November’s terrorist attacks in
Paris precipitated an ugly cycle that’s become the norm in recent
American history.
Fear and xenophobia led to the rise of opportunists willing to perpetuate each for personal gain.
The current targets:
Syrian refugees.
The current beneficiary: There’s the temptation to say
Donald Trump, but he's hardly singular. After all, 31 governors opposed allowing refugees into their states.
Ironically, we started filming our take on the
Syrian refugee crisis a month earlier. Our subject,
Sana Mustafa, was an activist in the
Arab Spring and now represents one of fewer than 3,
000 Syrian refugees in the US.
Having arrived penniless in
2013, she earned a full scholarship to
Bard College where she speaks out on behalf of fellow refugees in her spare time.
Her resume alone seemed to provide a strong counterargument to a then-popular suggestion that refugees, if admitted en masse, would leech off
American society. Moreover, her story itself, while providing a chilling overview of
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the inner workings of the Arab Spring, brought with it unexpected familiarities.
Poughkeepsie, New York reminded Sana of her hometown in
Syria.
She learned
English by watching "
Grey’s Anatomy" and "
Friends." Her parents raised her to appreciate
Syrian culture, though they encouraged variety, especially in terms of political perspectives. She had a pulse on the injustices perpetuated by the government and was inspired to put beliefs into actions.
Thus, in
2011, with the
Syrian uprising against the authoritarian regime of Assad, it was inevitable Sana and her entire family would join the revolution.
Perhaps just as inevitable was Assad’s response to the revolution: arrests, torture, barrel bombs and, notably, the use of chemical weapons.
Sana was imprisoned. So was her older sister. Both were held temporarily, but the family would experience far worse. In July 2013, Sana’s father was abducted with no trace of his whereabouts.
Their safety jeopardized, her mother and two sisters fled to neighboring
Turkey, leaving their belongings, friends and extended family behind. Sana -- who was traveling to the
United States for what was supposed to be a few weeks -- suddenly found herself without a home and was granted political asylum.
Through a certain lens, Sana’s subsequent time in
America proves it to be a land of opportunity. Having achieved a full scholarship, a green card and a support network, Sana is incredibly deferential when it comes to the people who helped her regain her footing in the US. Her improved station earned her a sizable platform to speak on behalf of refugees without fear of reprisals.
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- published: 16 Mar 2016
- views: 456