The outcry to ban Syrian migrants from the United States based on the possibility that one of the terrorists involved in the French attacks may (an I emphasize "may") have had a valid Syrian passport reminds me of the cries during World War II that helped restrict, if not eliminate, the acceptance of Jews attempting to escape the massacres perpetrated by Nazi Germany. Not only was immigration severely restricted, in part because similar fears of enemy infiltration, but Italian, German, and Japanese nationals, as well as those American citizens of the aforementioned ethnicities were interned or otherwise restricted.
German citizens were often detained as were American citizens of German descent. Many were removed from residences in coastal areas. A total of 11,507 Germans were interned during the war. 110,000 Japanese-Americans were interned.
Italian nationals in the United States during the war were also interned. Classified as "enemy aliens" they were detained under the Alien and Sedition Act. A total of 1881 were so detained, and a number of them were also relocated from coastal areas.
I am unaware of any seditious act that was proactively prevented by this relocation and internment policy.
We now have a decision to make. Will we ban all immigrants from the ravaged countries of the Middle East as a means of protection from ISIS terrorism? Hypothetically, If we knew that 5 terrorists were planning to enter this country disguised as Syrian refugees, should all refugees be banned? Even if a terrorist was able to kill some Americans, should we close our borders completely? As a matter of fact, isn't it possible that a terrorist could enter the United States as an ordinary tourist? And, furthermore, should we remove Arab muslims from coastal and densely populated areas?
Are we a society that is now ready to close its borders to the "tired, the poor" and the "huddled masses yearning to breathe free."
The world has become a dangerous place. ISIS must be contained and/or eliminated, and the means by which this can be brought about is unclear. But to close our doors and enclose ourselves in a tight protective shell that thousands of innocents will be prevented from penetrating, is clearly not a solution. It is surrender.
3 comments:
Read this just now, late into the night.
For preliminary discussions at the Subaru Forum tomorrow.
Good points made. What a sobering world we live. Each era has it's complications and moral dilemmas to sort out, as you have depicted. Each generation has to examine whether it's living up to it's principles.
Thank you, Carl. My friends and I are also worried about ever more voices in Germany discriminating and kindling fear of terrorists among refugees - not only extreme rightists, but also mainstream politicians doing so. Sibylle.
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