Antelope High School

Home of the Titans

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

Manveen Bal
7801 Titan Drive
Antelope Ca, 95843

Governor Jerry Brown

c/o State Capital, Suite 1173
Sacramento, Ca 95814

To Whom It May Concern:

Peace is our gift to each other (Elizer Wiesel). Peace is a beautiful gift and a vital key to living in a
utopian world. The questions is, is it a gift we are willing to easily give? Many people do not live in a
state of peace and are dying because we, the people of the United States of America, are not doing
anything to help them. 470,000 Syrians are dead not only because of the people in the war who killed
them, but also because of the people who would rather observe the situation then help. I am Manveen
Kaur Bal, an Antelope High School student who is in her sophomore year of high school, believe that
the US is partially responsible for the deaths that have occurred. The people participating in the war
are not the only murderers responsible for these horrendous deaths occurring. I believe that anyone
who has the power to help, especially a country like the US, should be able to.

Currently in a small country known as Syria, there is a huge war obliterating lives. The conflict is
occurring between the present government and the rebels who believe they can give Syria a better
future. In all, around 11.5% of Syria's population has either been killed or injured. 1.9 million are
wounded and the life expectancy went from 70 to 55.4 in the span of 5 years. That is a huge difference
of 20 years, and a part of it is because big countries, including the US, are not helping out.

The Syrian refugee crisis is both similar and different to the World War II refugee crisis but the
similarities stick out a bit more. In both refugee crises, the refugees did not pose any sort of threat, yet
we were and are still to scared to let them in. Yes, it is true that there have been suicide bombers and
people fear that if we let refugees in, some terrorists will sneak in aswell. But just because 1 woman,
who happened to be of the same ethnicity or religion, did something like that, doesn't mean that all of
them will. Not all of the women are suicide bombers. Some of them just want to come here for a better
life for themselves and their children. Another similarity that strikes me the most is the fact that in
World War II, the US did not help the refugees. The holocaust is one of the biggest genocides that have
occurred in history and around 11 million people died, including people that were not Jewish. Just
imagine the number of people that we could have saved if we has helped them in the past. Right now,
there are only 470,000 fatalities and if we do something to help, that number won't have to increase
anymore than it already has. Something very important that we need to realize is that the Islamic state
is very weak. It uses these terrorist attacks and says that they were caused by them to show strength.
They have one specific goal and that is to divide us. Do not forget that the US is built off of
immigrants and people who wanted to live a better life somewhere else. To me, we are no better than
Adolf Hitler if we do not help these refugees. We helped him in a way many years ago when we
decided not to take the Jewish refugees in, and we are going to make the same horrendous mistake
again if we do not help them now.

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843

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

I just want to make it clear that I disagree with these ludacris laws that the US had put up. I can see
why these policies of having tight security are important but making it a faster process somehow
wouldn't hurt anyone. If letting refugees in is a problem because of safety concerns, why can't we just
put them in states that are not as populated like Wyoming or Nebraska? You do not have to put them in
states like California or New York. This is the world's largest refugee crisis since World War II and that
is a huge problem. Most of the refugees are either children, elderly, mothers, or couples coming with
children. One of the reasons I disagree is because of the time it takes and the second reason is because
it is flat out inhumane to not help others out. This world is not just home to one race, ethnicity, or
religion. We all live here as one. Not helping the Syrian refugees will make us just as inhumane as any
leader or group of people from the past that has caused some sort of havoc. Everyone deserves to be
free, everyone has that right no matter where they are from. The thing is, will we as people, help the
unfortunate ones have that freedom?

Once again, I believe that we should help by bringing in more Syrian refugees. I am not very educated
when it comes to politics so I am oblivious to how the voting process would take place. All I want is to
save some innocent lives, as well as save other people from being stripped away from their humanity.
Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Manveen Bal
Antelope High School Student
Respectful. Responsible. Proud
GO TITANS!

4635 Elverta Road, Antelope, CA 95843