Images last week of a drowned Syrian toddler who washed up on a beach in Turkey left people around the world awash in tears. The child, 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, appeared almost as though he had fallen asleep on the beach.
Immigrants and refugees have been dying for centuries. They’ve risked their lives to find a safe haven — and too often in the last few years, they’ve been left to perish at sea.
So far this year, according to Catholic Relief Services, more than 2,000 Syrian refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean. The violence in that country has displaced more than 11.5 million people. Aylan represents them all. He and his 5-year-old brother and mother, who also drowned, are only the latest victims.
The silver lining is this: People are outraged. The challenge now is to translate that outrage into action.
The conflict in Syria is in its fifth year and that violence has created the largest refugee movement in Europe since World War II, according to Catholic News Service.
Germany is leading the humanitarian response, having already welcomed more than 17,000 migrants, according to CNN. In contrast, the U.S. currently limits the number of Syrians it accepts to 1,500 per year. As of Sept. 8, the White House was considering an increase, the New York Times reported.
While pundits and governments squabble about numbers, our brothers and sisters are dying.
Working on our behalf, Catholic Relief Services, the humanitarian arm of the U.S. Catholic Church, has been providing emergency relief to travellers on their way to Europe, at points along the way such as Greece, Albania, Macedonia and Serbia.
Pope Francis has asked all churches and religious communities in Europe to house refugee families as a concrete sign of God’s mercy, according to Catholic News Service. He also reminded the faithful of our personal responsibility:
“The Gospel calls us, asks us to be near the least and the abandoned. To give them concrete hope, not just say ‘Hang in there, have patience!’ ”
We can start by contributing to Catholic Relief Services, praying for these wandering souls and asking lawmakers to open our doors to people in need.
MARNIE McALLISTER
Editor
