens that most of their families came to America to escape political, religious or some of form of persecution or violence.
Given the debate now raging over whether or not to welcome refugees from Syria, there is a cartoon circulating through Facebook that I am sharing with you here.
If I might add one thing to this cartoon, I would have the new arrival respond; “But you can’t turn me back. I will be taking my place as an old stock Canadian.”
Now I will leave you with an excerpt from Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s remarks this November 17th when questioned by members of the media on the same issue.
“I think that this is actually a time that we need to reach out to our Muslim neighbours and friends, and recognize that the acts that took place in Paris were acts of terrorism and not born, not born of religion but of some other, some other genesis, some other hateful motivation. So at the same time we reconfirm our commitment to receiving refugees in Ontario.”
“I know that there is a link being made in some ways between these events,” Wynne continued. “But we believe very strongly it is possible and it is necessary to do everything that we can in terms of security, but at the same time, we are an inclusive and open society, except for our Aboriginal people we all came from somewhere else.”
“Many came in the past as refugees, as immigrants,” added Wynne. “We are going to do everything we can to work with the federal government to live up to our commitment and to work with the federal government to help them to live up to their commitment and obviously, obviously that was the same before the situation in Paris. But I think it’s important that we reconfirm that commitment at this point.”
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At one point, even the aboriginals came from somewhere else! Guess, it just depends on how far back one would want to go….
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What does the inscription on the Statue of Liberty….a gift from FRANCE…say? “Give us your tired, your hungry, your huddled masses yearning to be free”. Do these refugees fit that description?
So far 30 states say they will refuse refugees. Some here agree. Perhaps we should retroactively deport those Governors. Some, including Canada, also rejected ships full of Jews before WW2. I wonder what happened to them.
Anyone can become a terrorist or be converted to a fanatical ideology regardless of origin. Many have been home grown in their birth countries. If they feel hopeless and have no future they seek like fellows. It seems the solution would be to help these people to get an education, a good job, physical and financial security and find socially acceptable goals. Most need mental health intervention. In other words, make all of our societies more fair for everyone at home and stop interfering abroad. Happy people tend not to blow up themselves and others.
Of course careful screening is vital and should not be rushed. If any immigrants break the law or become advocates of hate, stick them on a plane and send them back. We are all immigrants, some just more recent than others.
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