The world needs more people like 6-year-old Alex, from New York. After seeing the tragic picture of the young Syrian boy injured in a bombing that went viral, Alex wrote a letter to President Obama. In the letter, he asked if the president would be willing to bring the boy, Omran Daqneesh, to the United States so that Alex’s family could adopt him. So moved by Alex’s initiative, Obama read the letter during a recent speech and even posted a video of Alex himself reading his letter on Facebook. What was truly heart-warming about the letter was Alex’s list of things he wanted to accomplish with Omran; he wants to teach him English and to learn another language from Omran, to share his toys and invite him to birthday parties. As Obama mentioned in his speech, we have a lot to learn from Alex and all other young children like him.
With an open heart and the purest of intentions, Alex has put many of us adults to shame. Those people who would rather ignore a crisis of humanity, like the unrest in Syria, and turn our backs on people when they need us the most should listen to Alex’s words very carefully. As a 6-year-old, Alex’s perspective of the world has not been tainted by bad experiences, prejudice or hate. He does not categorize people based on their race, nationality or religion. When he saw that photo of Omran, all he saw was a little boy who had been hurt and who had lost his home in the chaos of war. Alex’s letter should be a wake-up call to all of us who have been sweeping the Syrian refugee crisis under the rug. It’s time to urge our government, and other world leaders, to take some responsibility and use their powers to aid a people in dire need.
Granted, not everyone has been ignoring this ongoing problem. In a recent documentary titled Salam Neighbor, two American filmmakers traveled to one of the largest Syrian refugee camps in Jordan. They lived alongside the refugees to get a glimpse into how their lives were after being displaced from their homes. They found that despite the great tragedy refugees have suffered through, many of them held out hope for the future. Extremely hospitable to the filmmakers, the Syrians emphasized that they have the same dreams for the future as the rest of us — for their children to get an education and for their families to be safe and sound.
The point is that even without understanding the intricate system of political powers at play, or without visiting refugee camps firsthand (like the American filmmakers), Alex had enough judgment to know that what is happening to people like Omran is unjust. Not only did he recognize the cruelty of the situation, but he was proactive enough to write to the president and discuss plans to adopt Omran. If a child as young as Alex is trying to make a beneficial impact on someone’s life, then who are we to sit idly by and watch the destruction taking place in Syria through our TV screens? I commend Alex’s parents because they have clearly taught him the difference between right and wrong and to listen to his conscience. I can only hope that the rest of us can learn from Alex in the future.
Asha Kodan is a freshman biology major. She can be reached at ashakodan@ymail.com.
