Precious Resources

A news article recently, said that up to half the population of Syria, are being forced from their homeland, by civil war and ISIS.  These people aren’t driven by adventure and the promise of new lands ….. they are persecuted frightened people.  And ISIS see this fear as proof of their power.  Our own government perpetuates and breeds this fear, making out that these refugees are somehow a danger, and are unwanted.  This diminishes us as a country.

To me, to both take away the shameful way we treat these people, and the perception of power to those in the middle east that drive them away, we need to change how we view refugees.

These people aren’t a burden, they are a resource.  They are a precious resource, a source of productivity, diversity and cultural expansion.  Their inclusion in our society can only ever benefit, because they hold value within themselves.  Initially they place extra demand on the public health system, education and housing, but that impact is short term.  In the long term they add to our economic base, they expand the pool of innovation and ideas, they contribute to the wealth of our country.

The middle east loses, because it is driving away its resources.  Diminish the population by half, and you lose manufacturing capability, you lose the capacity to feed and supply your population.  Driving whole families away, loses your future generations, your capacity to support the aged, or to build the country.  A country that drives away its population, faces a future where it will have less political power in the world, where it will struggle to maintain a functioning economy.  In the end it won’t be military intervention that defeats ISIS and other such groups.  It will be economic decline, and they did it to themselves.

My job, in part at least, is possible because of the growing need for education capacity for refugees and their families.  To me, these precious resources should not be feared.  They should be welcomed and treasured.