Refugees: Why single out people from Syria?

Many are saying that no Syrian refugees should be allowed into this country. Some facts:

▪  The 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia and were here legally on student visas. No one is protesting Saudi students.

▪  The Boston bombers had come to the United States from Chechnya after being granted political asylum. No complaints about Chechnyans.

Let’s look at the last large group of refugees we allowed into the United States: Vietnamese refugees. When I taught elementary school at Terminal Park Elementary in Auburn, refugee children were students. They were easy kids to teach; both they and their parents had high expectations for them.

Family was important. The kids picked berries all summer and then gave their earnings to their parents. (Try that with your kid.)

The students I taught went on to be responsible, contributing citizens. All have jobs, many went on to college and all are successful.

So when you admit refugees, you can’t be sure of what you will get. But in this case we all got outstanding citizens, and I got a daughter-in-law.

Who knows how many outstanding students, responsible citizens and future family members are waiting in those refugee camps?

This story was originally published November 23, 2015 at 11:36 AM with the headline "Refugees: Why single out people from Syria?."