Antelope High School

Home of the Titans

Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

Caleb C. Coates
7801 Titan Drive
Antelope Ca, 95843
Governor Jerry Brown
c/o State Capital, Suite 1173
Sacramento, Ca 95814
To Whom It May Concern:

More than 11 million people have been killed or forced to leave their homes in Syria. Most Syrians
right now are experiencing an environment of death and harmful conditions. My name is Caleb
Coates, a sixteen year old sophomore at Antelope High School, and I recently read about the Syrian
refugee crisis. Current law makers are denying Syrian refugees into the United States and I disagree
with their decision to do so because our country is built on liberty.
A civil war has taken place in Syria for the past five years and has destroyed and torn apart many
families. "Bombings are destroying crowded cities and horrific human rights violations are
widespread" (The Syria Sun). Other countries such as the U.S. and Russia are not helping the cause,
even prolonging the war because their views are at odds. Many Syrians are struggling to find safety
and the majority are "living in Jordan and Lebanon, where Mercy Corps has been addressing their
needs since 2012," and some are even "attempting the dangerous trip across the Mediterranean Sea"
(The Syria Sun).
The Syrian crisis does indeed relate to the refugees in WWII. Many countries denied the Jews of
coming into their country and thus left them in the Nazi's hands. During WWII, the United States did
not let in German Jews. Today, we are doing the same to Syrians. The United States needs to recognize
this before we let history repeat itself. We are forcing Syrians to flee elsewhere in dangerous
conditions when we should be letting them into our country. If we continue to deny the refugees, we
are no better than Nazi, Germany.
I disagree with the law makers' decision to not allow refugees into our country. Syrian life expectancy
has dropped from 70 to 55 in just 5 years due to their decision to deny Syrians of a welcome home
(Newsela). Syrians are dying left and right from bombings, unsanitary conditions, and from making
dangerous trips from Syria to try to escape the perils of their own country. If the United States change
their law, we can prevent many more Syrian deaths and several issues in the future.
In conclusion, many Syrians are losing their lives due to bombings and unhealthy conditions because
they have nowhere to flee to safely. I believe it would benefit the United States if you vote for us to
allow Syrian refugees into our country. Thank you for your time, and please take these points into
consideration.
4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843

Antelope High School

Home of the Titans
Principal, John Becker
Phone: (916)782-6565 ext. 1047

Sincerely,
Caleb C. Coates
Antelope High School Student
Respectful. Responsible. Proud
GO TITANS!

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843