Refugees are not the enemy

Politicians across the United States have responded to the attacks in Paris with callous and xenophobic calls to block Syrian refugees from entering the United States. In response, writers Reza Aslan, Teju Cole, Aleksandar Hemon, Marlon James, Phil Klay, Laila Lalami, Yiyun Li, Maaza Mengiste, Gary Shteyngart,Geraldine Brooks, Tom Lutz, and Jane Smiley have signed onto an open letter calling on Congress to act with humanity and take in Syrian refugees. We published the letter at TheNation.com and are asking our readers to sign on in support.

The letter ends:

Refugees are not the enemy. Refugees are our spouses, our parents, our grandparents. Some among us are refugees themselves; others have experienced the violence of war. But we are all writers. As such it is our duty to bear witness. Together we call upon the government of the United States to take in Syrian refugees, to act with humanity, and to honor Emma Lazarus’s words, chiseled on the Statue of Liberty: “A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.”

Click here to read the full letter and to add your name. We also hope that you’ll share the call on Facebook and Twitter.

All the best,
Sarah Arnold

The Nation Magazine
33 Irving Place
New York, NY 10003