The Mouth of a Shark
同志社国際高等学校

１年

北村涼

During September of last year, a picture taken by a Turkish journalist
shocked the world. The subject of the photograph was a three year old boy
named Alan Kurdi. The image showed him, dead, face down in the sand on aMediterranean shore. In an attempt to seek refuge from the Syrian civil war
in another country, Kurdi’s parents paid over eight thousand U.S. dollars forfour spaces on an inflatable boat after being denied entry into Canada. Kurdi,
his brother, and his mother all died in the escape attempt after the boat
capsized. The image of the little boy, his face buried in the sand and his red
shirt clinging to his frail body, became an international symbol for the Syrian
refugee crisis.
Unfortunately, Kurdi’s family is not alone. Currently, half of Syria’s prewar population, about 11 million people, is on the run. Refugees risk their lives
by boarding unreliable boats, hiding in smuggler trucks, and even travellingon foot to escape their war-torn homeland. Although some refugees manage toviolence, rape, and disease are commonplace. Even though these Syrian refugees
are forced to live in such dire conditions, several developed countries are
shutting down their borders and refusing to grant refuge to those who need it.
After the Paris Attacks and similar events, countries like America andBritain have been reluctant to accept refugees. A shocking thirty one states in
America have explicitly announced that Syrian refugees are not welcome. The
irony in this situation is the fact that these powerful countries that refuse
refugees are part of the reason why people are escaping Syria in the firstplace. America, France, and Russia regularly rain bombs, missiles, and gunfire
down onto hospitals and civilian areas in Syria. Why is there always enoughmoney to buy weapons, but never enough to help those who need assistance?
When we think of these airstrikes in the Middle East, we imagine bombs
killing potential terrorists and the “bad guys.” What we rarely think about are
the hundreds of innocent children, men, and women that are being slaughtered(not to mention the people who join ISIS to seek revenge for the deaths of63高校生―Ｉ部門

find safe places to live, the majority live in crowded refugee camps wheretheir families, but that’s another topic for another day). Just this past July, theUnited States bombed a maternity hospital. How is it possible that we havethe audacity to bomb civilian hospitals and villages, and then add insult toinjury by denying the survivors refuge? Powerful countries need to takeresponsibility for their actions instead of ignoring the blood on their hands.
Warsan Shire, a Somali poet and writer, once said, “No one leaves home,
unless home is the mouth of a shark.” Imagine what it would take you toabandon everything you know, everything and everyone you’ve ever loved.
Imagine if leaving your home forever and climbing into a dangerous boat wasyour only option for survival. Imagine worrying that your child’s eyes will
never see tomorrow. By denying refugees, we are shoving human beings rightback into the metaphorical jaws of the shark they are trying to escape from.
There are many humanitarian groups in Syria trying to pick up thepieces, but there are not enough people that care. There is not enough being
done. When I watch the news, I see hands reaching out for help, but none
reaching to help. I see people crying in pain and desperation, but no one
cryingwithempathy.

Isee

fires

burningin

Aleppo,butnoburningcompassion. I see people calling for aid, but no one calling back. I see
humans, but no humanity.
高校生―Ｉ部門

I may only be one person, an insignificant high school student. I may nothave the voice to change the world. I may not be able to convince national
governments to change, but to everyone in the audience today, I say: havecompassion. Have empathy. One day, it could be us in their shoes. And after
all, how can any of us be safe until we are all safe?

Bibliography
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/19/syrian-refugees-in-americafact-from-fiction-congress
http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/16/world/paris-attacks-syrian-refugees-backlash/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/syrian-refugee-crisis-how-differentcountries-have-responded-france-lebanon-uk-a7220616.html
http://syrianrefugees.eu/
https://www.mercycorps.org/articles/iraq-jordan-lebanon-syria-turkey/quick-factswhat-you-need-know-about-syria-crisis
https://www.worldvision.org/refugees-news-stories/syria-refugee-crisis-faq-waraffecting-children

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