“We were sitting in my house when … it was destroyed over our heads,” says Fadi Adris, talking about the bomb that leveled the home that he once shared with his wife.
Early this year, the family learned that the United States had chosen them for resettlement, and they’re now living in Chicago.
According to data from the Refugee Processing Center, 94 Syrian refugees have resettled in Illinois, 62 of them in Chicago, out of roughly 1500 Syrians who have relocated thus far in America. President Obama has just announced that 10,000 additional refugees will be accepted into the country starting October with plans to increase the number of worldwide refugees each year to 100,000 by 2017.
“We are sending humanitarian aid, but everyone of conscience should call the White House,” says Dr. Mohammed Sahloul who worked at Syrian refugee camps inside the beleaguered country and in neighboring ones. “They claim to be our champion, but they are letting our children drown and die in the Mediterranean. I think we should all be banging on the doors of congressmen.”
The Chicago Tribune takes an up-close look at the refugee issue, and the recent history of America’s participation (or non-participation).
