Miry's List: Names Not Numbers

Just a few weeks ago Miry, the founder of Miry's list, led a class discussion during my International Relations class. The timing of this was perfect as one of the topics we were covering in class was the current influx of immigrants across the world. Miry's list is a non-profit devoted to helping refugees gain citizenship, acclimate, and overall just feel welcome during a confusing and impossible time in their lives. One of the main focuses during the class, however, was doing our best to recognize, or rather get a sliver of what these refugees might be going through. Seeing these refugees as people, with names and families, rather than a number found on a news source. We discussed a few of the overwhelming feelings these refugees may be facing and focused on some that seem like basic human rights.  For example safety and security. Without these two feelings, almost everything else one could be expected to do is significantly harder. We also talked about the impact a situation like that of many refugees has on the different age brackets, with teens and young adults typically being hit the hardest. Overall this class revolved around realizing that these refugees are the same as us. While they may speak a different language or come from another region, they are still humans who have the same emotions and feelings we do. They are people who we can connect to, and people who deserve the same basic rights and necessities that we do.