"Refugees haven't changed. What has changed is the heart of the free world." --- Rhetorical Precis

In Andrew Lam’s Open Editorial “Refugees haven’t changed. What has changed is the heart of the free world.”(11/08/15) he argues that refugees have always existed and have always been leaving their countries for the same reasons and that the only difference is how the “Free World” has begun to treat them in the Post-Soviet Era. The author first asserts his argument through the use of paraphrase to show how refugees were once treated like “cultural heroes” and how the same refugees escaping from the same oppressions are being treated like “unwanted trespassers”; he then strengthens his argument by employing the use of Juxtaposition to directly compare the treatment of refugees in the Soviet Era and modern day refugees; and to conclude he closes his editorial by using a rhetorical question to ask how the international community will bring an end to the crisis; in order to make the reader think of the near future. The authors purpose is to argue that refugees have not changed their reasons for escaping their homelands, but it is the free world that has changed across the decades in order to assert that the refugee crisis is by no means a new problem orm a problem caused by the refugees themselves. The author seem to have an American or Western nation audience in mind because of how he constantly refers to American and Western examples such as Reagan's speech and the story of Conrad Schumann and his leap over the Berlin Wall. 

(Article can be found here)

"Obama Administration: U.S. is prepared to take in Syrian Refugees"

In the article titled “Obama Administration: U.S. is prepared to take in Syrian refugees” found in the Los Angeles times by Marcus E. Howard(2015), the debate on quantity of Syrian Refugees allowed asylum in the United States continues to raise opinions on how America should aid the refugees. President Obama has assured that at least 10,000 Syrian refugees will be allowed to enter the United States, but among concerns of Security over terrorism, Obama assures Security is of upmost importance. Conservatives in the U.S. continue to fear a larger number of refugees will lead to an over use of public benefits and an overextended security process, Republican committees believe the situation would be better handled if solved at the source of the crisis in Syria. Human Rights organizations have asked the Refugee Affairs committee to work closely with European states to protect the evading refugees. The Refugee has brought up arguments and opinions on what role the United States should play in the Middle Eastern problem that has escalated into a Global Refugee Crisis. 

"European Union leaders agree on measures to alleviate migrant crisis"

Los Angeles Times
"European Union leaders agree on measures to alleviate migrant crisis"
Henry Chu (September 23, 2015)

The European Union has held an emergency summit meeting in Brussels, were they agreed on several actions in order to soften the blow of thousands of immigrants entering Europe at the same time. The Union set aside $1 Billion in order to improve refugee camps in the Middle East in order to deter immigrants from going to Europe. A contraversial plan was agreed to that involved resetlling 150,000 refugees already on the European continent by majority vote, much to the chagrin of some Eastern European countries like Slovakia. Most immigrants aim for wealthy countries like Germany and Scandinavia were there are more benefits and better conditions for them. The refugee crisis has created tension and problems as border control measures have begun to take place in Germany and Hungary in an attempt to control the flow of refugees, creating a chaotic situation across the continent.

(Link to the Article)