Peril, Pandemic, and Crisis: Asian American Studies - Alexis Desany - Carter Lawton - David Wiley

19

Syrian Refugee Crisis Many American Citizens in the 1950s did not look kindly toward refugees and opposed the US taking them in. Similar views were present during the 2015 Syrian refugee crisis. This crisis was a result of the civil war which broke out in Syria leading to the death toll of over 250,000 people, resulting in a mass exodus. Many of these refugees were denied asylum into America. The United State’s failure to accept refugees from Syria resulted in a massive influx of people seeking shelter in Europe and other middle eastern countries. This influx overwhelmed many smaller countries in the region and caused lots of political and economic challenges. Further parallels can be drawn from America's involvement in Vietnam and their influence in the Syrian war. The United States has provided military support and funding to the rebels attempting to overthrow the current Syrian government led by Bashar al- Assad and backed by the Russian government. The influx of foreign money and weapons has resulted in huge amounts of destruction and a greater number of people being killed, wounded and displaced. All the while, the american people continue to fight against the acceptance of Syrian refugees running for their lives just as they fought against allowing Vietnamese asylum in the 1950s.

Above images taken from ​ GPI ​ and article about ​ Vietnam Refugee camp ​ .

Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator