It's shocking to learn that the President of the United States has written an executive order to prevent all people from Iraq, Syria, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen to enter US territory.
It breaks my heart to know how this will affect my friends from these countries and their families. They are people who came to the US with big dreams; people who I know personally and are nowadays brilliant scientists, engineers, university professors, doctors, talented artists, but most of all, good people.
The implications are horrendous. Folks who went to their home countries for funerals, to visit their families, or even for work are now being denied entrance to the US, where they have their whole lives. Families are being teared apart, for God's sake! How wrong is it that the US Government officially stigmatizes a group of human beings just because of where they're born, what they believe, or even the kind of clothes they feel comfortable wearing?
If you're not a Muslim and this doesn't affect you or yours, let me emphasize how tremendously scary this is for everyone, immigrants and otherwise. What may happen next? Is he going to ban people from Mexico? Black people? LGBTQ folks? Or just whoever doesn't agree with him on a certain issue?
If you're thinking: "well, but Muslims are different; they may be linked to ISIS or Al-Qaeda; they may be terrorists. By leaving them out we're protecting our country". If that’s the case, I urge you read the articles below, which prove such statement FALSE.
FOLKS! We need to take action. Let's educate people on this topic. If you have friends or family members who are Trump supporters and believe this ban is okay, let's not block them from Facebook; let's not run away from them; let's not be afraid of speaking up. It's on us to show them, respectfully, and with facts, that we could be a better country by including and helping others, regardless of their believes, nationalities, culture, or preferences. Ultimately, that's how we build a better country.
Óskar Ly Jan 28, 2017