Fools shame themselves in face of refugees’ need
The information age?
Jesus wept. He’s not alone. This is the age of ignorance and lies.
The other night a television reporter was doing one of those person-in-thestreet interviews; he asked a woman about the Syrian refugee crisis. She seemed like a nice person until she said — and here I paraphrase — that we can’t afford to feed our vets, so how we can we afford to bring in any refugees. The reporter didn’t challenge her. We can’t feed our vets? What does that even mean? But if she has a shred of a point, she might wonder why the Department of Veterans Affairs has returned more than a billion dollars to the federal coffers since Harper took power, and why Harper has been closing regional offices and laying off staff who serve vets.
Here’s another example of ignorance and lies: some poor idiot forwarded an anonymous letter to my attention; it is making the rounds of the media — I know it has been forwarded to people at the CBC — and it concerns the Syrian refugees. It begins with this rhetorical claptrap:
“How come (the refugees) all seem to have endless supplies of money to pay the people traffickers?” Oh, dear me. The people fleeing Syria are just like you and me.
What would we do if a civil war broke out here, and our homes were being bombed? We’d sell everything we own for 10 cents on the dollar and we’d hit the road, pronto.
Back to the letter: “How come most of them have working mobile phones?” Oh, you poor dim idiot, everyone on Earth has a mobile phone, probably even you.
The letter, again: “Most appear well dressed and fed and do not appear to be suffering the effects of malnutrition.”
Lady, theirs is a choice between starvation and death, and so they are on the march; under no circumstances are they well fed on the road.
The letter, again: “Most of the refugees are men of military age.” Except that 75 per cent of the refugees are children, according to the United Nations. I’m guessing that the men she is referring to are not soldiers in disguise but shopkeepers, schoolteachers, bakers and clerks.
The letter concludes by wondering whether ISIS fighters have infiltrated the refugee stream, so that they might become embedded in Europe. Here is the reasoning: “We all know life is cheap from an ISIS point (sic) so the loss of a few lives on the way has no meaning for them as long as it benefits their cause.”
That is so absurd and so racist that I hardly know where to begin. You cannot say that they are properly nourished on the one hand, yet say they are dying on the other.
You should, however, note that former generals Rick Hillier and Romeo Dallaire say there is no real danger of infiltration, and that we should be doing all that we can to help.
Frankly, if there are any terrorists coming our way, it is more likely that they will arrive wearing silk suits and carrying briefcases.
And finally, my poor ignorant correspondent adds her own unvarnished thought: “Why not give the men guns and send them back to fight ISIS or is it easier to send Canadian troops to fight for them?”
Never mind that we have no combat troops in Syria.
But if her previous point is that the refugee stream is infiltrated with secret ISIS fighters, and if we give them guns, wouldn’t that be . . . ah, the hell with it.
Let us turn away from ignorance and lies and cast our lot with those who understand that an open heart is better than a closed door: Mary Jo Leddy of Romero House is raising money to sponsor one or perhaps two refugee families; if you want to help, send a cheque payable to Romero House and mark it “Syrian Refugees.” The address of Romero House is 1558 Bloor St. W., Toronto M6P 1A4.
Or perhaps you know the parish of San Lorenzo, in the north end of the city. The padre, Hernan Astudillo, was himself a refugee at one time. The parish is also trying to sponsor two families, perhaps more. You may wish to send a cheque payable to Caravan of Hope, and mark it “Syrian Refugees.” The address of the Church of San Lorenzo is 2981 Dufferin St., Toronto M6B 3T4. Think of it as a way to save lives. And dispel ignorance. Joe Fiorito appears on Monday. jfiorito@thestar.ca