Nearly half a million people have been killed in Syria since the start of the civil war in 2011. According to the United Nations, more than 6.9 million people have been displaced from their homes, and 13.5 million people are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
In the United States, the state of Arizona is the 14th most populated state with 6.9 million people currently residing there.
Can you imagine the entire state of Arizona becoming displaced?
Or any less-populated state for that matter? Better yet, can you imagine what the United States would do to accommodate every single one of the 6.9 million Arizona residents should they suddenly or violently become torn from their homes?
There would be no question about whether or not Arizonans would be welcomed to seek refuge among the other 49 states, because basic human rights say, if someone is in danger, and we can provide refuge, we do so.
Now think of those Arizonan refugees as Syrian refugees. We’d welcome Arizonans with open arms, but we debate whether or not the lives of Syrians are worth saving?
After surviving three years of living in a war-torn suburb of Damascus, 20-year-old Omar Muawiyah and his family fled their home, making them Syrian refugees living in America.
This is their story:
Jesus made it clear: We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.
Our neighbors need us, friends. They’re starving. They’re being bombed. Attacked. Brutally tortured. And they’re dying. It’s time that we as Christians start re-evaluating what it looks like to truly live out the second greatest commandment.
Learn more about the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time and ways you can help the millions of refugees like Omar and his family, by visiting www.IAmSyria.org.
