metro >> jews in digital age
Le
Good, Bad And Ugly
The Syrian refugee issue on social media has been
both helpful and tempestuous.
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December 3 2015
Syrian refugees on the road
whether the security of our country and
the refugee screening process or the
FITS OF FURY
ethical considerations of turning away
Facebook, with its free accounts and
hopeless women and young children in
ability to weigh in on anything in a
need of shelter.
public forum, has provided bully pul-
The Jewish community, with its
pits to anyone with an Internet con-
strong values, remains divided on these
nection at home, at the office or on a
issues as evidenced by the outpour-
smartphone. Now, as soon as someone
ing of strongly held viewpoints on
offers an opinion in a Facebook post
Facebook. Some descendants of those
about whether the U.S. should wel-
turned back to Europe in the 1930s
come Syrian refugees, that post quickly
took the position that the U.S. must use
becomes an explosive back-and-forth
its moral compass and not transgress
among commentators from every
as it did before the Holocaust. Others
demographic and political
called such a comparison
affiliation.
preposterous as the Jewish
immigrants from Europe 80
After Michigan Gov. Rick
Snyder modified his ear-
years ago posed no threat to
American citizens.
lier position in support of
Michigan welcoming Syrian
On such a contentious issue,
refugees, debates on the social
strong disagreements are
network started by local resi-
bound to occur online. Several
dents turned into tempestuous
such Facebook debates over
arguments with each side post- Rabbi Ja son
the Syrian refugee topic led
ing links to articles in support
to Facebook users blocking
Miller
of their opinion on the matter.
each other, even those who are
Analogies to the U.S. closing its
friends in real life.
doors to Jewish refugees in the 1930s
In many instances, the Facebook
were quickly rebuffed by those arguing
discussion space has proven to be det-
that allowing Syrian migrants into our
rimental to open and honest dialogue
country would lead to domestic ter-
with regard to the Syrian refugee crisis,
rorism. Others cited statistics showing
but surely there are some positive out-
the majority of terrorist attacks were
comes from Facebook in this matter.
caused by those affiliated with Islam.
These posts garnered hundreds of com- USING FACEBOOK TO FLEE
ments with both sides vehemently con-
The Syrian refugees determined to flee
cerned about the issues they prioritize,
their war-torn and poverty-stricken
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26
I
n the era of Facebook, contro-
versial topics play out in various
ways on the social networking
site and it's often not pretty. Such
has been the case with the ongoing
debate over whether the United
States should accept Syrian refu-
gees in the wake of the tragic ter-
rorism acts in Paris.
While Syrian refugees have
been seeking safe harbor in sev-
eral countries over the past few
years, the debate here in America
has escalated in recent weeks and
turned into divisive political argu-
ments. A majority of U.S. governors
have publicly voiced their opposi-
tion to providing asylum to the
Syrian migrants even though immi-
gration remains a federal issue.
The debate has also become a lit-
mus test for the presidential candi-
dates and their views on domestic
security.
homes are turning to Facebook to
make their treacherous journey safer
and to stay connected with loved ones.
Before Facebook became such a ubiq-
uitous mobile app, migrants relied
solely on traffickers to help them flee
to safety. This was often a dangerous
and sometimes fatal proposition. With
easy access to smartphones, however,
the refugees are able to get to the West
safely.
The Syrians escaping their home
country have been using Facebook
groups to post information for future
refugees about safe routes and reliable
rest areas for secure refuge. Facebook's
Check-In feature allows users to post
precise whereabouts during their jour-
ney using GPS and then provide updates
to fellow refugees on other boats.
Where are the poor migrants getting
access to smartphones? The Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees has already provided more
than 30,000 cellphone SIM cards and
close to 100,000 solar charging lanterns
to Syrians to maintain their phone's
power.
The smartphones connected to
mobile apps like Facebook have proven
a necessary component in the journey
for these refugees. While they've come
to depend on the social network to
keep their voyage more secure, it is still
a perilous endeavor that doesn't end
when they arrive in Europe or North
America. At least Facebook has helped