My Syrian Rant

A friend (and student) of mine's mom has cancer. They won't give her a visa to come get treatment in the U.S., even though three of her family members are currently doctors or medical students in the U.S. They won't give her a visa because she's from Syria...and, in Syria, there is currently no treatment for cancer.

WHAT. THE. FUCK?!

How the fuck are we systematically not recognizing Syrians as people?! They are the exact same as the rest of us...though I'd argue that the ones I know are a bit more resilient and hard-working because they've been through much more than the rest of us. I can't imagine what I would do if my mom had cancer and she could have zero treatment, just because she's from Ohio and so a large group of extremely ignorant people thought she might be a terrorist. She's the same as everyone else's mom. And what would my mom do if that were the case with her mom?? Only when we think about it this way do we remember that we're all the same.

My student is quite literally one of the hardest-working and most humble people I've ever met. She's a medical student, studying in a foreign language in a great program in the U.S. Her family (which is a family of doctors) has been stuck in a war-torn country this entire time, through no fault of their own, and she doesn't get to see them. Now, with this horrible news, she may lose everything she has in the U.S. because she'll need to go back to Syria to be with her mom.

I don't know what the fuck I would do in such a horrible, horrible situation. I wouldn't even know where to begin. This girl is amazing at life so she's already trying to work with The Cleveland Clinic where she's been studying and she's got a lawyer working with her. She's still studying, she's still doing private lessons with me to improve her English, she's still going to work every day, she's still dealing with the sadness and difficulties that those of us in the U.S. will never understand because our country is not being blown apart on a daily basis...and now she has to deal with this...a terrible illness that her mom had been cured of before in her own country but now cannot be because of the war. She needs to find a way to get her mom to the U.S., who is currently refusing to give her a visa because she "might try to stay."

I get it. Not everyone can come in. But how about the very first people we let in are those who no longer have the medical care they need in their own country? I don't think that's such a crazy idea and, in fact, I think it's disgusting that this is even a question. With such a situation, my friend's mom should be rushed into our country, welcomed with open arms and sent straight to her first treatment.

GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER, U.S.!