We Are All Refugees

Dear Donald,

I haven’t written for a while – sorry for that, but it can be hard to get everything done, and maybe daily letters were too ambitious. At any rate, you’ve clearly been keeping yourself busy, so I bet you barely even had time to miss me! I hope that you and Melania are well.

We have LOTS to talk about, but I have to start somewhere, so today I’m going to discuss a subject that is dear to my heart: refugees. I don’t agree with your ban on refugee immigration to the US, though you’ve claimed that it is temporary. I don’t agree with you targeting a single country for indefinite exclusion. And I especially don’t agree with you hiding behind the bankrupt argument of “national security” as you shut our doors to people in need.

We’re still getting to know each other, so let me share some little-known information about my background. My father was a refugee. He was born in Austria where he lived until he was 14, at which time his entire world collapsed around him. His father and brother were murdered by the Nazi gestapo on suspicion of being involved with the resistance movement. He somehow became separated from his mother – it’s not clear if she was also killed, or forced to flee without him, but one day she never came home. Fearing for his own life, he escaped on foot across the border. He somehow got his hands on a fake Czech ID – a truly pitiful forgery that made the absurd claim that he was 22. He used it to finagle his way into the Merchant Marine, and sailed around the world, homeless and stateless, for many years. He eventually made his way to America, where he served in the US Marine Corps during the Korean War and ultimately became a citizen, sworn in at the US consulate in Seoul. He’s been dead for many years now, but he loved this country more than anything. He was far more patriotic than most “real” Americans, because the liberty and opportunity offered by America wasn’t his birthright – and he knew the alternative all too well. He chose our country, and our country gave him a chance that he desperately needed.

Reading your executive order, I ask myself what would have happened to my father if the president at that time had banned immigrants from former Axis countries, fearing that they may secretly be Nazi sympathizers. Where would my father have gone? Would he have survived? What if the president had sown fear in the hearts of Americans, telling them that German-speaking people are dangerous, and we need to lock our doors to keep them out? Well okay, FINE – lots of people DID think that, and he faced lots of hate and discrimination because of his national origin – I’ll never forget the time our neighbor called him a Nazi. But we didn’t lock him out – we recognized his desperation, and we let him in. We didn’t let our fear and prejudice triumph over our compassion, and we gained a patriotic American because of it.

Let’s fast-forward to today. You’ve shut the door on all refugees temporarily, and on those in most extreme need (Syrians) indefinitely. You’ve told us that this is to safeguard our national security – to keep out bad “dudes” (your words – what’s with the quotes, Donald??!). Yet statistically speaking, we are more likely to be struck by lightning than to be killed by an act of terror. We are CERTAINLY more likely to be killed by another American than by a Syrian, most commonly by an American we already know. SO ENOUGH WITH THE STRANGER DANGER – Syrian refugees are not our enemies. Of course there are some bad ones - there are plenty of bad Americans too. But for the most part, they are people just like us – normal everyday people who love their families and friends. People who enjoy good food, and soccer (though they may call it football, I’m not sure), and bad American TV, and laughter. But they’re finding precious little to laugh about these days, because their country has been destroyed by civil war, their homes and businesses have been bombed, and they live in constant fear for their lives.

Does their story not resonate with you? Okay then, let’s talk about another group of refugees. A long time ago, a persecuted religious minority in England fled across the ocean to a new land so that they could practice their religion without fear. Unfortunately for them, they ended up in a cold and inhospitable part of this new land, and they were well on their way to starving to death. Luckily, the local people recognized the plight of these refugees and chose to help them. They got through that first winter and learned how to survive in their new home – all because the inhabitants of the new land chose compassion over fear.

Is any of this sounding familiar? Our country was founded by refugees! We are all refugees, Donald!!! We owe our very existence as a nation to the kindness of strangers, so why are we ourselves are willing to slam the door on our fellow man in his most desperate hour? Because of fear. Fear that you spread on the campaign trail and continue to spread today, by painting refugees as dangerous criminals instead of the helpless humans they actually are.

So do this for me, Donald. Go to the airport. Don’t worry – they’ll let you through the security lines quickly (just make sure to sign up for TSA precheck – it’s AWESOME). Ask one of your homeland security agents to introduce you a refugee family. Sit down with that family and explain your immigration order to them. Look them right in the eyes and explain why it’s just too dangerous for us to help them. Explain to them about how they might be terrorists – we really don’t know after all – maybe they are! Explain how they should just go back to their bombed-out homes and crumbling cities and fight for their freedom like we did back in the day. While you’re at it, maybe hop in a time machine and tell my 14-year-old father to haul his scrawny ass back to Austria and fight the Nazis on his own.

Can’t do it? I didn’t think so. It’s actually a great sign that you can’t – because humans should NOT be able to look suffering in the face and say NO. To lose our compassion is to lose our humanity. Americans will hold you accountable to choose love over fear, and we will not back down. Fear is not an American value. Love is. Show us your humanity.

I say this out of genuine hope that you will do the right thing.

My Best Wishes –Jules