By Katie Krahulik

Staff writer

In an effort to address the refugee crisis that has crippled Syria and burdened surrounding nations, David Wildman, a direct witness of the events occurring overseas, came to Hofstra on Tuesday, March 1 to talk about his experiences meeting with four different Syrian refugee groups in Lebanon and Jordan.

Wildman explained that with close to 11 million refugees, humanitarians are faced with an overwhelming dilemma.

“The crisis with refugees today exists because there is no will to put people first, whether it’s the United States or Russian government or even the Europeans,” Wildman said.

During his address, Wildman discussed the main problems with the current refugee crisis and suggested potential solutions that he asked the audience to consider.

He explained that the main issues in Syria revolve around four central concepts. “These are the rights of refugees to stay, safe passage for refugees, the welcoming of host neighboring communities and the right for refugees to return,” Wildman said.

He described the following as the best options for civil resolution. “A cease fire allows for at least small amounts of humanitarian aid, but people don’t think it works because it’s not ongoing. The cease fire has to be longer.”

Wildman also suggested negotiation tactics. “We need to get the right people at the table, people who are willing to end the fight,” he said.

As for funding, he said “These people are suffering from malnutrition, and so we need to press the government to fully fund folks on the ground.”

During the Q&A session, a student asked how college students could help the effort. Wildman responded by saying, “Keep speaking out, put op-eds in student papers and talk about it.”

One student asked, “How can students combat the fear of refugees?” To which Wildman responded, “It’s easy to fear people who are different. When there are fearmongers running for office, vote for someone else who breaks these barriers of fear because politicians have often found that fear gets them votes.”

Students enrolled in Hofstra’s terrorism classes and seminars are currently learning about the victimization and condemnation of refugees in the Syrian area.

Johannes Sorto, a senior political science major, was impacted by Wildman’s speech, admitting his realization that there is more to the issue than meets the eye.

“I mean, I didn’t know, for example, how many refugees there are and that there is a differentiation between those that are right outside of Syria and those that are in Syria, and that most of them are in Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Europe,” Sorto said.

Freshman Ziad Al Zayer was born and raised in the Middle East. He is a native of Saudi Arabia and he spent a few years living in Bahrain. He said he was already aware of the refugee crisis and it is a well-known problem in the Middle East.

“There are many refugees trying to escape Syria because of the ongoing civil war,” Al Zayer said. “It is based on religious differences between the Shia and the Sunni. These are things that most people in Saudi have a general grasp of.”

Dr. Martin Melkonian, a professor of economics, helped coordinate the event. He addressed the important role that these types of lectures play in students’ education.

“In general, it’s a good idea for students to hear these experts who have had extensive experience outside of textbooks and the classroom,” said Melkonian. “This particular man has traveled throughout the Middle East and Afghanistan. He’s written books about what’s going on there. So, I think it’s important to get that eyewitness view of things.”

Melkonian and his colleagues discovered Wildman at another lecture where he spoke about Afghanistan. It was at this event that Melkonian was exposed to Wildman’s “diplomatic, nonmilitary perspective,” an angle which he feels should be brought to the classroom.

“I think it gives students a different way of considering things,” Melkonian said. “You hear these people who say, ‘Let’s go in there and bomb and fight,’ but [Wildman] was saying maybe there are some situations where instead, we can sit down and talk about it over a cup of tea.”