Introduction

Syria has been in need of humanitarian assistance since the country plunged into civil war in early 2011. The crisis in this republic has resulted to deaths of more than 60,000 people from both the government and opposition forces. There are also million of other displaced and missing people as a result of the civil war and a number of refugees from this country are constantly increasing.  It is alleged that the number of displaced people in this country will be over 700,000 by the end of this year[1]. This has therefore become a global issue and more so to Syria’s surrounding nations.  Refugees are one of the major issues emerging from the Syrian war.  The government of Canada, according to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, through its foreign ministry intends to settle over 25,000 refugees[2].  This has however been faced with strong opposition from majority of the Canadian people. In fact over 54% of the Canadian population has rejected this initiative citing different reasons such as the timeliness and the number being too large to handle.  Nevertheless, 42% of the Canadian population strongly supports the government initiative and hence this issue has become a debate amongst the Canadians. This paper will explain why the Canadian government should carry on with the plan of settling the 25,000 Syrian refugees.

Reasons why Canada should accept 25,000 Syrian refugees

The need for humanitarian assistance on the Syrian refugees is eminent and it should be a collective responsibility for all peace-loving nations to assist where they can. Despite the security concerns and other logistics needed to handle such a big number of refugees, I think that the Canadian government is capable of holding such a group of refugees.  The country can be able to select a group of refugees that will maintain peace and stability in the host country.  It is prudent to note that the refugees entering Canada must first be screened by the United Nations High Commission on refugees.  This screening process ensures that only genuine refugees are hosted in peaceful countries.  The united nations have strong and sophisticated anti-fraud tools like biometrics and the five-step process[3]. This process is a security guarantee that the Canada government will only host genuine refugees.  In addition, the Canadian government will also interview the refugees and screen them by their security agencies to ensure that these refugees will not be a threat to national security.

Another reason why the government of Canada should not fear accepting the refugees is the fact that not accepting the refugees may even be a great threat to national security. The recent terrorist attacks in Paris should be a good example of the effects of insecurity in other countries. According to security experts, radicalization and terrorism can increase as a result of filthy and unsafe refugee camps as they offer a good ground for extremism. It is worth to note that terrorists will find it easy recruiting fighters from squalid and hopeless refugee camps and as result the global terrorism will thrive[4]. The more these Syrian refugees are left to suffer and languish in despair, the more prone they become to radicalization. It is therefore prudent for the government of Canada to take the important step of hosting this number of refugees to enhance global peace and stability.

There has also been a misconception that the exercise of hosting the refugees will spend massive amount from the public coffers. It is however worth to note the government of Canada pays very little to support refugees arriving in this country. The government can organize a scenario where they provide financial support to refugees for a period of one year or until they find work whichever comes first. This will substantially reduce the cost of hosting the refugees and in the long run, the refugees can contribute to the economic growth of the economy of Canada. The amount spent on a single refugee in Canada is much less as compared to other countries such as Germany[5].  Increasing the number of refugees will therefore not need the government to overspend and hence financial constraints should not affect the humanitarian assistance from government. It is also prudent noting that some of the Canadian population is willing to contribute towards hosting these refugees and hence the government spending could be reducing by about 50%.

Also, accepting this number of Canadian refugees will be a big blow to the ISIS extremist group. It is prudent to note that this group depends on extortion and taxes collected from the vast swaths of territory they control. It is alleged that, kidnapping for ransoms, extortion and taxation from these territories accounted for over $620 million in 2014 which is higher than amount from stealing and other criminal activities. It would therefore be paramount for peace-loving states like Canada to take part in the noble exercise of denying finances to such extremist groups. Handling these refugees in safe camps will keep the extremists at bay[6]. Lack of finances will cripple their operations and terrorism activities and consequently lead to global peace and stability. It is for this reason that the group is determined to stop refugee process because it forms one of their sources of income through taxes and extortion.

Fear to host Syrian refugee may not be a solution to the terror threat that opponents of this program are advocating for. Some people argue that the threat of refugees importing terror may not be as great as the threat of leaving people displaced by war and terrorism to remain vulnerable in refugee camps. It is worth noting that Canada has not been proactive in the past and it is now the right time to participate in hosting a good number of refugees[7]. It is also worth noting that the government will prioritize hosting female-headed household, medically vulnerable and unaccompanied minors   who may not pause a great threat to national security. The objectives of Canadian government is having safe refugee camps unlike those found in Afghanistan and Iran and promote global peace.

In conclusion, the government of Canada should move ahead and accept the 25,000 refugees from Syria as outlined by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The republic of Canada has done very little to solve the humanitarian crisis in Syria as compared to other countries like Germany. For instance, Canada has a ratio of 1 refugee to 1000 Canadian citizens while Germany has a ratio of 10 refugees for 1000 citizens. With the kind of economic muscles in the country, it is wise for Canada o accept these refugees and be part of the solution to the cases of global terrorism.

References

Bulley, D. “Inside The Tent: Community And Government In Refugee Camps”. Security Dialogue 45, no. 1 (2014): 63-80.

Cowan, James. “Why Canada Should Welcome More Syrian Refugees”. Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News. Last modified 2015. Accessed February 16, 2016. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/why-canada-should-welcome-more-syrian-refugees-a-lot-more/

Donnelly, Aileen. “Majority Of Canadians Oppose Trudeau’s Plan To Bring 25,000 Syrian Refugees Over In Just Six Weeks: Poll”. National Post. Last modified 2016. Accessed February 16, 2016. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/majority-of-canadians-oppose-trudeaus-plan-to-bring-25000-syrian-refugees-over-in-just-six-weeks-poll .

PBS NewsHour,. “Syrian Refugees Receive Warm Welcome In Canada”. Last modified 2016. Accessed February 16, 2016. http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/syrian-refugees-receive-warm-welcome-in-canada/.

Williams, Nombasa. “Child Welfare And The UNHCR: A Case For Pre-Resettlement Refugee Parenting Education”. Development in Practice 22, no. 1 (2012): 110-122.

[1] D. Bulley, “Inside The Tent: Community And Government In Refugee Camps”, Security Dialogue 45, no. 1 (2014): 63-80.

[2] D. Bulley, “Inside The Tent: Community And Government In Refugee Camps”, Security Dialogue 45, no. 1 (2014): 63-80.

[3] James Cowan, “Why Canada Should Welcome More Syrian Refugees”, Canadian Business – Your Source For Business News, last modified 2015, accessed February 16, 2016, http://www.canadianbusiness.com/blogs-and-comment/why-canada-should-welcome-more-syrian-refugees-a-lot-more/.

[4] Aileen Donnelly, “Majority Of Canadians Oppose Trudeau’s Plan To Bring 25,000 Syrian Refugees Over In Just Six Weeks: Poll”, National Post, last modified 2016, accessed February 16, 2016, http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/majority-of-canadians-oppose-trudeaus-plan-to-bring-25000-syrian-refugees-over-in-just-six-weeks-poll.

[5] Nombasa Williams, “Child Welfare And The UNHCR: A Case For Pre-Resettlement Refugee Parenting Education”, Development in Practice 22, no. 1 (2012): 110-122.

[6] PBS NewsHour, “Syrian Refugees Receive Warm Welcome In Canada”, last modified 2016, accessed February 16, 2016, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/syrian-refugees-receive-warm-welcome-in-canada/.

[7] PBS NewsHour, “Syrian Refugees Receive Warm Welcome In Canada”, last modified 2016, accessed February 16, 2016, http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/syrian-refugees-receive-warm-welcome-in-canada/.

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