After the recent terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday the 13th of November, amongst many other topics being discussed in the aftermath of this horrible catastrophe, the distressed Syrian refugees are of great concern to the general public of the UK.
Many uninformed people hold the view that the refugees should not be allowed in the country as there may be some members of ISIS hiding in amongst them. This excuse is utterly absurd as it has been well documented that every refugee will be pre-checked before they enter Britain, and already some terrorists that have been hiding undercover as a refugee have been caught and not allowed a safe passage through into the country.
Members of the public, particularly on social networks, have indicated that it was the fault of the Syrian refugees that the terrorist attacks happened not only in Paris but in Beirut the previous day. This argument is invalid. These poor refugees, many of them orphaned children, many the last surviving members of rich and fulfilling families – all before the war that started in Syria and devastated the Syrian population – are not to be punished for these undeniably horrific circumstances.
These refugees are living human beings. And not only are they human beings, they are needing our support. As a human race we must stand and protect each other from the evils of the world. If anything, the recent circumstances have only highlighted more the need to preserve these poverty-stricken and unfortunate people.
On a lighter note, there should be a general feeling of pride knowing that the first one hundred refugees, most of which are families, of the one thousand the UK have said they will take in before Christmas, arrived in Scotland on Tuesday.
Humza Yousaf, the Scottish Government’s Minister for Europe and International Development has said,
“I just want to welcome these people to Scotland, and assure them that despite the weather, the welcome they receive will be very warm. I want them to think of Scotland as their home.”
And so the beginning of a better Scotland and a brighter UK has begun, and the Syrians are hopefully returning to their once before, prosperous lives. Except we are lucky to have them return to their daily routines here, in Scotland.
It is a reassuring thought knowing that the world stands strong in light of the events of the past week, and that millions of people are supporting the intake of refugees into our country.
