Milford Students Share Thoughts on World Issues

On November 13th just a few weeks ago, tragedy struck in Paris France. 129 people were killed, and over 350 injured. Several terrorists in different areas of the city began terrorizing civilians with bombs and gunfire. In the aftermath of this horrible night, the world stood behind Paris. However, no one is quite certain what this means.

After the attacks, ISIS claimed that it was their members who were responsible. At least one of the terrorists had entered the country by posing as a Syrian refugee. This has caused much concern in other countries that have welcomed and continue to welcome the refugees. Specifically in the United States, the refugee crisis is a very significant issue. According to CNN, 1,500 Syrian refugees have been accepted by the U.S. since 2011, with plans to continue to accept 10,000 refugees this year.

There are many stances on this issue. Some believe that no refugees should be permitted in the U.S. at this time, and others are fully prepared to let as many refugees in as need be. Governor Rick Snyder of Michigan took a different approach. As of Sunday November 15th, he has decided to halt Michigan’s refugee program indefinitely, as mentioned in a recent Detroit Free Press article. Many people support this approach. Ryan Rockafellow, a Junior here at Milford says:

“It’s smart to have no refugees at this point. We need to step back and evaluate the situation more.”

Isaac Phillips also a Junior, agrees as well that putting the policy on hold was the right way to go. “We don’t want to rush it,” he says.

On the other hand, there are some who believe that temporarily halting the program is not the right decision. Lexi McFall, Junior at MHS believes that whether or not we allow refugees into the U.S. is not the problem. If terrorists want to get into our country, they will.

“Stopping the program is not going to make a difference when there are already some refugees here,” says McFall.

This may be true, and McFall makes a good point, saying that not all refugees are terrorists.

“It is not fair for one person in a group to screw it up, and then have everyone punished.” Just because one terrorist posed as a Syrian refugee in Paris, doesn’t mean that all refugees should be put at fault for it. Michael Stevenson a Freshman, adds to this point, stating:

“ISIS isn’t just Syria, it’s a whole bunch of people.”

Another issue sparked by the Paris attacks, is the retaliation that France has carried out and certainly will continue. France has since bombed areas of ISIS existence, however they have not accounted for civilians as stated by an article from The Intercept_. Positions are split on whether it is right for France to do this, or whether they are entitled to take countless civilian lives. Phillips says that it was right for France to retaliate, however not continuously.

“It’s not right for them to take countless lives.”

On the contrary, McFall believes that France does not deserve the right to go kill people. With a more similar stance to Phillips, Rockafellow says that France is right to retaliate.

“It’s right, but it’s hard because ISIS is using civilians. It’s wrong but what else can you do,” he says.

Stevenson agrees with Rockafellow and Phillips.

“France is right, it was an act of war,” he says. He explains that the French are trying to get ISIS, and they aren’t intentionally killing innocent people like ISIS.

There are many issues that have resulted from recent events of terror. Along with these issues come an indefinite amount of solutions, but no single correct one. Whether it be world leaders, or high school students, the world truly is at a loss for words after these horrific events.