It is extremely rare that one can say one man or one woman changed the world.
Half-Syrian Steve Jobs, Polish Marie Curie, French Louis Pasteur, American Albert Einstein, and British Isaac Newton are people who changed the world.
It probably never happened in our human history that one can say a child changed the world, but Syrian angel toddler Aylan Kurdi, the 3-year old who drowned on the shores of Turkey to escape the reality of the Syrian civil war, has definitely changed the world.
The Syrian angel toddler changed the world by changing the minds of the most powerful politicians on earth.
The Syrian angel toddler changed the world by changing the mind of British Prime Minister David Cameron and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Britain increased its Syrian refugee quota by 20,000 and Canada by a promise of 20,000 we do not think Harper will honor because he has been adamant about not welcoming Syrians in Canada.
The Syrian angel toddler changed the world by changing the mind of Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and New Zealander Prime Minister John Key. Australia increased its Syrian refugee quota by 20,000 and New Zealand by 750.
The Syrian angel toddler changed the world by changing the mind of Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande. Germany increased its Syrian refugee quota by 800,000 and France by 24,000.
Incidentally, if a civil war ever breaks out in a third-world country, just hope there is a woman leader somewhere in Europe.
The only powerful man leading the largest democracy in the world who did not bat an eyelid or change the quota is Barack Obama. Go figure this man. Only 1,600 refugees have been welcomed in the U.S.A.
In terms of population to refugee ratios, here are percentages you won’t see anywhere else.
Lebanon: Welcomed 1.1 million Syrian refugees with a population of 6,184,701 yields a ratio of 17.78%.
Jordan: Welcomed 629,000 Syrian refugees with a population of 8,117,564 yields a ratio of 7.75%.
Turkey: Welcomed 1.9 million Syrian refugees with a population of 79,414,269 yields a ratio of 2.39%.
Iraq: Welcomed 249,000 Syrian refugees with a population of 37,056,169 yields a ratio of 0.007%.
Sweden: Welcomed 64,700 Syrian refugees with a population of 9,801,616 yields a ratio of 0.007%.
Egypt: Welcomed 132,000 Syrian refugees with a population of 88,487,396 yields a ratio of 0.001%.
Germany: Welcomed 98,700 Syrian refugees with a population of 80,854,408 yields a ratio of approximately 0.001%.
Denmark: Welcomed 11,000 Syrian refugees with a population of 5,581,503 yields a ratio of 0.0002%.
Hungary: Unwillingly welcomed 18,800 Syrian refugees with a population of 9,897,541 yields a ratio of 0.0018%.
France: Welcomed 6,700 Syrian refugees with a population of 66,553,766 yields a ratio of 0.0001%.
United Kingdom: Welcomed 7,000 Syrian refugees with a population of 64,088,222 yields a ratio of 0.0001%.
Bottom of the heap Barack Obama: Because they won’t vote Democrat, U.S. welcomed 1,600 Syrian refugees with a population of 321,368,864, which yields a ratio of 0.00000049%. Thank you Barack Obama. Next round of Golf is on us.
Lebanon wins hands down. It welcomed the largest number of refugees to population ratio. Thank you Lebanon.
With his death, at last count, Aylan Kurdi, the Syrian angel toddler, may yet save the lives of close to 900,000 Syrian refugees if you consider the generosity of Germany.
Between Steve Jobs and Aylan Kurdi, never underestimate the good Syrians can do when given the chance. Even when the world ignores the Syrian people, they manage, in their death, to change the world.
COMMENTS