Antelope High School

Home of the Titans

Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

Kyla Scott
7801 Titan Drive
Antelope Ca, 95843

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capital, Suite 1173
Sacramento, Ca 95814

To Whom It May Concern:

When [one] [is] interviewing refugees, each person you talk to has a different story that could come from a
horror movie. So many people talk about seeing their families get murdered before their eyes. Then [after]
[going] to Central Park, and people are talking about their third divorce and paying tuition (Brandon Stanton).
As seen throughout history and current events, many people, particularly Americans, can become so caught up
in their first world problems that they can soon become ignorant to the true problems in the world. Albeit, the
break up of a marriage, or a starting point in a persons adult life is important, but neither situations are life and
death matters. On the other hand, Syrian refugees are facing pressing matters each day, never completely aware
if they can make it to their next day. I am Kyla Scott, a sophomore attending Antelope High School, and after
recently reading the novel Night, by Elie Wiesel, and other nonfiction pieces concerning the multiple refugees
crisises America has been facing for nearly a century, both situations are startling similar. To avoid the previous
mistakes of the past, Americas current law makers should accept a reasonable amount of Syrian Refugees.

Since 2011, the country of Syria has been in complete shambles. As the land has been in a total civil war for
six years, there are multiple different groups attempting to take control of the region. The civil war began
between three different radical groups; soldiers in support of the Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, rebels who
do not support the president in power, and the Islamic State. Eventually, the peaceful protests [against the
president and other radical groups] quickly escalated after the governments violent crackdown, and armed
opposition groups began fighting back (Mercy Corps). Due to the chaos among the land, there are a countless
amount of innocent women, children, and everyday people who are just like American citizens who have been
killed or forced to flee their homes (Mercy Corps), more than 11 million people (Mercy Corps) to be exact.
Although there are countries reaching out to support the refugees, there are not enough.

Many like to say that the Syrian Refugee Crisis is uncanny to events of the Holocaust, and maybe even go as
far to state that one may be worse than the other, but to compare one atrocity to another [it] would be
demeaning to both (Oprah Magazine). Although it is not anyones place to decide whether or not the Syrian
Refugee Crisis is or is not worse than The Holocaust, the circumstances are almost identical. Particularly, the
fact that the majority of US citizens refused Jewish refugees due to the fact that they were influenced by anti-
Semitism, [which] were fed by fears that the Nazis would plant agents, spies and saboteurs among the Jewish
refugees to act as agents on behalf of the Third Reich," (Associated Press). Similarly, groups of Americans,
and citizens in other countries, believe that Syrian Refugees pose a threat as spies or terrorists for Isis, but the
truth is most attacks have actually been the acts of unaffiliated, do-it-yourself terrorists, but Islamic State
fighters don't want us to know that. They want [society] to believe theyre everywhere. They want [the world] to
fear them. They want [people] to get angry and vilify Muslims everywhere (Tribune News Service), which is
exactly what the German Nazis goals were in terms of the Jewish Refugee situation. However, with both
circumstances, each refugee group has not posed a true threat to society, and their only goal is to find a safe
haven for their families. The point is, those who did not support the acceptance of Jewish Refugees during

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843

 Antelope High School
Home of the Titans
Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

WWII deeply regret it to this day, as it led to one of the most known
genocides to mankind, and if the world does not accept refugees now, they
will come to regret it in the future.

As of right now, President Trumps executive sign off of an executive order has suspended new refugee
admission indefinitely. Personally, I believe that the world should strive for unity, and the first step toward that
goal is to save the Syrians from the hardships they are facing, and accept an economically safe amount of Syrian
Refugees to seek shelter in America. Currently, many state governors believe that by refusing Syrian Refugees,
they are weakening the Islamic State Radicals, but in actuality, they are helping them, since they claim
responsibility for any act of terror on Western soil so that [they] can seem stronger than [the group]
actually is (Tribune News Service). In sight of the fact that the typical act of terrorism is usually
unassociated with the Islamic State, of the 784,000 refugees resettled in the U.S. since the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks, just three have been arrested on charges of planning terrorist activities (Tribune News
Service). Basically, everyday citizens should not fear the acceptance of refugees, as the risk of
terrorism is extremely low. All in all, a primary factor that adds to the problem of those against allowing
Syrian Refugees into America is they simply do not understand the situation. Overall, those oppose the
acceptance of saving millions of innocent lives should look over the facts prior to forming an opinion on the
matter.

In sight of the fact that millions of innocent lives are being lost as a result of the civil war occurring in Syria,
the resolution is quite clear; the world must strive for peace as they accept those in trouble into their homelands.
Despite the fact that a large portion of society is against countries accepting Syrian Refugees, their prime reason
is due to the fact that they believe Syrians pose a physical threat to society. However, the Refugees undergo
extensive background checks, and a large portion of Refugees are women, children and the elderly. As the
refugees do not put the lives of citizens at risk, many should remind themselves of the horrors that came along
with the last refusal of asylum seekers. Thus, the senator should vote for the acceptance of a rational amount of
Syrian Refugees. Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Kyla Scott
Antelope High School Student
Respectful. Responsible. Proud
GO TITANS!

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843