In order to reach progress with the crisis at hand it is imperative that the United States allow for the intake of more refugees seeking sanctuary. Secondly, Alex Mahoney of the U.S. Agency for International Development needs to focus on giving economic aid to Syria through reputable and competent non-governmental organizations that are not subject to Assad's regime.0 Finally, the United States needs to continue to train and equip moderate Syrian armed opposition, which will help defend the Syrian people from attacks and empower civilians to go on the offensive against the Syrian regime. 0.
Currently, there are 650,000 Syrians who have fled the country to the neighboring states of Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, and Iraq. 3 The United States has donated more than $2.9 billion, making us the main funder in humanitarian aid. However, as the Civil War continues to engulf Syria, the United Nations is struggling to support more than 9 million displaced people. 0 Lebanon, a considerably small country in the Middle East, is taking significantly more Syrian refugees than any other country. The neighboring states that are accepting an abundance of refugees are starting to face cultural tensions, many of the refugees encroaching on the host population, which has the potential to exacerbate the situation at hand. While the United States has given a considerable amount of aid to Syria and its neighboring countries, we have only accepted 63 refugees this year. In order for the aiding of refugees to continue, the United States has an obligation to accept more Syrians into its borders. .
I propose that we start the process of forming refugee camps in Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota, all of which have some of the lowest populations in the United States and are close in proximity. In these refugee camps, the United States will provide medical care, supplies, shelter, childhood immunizations, food, clean water, relief supplies, education and protection.
