Donald Trump: Syria refugees see dream of better life crushed by immigration ban
Updated
Syrian refugee Ammar Sawan took a first hopeful step toward moving to the United States last fall, submitting to an initial security screening.
His dream of a better life was abruptly crushed when new US President Donald Trump banned Syrian refugees from the country until further notice.
Mr Sawan learned of the entry ban while watching late night TV news with his wife in their small apartment in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
"When we heard of the order, it was like a bolt of lightning, and all our hopes and dreams vanished," the 40-year-old said Saturday, a day after Mr Trump's executive order.
He and other Syrian refugees bristled at the idea that they pose a potential security threat, saying they are peaceful people fleeing persecution.
Some warned that the new US policy will be seen as targeting Muslims and further inflame anti-American sentiment in the region.
"This decision made the US lose its reputation in the world as the biggest economy, the biggest democracy," said refugee Nasser Sheik, 44, who was paralysed by a stroke two years ago and lives with his family in Amman.
"We are not going out to harm people of other countries," added his wife Madaya, 37.
At the time of Mr Trump's decision, more than 27,000 Syrian refugees from 11 Middle Eastern host countries were being considered for resettlement to the US and were in various stages of the approval process, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Close to 5 million Syrians have fled their country since an uprising against President Bashar Assad erupted in 2011 and escalated into civil war.
Most refugees have settled in neighbouring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon, where their struggle for survival gets tougher every day.
Savings have run out, jobs are poorly paid and refugee children learn in crowded classrooms. Many refugees prefer to return home, but that is not an option as long as the war continues. Eager to escape tough conditions in the host countries, resettlement to the West now seems the best alternative.
'We are not terrorists'
Ammar Sawan fled the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyeh in 2012, after he was roughed up by pro-Assad militiamen and feared eventual arrest.
His wife Sanaa, 35, and three sons followed him a year later, fleeing government shelling. The couple had a fourth child, a girl, in Jordan, last year.
Mr Sawan said he underwent the first round of security vetting for possible resettlement to the US in October.
"My dream, even before the war in Syria, was to live in America," he said, as the family huddled around a gas heater in the living room.
Now he is disappointed in America. "We are not terrorists and we don't support terrorism," he said.
Refugee aid groups said Mr Trump's ban is hurting innocent people.
"It will not make America safer," Jan Egeland, head of the Norwegian Refugee Council, said by phone from Oslo.
"It will make America smaller and meaner."
He said the new US policy deals a blow to international responsibility for those fleeing persecution, an idea forged in the aftermath of the Holocaust when Jews and others seeking safe haven were often let down.
Others said US security checks of refugees are already robust, involving biometric screening and up to three years of vetting.
AP
Topics: immigration, refugees, community-and-society, human-interest, syrian-arab-republic, jordan, united-states
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