facebook-pixel

Ishaan Tharoor: Trump and the rest of the world offer little hope for Syrian refugees

Even as it expresses concerns for the humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people, the Trump administration has gone out of its way to stigmatize and punish Syrian refugees.

Ten-year-old Syrian Amjud Moustafa Rifat uses his shirt to wipe away tears on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018, in Columbus, Ohio, as he and his 18-year-old sister, Fatima, listen to a song their brother, Hasib, wrote for the family. Hasib, 16, is still in the Middle East and has been separated from his family for more than 18 months as he awaits a U.S. visa. Their father, Rifat Moustafa, an international lawyer who says he was tortured for protesting human rights violations, was granted asylum and his wife and four other children followed in 2016, before President Trump was elected. They were hoping Hasib could come shortly after, but resettlement officials say the Trump administration’s travel ban on refugees from mostly Muslim countries has very likely caused further delays. (AP Photo/Martha Irvine)