Post 74--Refugees: Ezra Levant's Take

Ezra Levant does not sweep sensitive or unpopular news under the carpet. Instead, he accuses main stream media of doing so. He distributes hard news that most people don’t like to hear, for it upsets them. Personally, I want to hear both the soft and the hard, the main stream and “the other,” such as Levant’s. Perhaps by Levant’s standards, the previous two posts about refugees were relatively soft, easy to read and to digest. Even though there might have been some surprises and certainly some reasons for serious disconcertion, those posts would not keep you awake at night. And they might even be true! Who can tell when it comes to media, whether soft or hard.

But today, it’s hard stuff, right from Levant’s computer heart, stuff that is almost sure to upset you. But you need to hear it. Putting your head in the sand may help you sleep, but it won’t help us get our refugee policies right. And getting them right is crucial for the future of our nation and of the Western world as a whole. So, here I share a Levant post with you—from the other side, if you like. I’m getting away easy today, since I blatantly copy his. I believe that in so doing, I am advancing the cause he is advancing—as well as that of the entire country, rightly conceived. 

Okay, here goes: POLL: 31% of Syrian migrants support ISIS terrorists (Ezra Levant (ezra@therebel.media). Justin Trudeau says he’s going to import 25,000 Syrian migrants by Christmas. That’s six or seven weeks from now. How is he going to do security checks on 25,000 people, coming from a terrorist no-man’s-land, in seven weeks? Remember, this is the same Liberal Party that doesn’t even think you should have to show picture ID, or take off your niqab, to vote. Trudeau has no clue how to screen for terrorists. But what about Syrian migrants who haven’t committed violence — but who support terrorism, and sharia law, and extremism? What about them?

 It’s a serious problem: an opinion poll of 900 Syrian migrants shows that nearly a third of Syrian “refugees” support terrorist groups. The poll, taken last year by the Arab Centre for Research and Public Policy Studies, shows that 31% of Syrian migrants in refugee camps in the region do not want the Islamic State to be defeated. They’re cheering for the terrorists. So, out of 25,000 Syrian refugees Trudeau wants to bring in, 7,500 could be ISIS supporters.

 It gets worse. In that same survey, only 10% of Syrian migrants say radical Islam is a serious problem. But 41% say America or the Jews are. Great: so we’ll be importing thousands of bigots, anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists. You simply have to watch my video report on these Syrian migrants, by clicking here. I guarantee you won’t hear a peep about this by any mainstream media outlet.

 Yours truly,
 Ezra Levant

 P.S. Be sure to forward this e-mail with your friends and share www.TheTruthAboutRefugees.com as your Facebook status.

 P.P.S. I know for a fact no other Canadian media are reporting the truth about Trudeau’s rush to bring in 25,000 risky Syrian migrants. Please help us continue our investigative journalism by contributing to our viewer-supported journalism, here.

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So, Trudeau II and his cabinet have some serious sorting out to do if they are going to stick to their promise—or is it threat?) to bring in 25,000 of these refugees into Canada before end 2015. Though I am as eager to help genuine refugees as anyone and have as much compassion for them, realism tells me the Government should not even try to meet that quota and keep that promise. Really, it is more a threat than a promise. Trudeau may be ready, but I doubt that the country would be if they were to know the entire truth of the situation. Bring in as many as possible by that time, but only after proper check outs. Perhaps I should not treat this as a serious issue and regard it only as just another cheap campaign promise. I hope so.

Post 73—Refugees—Surprising, Interesting and Important Facts

Since the current world situation imposes that very difficult issue of refugees on all countries and, yes, all individuals—and that means you and me--, I devoted Post 72 to the subject. Today, more of the same, because it is such a critical issue that refuses to go away out of our consciousness and because it is such an interesting subject.

Did I say “interesting”? Yes, I did, but is that an appropriate way of reacting to this immense human tragedy? I doubt you’ll find even one genuine refugee who thinks of her situation as “interesting.”  Perhaps the terrorists hiding among them and using the tragedy for their own purposes will think of it as an interesting adventure. That there are those, I have no doubt, though I would not venture a guess as to their number.

The Vancouver Sun (VS) featured an extensive sidebar under the title “Eight things to know about the Syrian refugee crisis” by Ali Dharssi (26/10/2015, p. A10). Yes, these “eight things” are interesting as well as vital for us to develop a realistic perspective.  “Interesting” does not have to be trivial or emotionally distant.  Here are the “eight things:”

1           “More than half of Syria’s prewar population of 22 million has been displaced.”  Imagine that: over 50% of a nation!

2           “Tens of thousands of Syrian babies have been born as refugees.” Estimates range from 60,000 to 150,000 born just to refugees in Turkey!  All these are at risk of becoming stateless.

3           “More than half of the Syrian refugees are children.”  Over 1.6 million are under 12 years old, all in danger of losing out on education.

4           “More than three-quarters are women and children.”  A very high percentage of these women are widows struggling to feed their children. The fathers and men are absent and in many cases killed. 

5           “Terrorism does not have deep roots in Syria” according to experts. Terrorism source groups have been effectively suppressed by King Assad.

6           “Religious strife in Syria was not as bad as you might think.” Religious relationships were marked by “relative harmony,” though under an oppressive regime.

7           Syrian refugees are relatively well-educated. Prewar Syria had a literacy rate of 96%. 

8           “Syrians from all socio-economic backgrounds are fleeing.”

If your church or other organization is considering sponsoring a refugee, these facts are important to remember not only, but they might just be interesting enough to convince the members to act.

Another interesting cluster of refugee facts is that the West is not the only continent to house Syrians, though we would like to think we are. It strokes our moral pride. But, according to Frank Elbers, “the Saudis and Qataris may be playing a more constructive role than their critics give them credit for.”  

Though Saudi has allowed few to enter as refugees, it “has allowed hundreds of thousands to enter as migrant workers”—nearly 2.5 million since 2011.  They also have issued 100,000 residence permits and provided $700 million (US) in aid.  An estimated 400,000 well educated and skilled Syrians are in Saudi on temporary visas for foreign workers. “The United Arab Emirates have welcomed more than 100,000 Syrians, who have joined another 140,000 already living in the country.”  True, few classified formally as refugees will be found in those countries, but the Syrians are there in large numbers (“A Gulf in Compassion?” VS, 26 Oct/2015, p. A10).  Honour to whom honour is due.

One final point related to Saudi, though not about refugees. The Western press often berates Arab countries for not pulling their weight in helping poor countries. However, I just read that the Saudi king has signed a contract with the UN to help war-ravaged Yemen with $244 worth of aid. Though only in a side column as a filler, at least the VS reports this. It is something we do not often hear about. I have no particular need to defend Saudi, but it does not help us if we hear only negative news about Muslim countries. Again, honour to whom it is due.