Four years ago I came to this country. In a legal sense, I arrived as a student, but in a much more profound sense, I came as a refugee, seeking safety from the suffering and destruction in my homeland of Syria. The culture and society that opened its doors to me gave me my first glimpse into the world of possibilities built on liberty and equality, as well as social and political responsibility. It was a heady introduction. Now, so much of that feels betrayed by the new immigration policies.
I came to the United States on a scholarship program as a member of a group of 33 Syrian students who arrived between 2012 and 2014. This group, in just a short amount of time, has achieved tremendous success. Currently five of this group work at Goldman Sachs. I work at Deloitte where I consult businesses in an effort to help them become more effective and efficient. Others of us are employed at Google and Apple as software engineers and some work in advising state government and city agencies on various projects.
We all pay taxes and are civically engaged. We all hold the American democratic values close to our hearts. Coming from Syria, the concepts of freedom of speech, voting rights, a government of three independent branches, rule of law, equality – all enshrined in a remarkable constitution – these are marvels to us. And they are aspects of the American political system that we have come to revere. It is people like us who will ultimately help to create a world that is not just better for ourselves, but safer for America, as a whole. It is we who, having embraced this new society, will transfer the values we have acquired here to our countries and communities abroad.
Determined to give as many of my country’s youth the opportunities I have been given, last year I co-founded the Syrian Youth Empowerment organization to identify the brightest Syrian high school students and help them gain admission and scholarships to universities in the United States. Our main goal is to build a class of scientists, poets, engineers, journalists, doctors who will one day participate in rebuilding our war-torn country. They will be armed with a top-notch education and instilled with the values that craft productive and responsible societies, towards their own and in the family of nations.
The students who we guide through this application process are working under the most difficult conditions. They have limited access to electricity, internet, and even materials to prepare for the SAT and TOEFL. Most are from public schools and have acquired their English language skills almost entirely through their own efforts. Their families face enormous financial constraints. In the midst of all this, they live with the constant psychological pressure of daily bombings, military clashes, and the death and destruction they witness all around them. Yet after just one year of preparation, our students gained admission to several colleges in the United States, among them Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, Duke, University of Pennsylvania, Georgetown, Brown and MIT among other. These students have watched American news closely to see how changing travel restrictions may affect their ability to study; some days it looks like they will never be allowed into the country. Other days, there seems to be hope.
I am in complete agreement with the administration’s view on radical Islamic terrorism as an issue of vital importance to the security of not just America but the world. This phenomenon must be destroyed at its roots. But I strongly believe that this administration must recognize the difference between Islam as a religion and extremism as a perversion of that religion. The overwhelming majority of Muslims dread extremism and have been its victims in the most direct sense. Those Syrians who are seeking shelter as refugees from the evils of both tyrannies; dictatorship and terrorism, are the very individuals this country should embrace.
This administration should seek to preserve the legacy of this great nation as an immigrants’ nation, as the haven and nursery of democrats. Any policy of banning peaceful immigrants from entering the United States must be abandoned and these future leaders must be embraced and supported by granting them non-immigrant visas allowing them to experience the American values firsthand. By that, we are not only benefiting from global talents, but also building a class of leaders that will transmit American values across the globe.