Page 6 - My FlipBook

to many like a long-awaited first step toward American equality. But
the nation remains divided over race issues.

The conflicts that perpetuate these issues aren’t limited to
American shores. Over the last decade, conflicts have erupted
overseas and displaced people from South Sudan, Afghanistan,
and Syria, among other nations. A Syrian civil war started in 2011,
resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians. Millions

more fled the country, many seeking safety in Europe and the United
States. There were 25.4 million refugees worldwide in 2018, and of
these, 3.1 million were asylum seekers. These people have fled their

home countries and applied to be taken in and protected by a host
nation. But finding a welcoming host nation isn’t easy. Many people
in potential host nations view those from nations in the Middle East
and South Asia as a threat to national security because of past acts
of terrorism committed by people from those regions. The terrorist

attacks of September 11, 2001, were committed by Muslim extremists,
and some people wrongly assume that all Muslims share extremist
views. This misconception has ushered in an era of xenophobia,

racism, and acts of violence against refugees, immigrants, and
nonwhite American citizens. In the United States, certain government
policies have tightened security, making it more difficult for refugees
to seek asylum. According to 2018 numbers from the Pew Research
Center, 13 million Syrians have been displaced by the civil war.

Although the United States has historically been a welcoming country
to refugees, bringing in more than 3 million people since 1980, it only
settled 33,000 refugees in 2017, down from 97,000 the previous year.

Today, the United States continues to struggle with racial unrest
and issues of discrimination. Since the beginning of the twenty-first
century, a number of events have occurred that have fanned the
flames of racism in America and heightened the visibility of white

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