Ellen Ratner, in her article “They’re Syrian Refugees, Not Migrants” (2015), argues that the United States has not done its part in allowing refugees fleeing Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan to enter its borders and that it’s time for us as Americans to take responsibility. Ratner makes her argument by first bringing in a quote from an esteemed member of the United Nations that asserts that the refugees are not migrants and need to be taken care of and treated with respect, then describing other occasions in which refugees have been turned away by the US and left to die, and finally, stating clearly that the United States has obligation to support refugees, as stated in the U.N. Convention and Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees. Ratner’s purpose is to make the American people aware of the costs of turning refugees away in order to convince people to stand up for the refugees. She uses quotations and historical facts to create a logical argument that appeals to an educated audience.
I agree completely with Ellen Ratner in regards to her views on this issue. Taking in refugees, though perhaps a complicated process, is the moral and ethical thing to do, and politics should not matter. Taking in refugees saves people’s lives. Turning them away essentially means that you don’t care whether they live or die. Clearly I feel strongly about this issue, but I think that my ideas are influenced by how the Jews were treated during the Holocaust. Most countries, especially the United States, turned away the Jewish refugees fleeing Europe, and that makes me feel as though those countries now have the responsibility to make up for it. Ratner emphasizes that the US is getting around helping the Syrian refugees by referring to them as migrants, not refugees, which I think is disgusting. Why should the US want to get out of helping people? To me, it seems as though the US is being arrogant. If, for instance, the US was taken over and we all became refugees, you can be sure that all the people who are uncertain about helping the Syrian refugees would change their minds. I hope that someday soon the American policy regarding refugees will change for the better. 
http://www.wnd.com/2015/09/theyre-syrian-refugees-not-migrants/
Your precis is on point. My favorite part about it is how you used the second sentence not only to summarize the points Ratner made, but also to point out the WAY she made them. This is something all of us, myself included, need to work on. You say that she "brought in a quote" instead of just citing the quote she brought in. It is very important to do this to make your precis as specific and as clear as it can be. You also made very good use of all your sentences, loading them with information and packing them in. It was very simple and easy to read, and you were able to make the reader understand Ratner fully without even reading the actual article.
ReplyDeleteGood critique, JJ!
DeleteYou bring up fantastic points in your response to Ratner's article. I definitely agree that taking in refugees is moral and ethical, and it is ideally what we should be doing. Last year I represented Mexico at the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugess, and I dealt extensively with Syrian refugees. It is nice to try to be as welcoming as you can, but at the end of the day there is a cost. Opening our borders to refugees from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq could have potentially highly dangerous consequences. Many of these people cannot read or write and perform simple tasks. How are they going to repay America and contribute to society? We can't simply provide for them and let them benefit from our land without establishing a two-way street. It is very possible that we would be able to figure something out, but until we do it is not to our benefit to blindly welcome everyone who wants to come to the great land that is America.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your analogy to the Holocaust and the way Jews were turned away from many countries. Obviously as Jews this hits home and it is right to try to accept these people. While there is terror and rebellion going on in their home countries, there is no genocide at the moment. So while we should welcome these people, and the Holocaust gives us all the more incentive to do that, the two situations are not exactly at the same level right now.