Blog 10. Engage Part Dos

HI y’all. So I totally changed up my approach this week, because I wanted some actual responses. I feel that, unless I am connected within a certain social circle, or have some sort of reputable standing, I’m otherwise going to be somewhat ignored. So what I did was messaged a few people from my social circle, or previous social circles on Facebook that were talking about the refugee crisis. I told them, “Hey I’m doing a sort of a study for one of my university classes on the refugee crisis, can I ask you a few questions?” I got a few responses, and of course, I still used Twitter to show some cool links I’ve found.

So I reached out to a couple of my friends, I’ll call one Stan. I used to work with him at Papa Johns and we were able to talk on the phone after initially talking on Facebook. Stan is from Pakistan, and he is a 24 year old student who is in the medical program in the Caribbean Isles. He moved to the U.S with his family when he was 13, but most of his other family members still live in Pakistan. He is of Muslim faith, yet he is very westernized. Since he and his family members have seen the effect that military warfare has on people, as well as severe civil unrest, he told me that he completely understands where refugees are coming from. He told me that, “People are just trying to survive in any way that they can, and it is morally wrong to refuse refuge for these people.” I believe that he is correct, people should not be held back from trying to better their lives, and in this case, save their lives and the lives of their family. He told me that, “My family is only worrying about paying their mortgage, and the refugees are worrying about their lives every day.” It’s powerful, for instance I’m worrying about my grades and what I will buy my loved ones for Christmas, and people on the other side of the globe have much more severe worries then I have. This is evident in plenty of the articles that I found. People are crossing treacherous waters, and many of them are barely escaping with their lives. The least countries can do is offer them refuge.

Another one of my compadres who I met in High School posted a link to a video in September about the refugee crisis. I found his post when I searched the refugee crisis on Facebook. In his post, he said “Very painful to watch and to know that this is a tiny percentage of people who live with this every single day. What are we doing as humans when a 13 year old is absolutely defeated and is asking for something that should never have to be asked for. Breaks my heart.” The video is about the drowned Syrian child from back in September, and it’s really powerful. I commented on this as well, but didn’t receive a response yet. Video is here.

I tried to contact people that I haven’t met online, and I unfortunately didn’t receive anything back. I’m trying to build a Twitter base, but it’s taking some time. Overall, I think that to get a social movement going, or a group, you need to start small. Start within your friends and family, or colleagues who share similar opinions. Like that one Ted Talk explained that all a leader needs is one good follower, I think that’s how it starts. So that is why I reached out to people I know who don’t go to school here, and who may know something about the refugee crisis. It was engaging, and quite helpful.