This comment by Sonia Bous Aidi on a recent Humans of New York post about the European migrant crisis is powerful if true:
Syria became home to the Circassian refugees in 1860
Syria became home to the Armenian refugees in 1914
Syria became home to the Palestinian refugees in 1948
Syria became home once again to Palestinian refugees in 1967
Syria became home to the refugees from Kuwait in 1990
Syria became home to refugees from Lebanon in 1996
Syria became home to the refugees from Iraq in 2003
Syria became home to the refugees from Lebanon in 2006
It will be written in the history books and generations will remember, that Syria never closed it’s borders for those who fled their homes seeking safety and refuge.
Syria has never asked any Arab for a visa to enter it’s lands whether it was a visit or permanent stay.
In Syria not a single tent was put up on the borders to accommodate for refugees across the years, houses were opened, streets were vacated and cities were renamed to allow for refugees to feel at home.
Let it be written in the history books and let the generations remember, that when a Syrian needed help and refuge; borders were closed and the world looked away.
The claim is not specifically made, but the implication is clearly that in recent times, Syria has always welcomed refugees, and that it has received proportionally more refugees from nearby countries than other countries have received Syrian refugees.
Is such an assertion correct?
Notability support: The comment has 9346 likes, making it highly visible on the page. The comment has 264 replies disucssing it. HoNY has millions of readers worldwide. The perceived unfairness of having to deal with refugees when others do not is a major argument of policymakers seeking to limit refugee intake.
