Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Sun Youth Forum:

Refugee shares tale, broadens students’ perspective

Student representative Averi Passmore of Foothill High School during the 61st annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017.

Student representative Averi Passmore of Foothill High School during the 61st annual Las Vegas Sun Youth Forum at the Las Vegas Convention Center Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2017.

Editor’s note: About 1,000 students from high schools throughout Southern Nevada participated in the 61st annual Sun Youth Forum on Nov. 8. The students were divided into groups to discuss a variety of topics. A representative was chosen from each group to write a column about the students’ findings. This essay addresses the issues covered by the Around the World group.

As I took my seat at the Sun Youth Forum and began watching as people from all different kinds of backgrounds filed in, I knew I would be part of something truly remarkable.

Given the diversity of our group, there was a large amount of room for disagreement and even rancor. But to my surprise, everyone was highly respectful and open to just about any viewpoint.

While many topics piqued the group’s interest, there was one in particular that brought the most passion: “Should the United States accept more or fewer political refugees?” Even though many points were up for discussion, the main concern was the security threat posed by refugees. Arguments centered on the fact that there are members of ISIS, as well as lone wolf terrorists, who gain admission into a country as Syrian refugees.

This was most clearly seen in the Paris attack. ISIS members applied as Syrian refugees to get into France, and once they had gained access, they carried out the October 2015 bomb attack.

Concern for our nation’s safety seemed to be of utmost importance to our group. There weren’t any counterarguments advocating for taking in more political refugees. We all appeared to be on the same page.

Just as we were moving to the next topic, a shy-looking girl raised her hand to speak. She hadn’t really said anything for the 90 or so minutes we had already been in the room, and therefore I was surprised she wanted to speak. All eyes were on her. She said, “I am a Syrian refugee.” The room went quiet. No one had considered the refugees as people rather than a threat. We were all focused on what we wanted; we never stopped to think about what the refugees may need.

She went on to explain how being admitted into the United States saved her and her family’s lives. She talked about how many refugees just want to live, and obtaining refuge in another nation saves countless lives.

A whole new aspect of the topic was brought forth, and yet it seemed as though no one had anything to say against it. Even being a Syrian refugee, the girl conceded to the security issue. She understood why many are wary to accept political refugees into their countries. The question boiled down to this: “Is protecting ourselves from a dubious threat more important than saving the lives of thousands?” The room was divided.

There isn’t a perfect answer to this double-edged question. Before the girl had spoken up, many were convinced that allowing more refugees into the United States was only going to cause harm. However, after listening to her, nearly the entire room was on the fence. No direct consensus could be reached, but perhaps sometimes that is needed. As a nation, we’re quick to jump to the conclusion that provides contentment. We may never have the perfect answer to questions such as this, but that is OK. What is truly important is that we examine all the varying points of view.

The Sun Youth Forum outlined the importance of open discourse. Though it may be easy to ignore other’s views, we must do the hard work and seek to understand them. The forum showed that no idea, nor viewpoint should ever be disregarded, because sometimes it’s the quietest ones who get us to speak the most.

Averi Passmore is a senior at Foothill High School.