I am in the middle of the road on this issue. I understand we are a powerful nation with the resources to help others, but it’s hard for me to accept sending money, military, food and other aide when we so desperately need it here in own country. Unless we have a perfect checks and balances system in place to make sure the aide is actually going where it should, it would seem wasteful. We learned in North Korea, the aide they received wasn’t making it to it’s people…why wouldn’t that happen again? How do we prevent precious resources from being held from the needy?

I can’t imagine how I would feel if this was happening here, probably just as desperate as the refugees from Syria.

Most people have heard in passing or follow closely the Syrian Refugee crisis that is happening abroad. A lot of US citizens aren’t well informed on the happenings in Syria and would like to know more about the root cause of this situation and how it will impact their country or other countries.  When we hear about a large group of refugees seeking asylum in another country, there are some rational and irrational fears that come along with the news. I hope to provide both pros and cons to what impact an influx of refugees can do to a country.

It is unbelievable to me how the captains of these smugglers boats are running their so called business. It seems everyone who helps to smuggle Syrians are straight up crooks. They are constantly scamming to make more money. Threatening to not deliver on their word unless they are paid more money. I can’t imagine what it feels like to be a passenger on these boats and to not be told anything. They are living on pure hope that someone will hold on to their end of the bargain and bring them to Italy like they were told.

When the passengers realize they have been trolling the Benghazi coastline for days because their captain is trying to get more money, my heart broke for them.

I don’t believe the Syrian refugees will be able to integrate easily into other countries. I feel that if they want to, they will find a way to make it work. There are a lot of different things one must try to be okay with. Such as religious differences. How do you put aside your beliefs if your new country because it is their way? What about language barriers? If you don’t speak the native tongue how do you suppose to be able to communicate effectively? There are several people that do not want to accept a new culture but are forced to because they now live in a new place. A lot of them struggle with the depression of not having a job, not being able to communicate, loss of their family and a sense of identity.

I believe that integration could happen in time. They need to be open to differences in the culture and way of life in their new place of residence.

Just wow! Finally Dr. Kim realized her country may not have been the best country. She always believed in her country, was thankful for the opportunity for education that allowed her to become a doctor. Years pressed on and nothing was getting any better. She found herself starving and weighing under eighty pounds. She finally decided to go across the border with the list of names her dad gave her while on his death bed. She had relatives in China and she was going to defect.

Her first encounter after crossing the river was a section of farmhouses. She attempted the gates and found one unlocked. When she steps in she sees a bowl of white rice with meat in a bowl on the ground. She was shocked because she herself hadn’t seen a bowl of white rice in years. And to think there was a bowl sitting right in front of her. It wasn’t until the dog started barking that she realized that the food she saw, the food she would have loved to have had, belonged to the dog.

But now she couldn’t deny what was staring her plainly in the face: dogs in China ate better than doctors in North Korea.

pg. 220

It seemed to me that the refugees leaving Syria in Crossing the Sea were building trust and friendships amongst the other refugees. This was the furthest from truth. They passed the time while waiting to flee, but I don’t think trust was ever fully established. When they finally did reach the boats it became a panicked frenzy with people running ahead to secure their place on a boat. One man who had a life jacket promised to help a little girl through the water to the boat, but when he saw the boat and others running, it was not longer in his best interest to help others. He wanted his asylum like everyone else. No matter if he made a promise to a young girl and her family, he was going to get on the boat no matter if she was left behind. It was survival of the fittest at this point.

These smuggler stories depicted in Crossing the Sea by Wolfgang Bauer, remind me of the stereotypical used car salesman. They have a way with words to convince even the most desperate person to do something they probably shouldn’t.

In the chapter, The Sea I, it describes smuggling as a business. With expenses, overhead, risk and reward. It’s a fiercely competitive business against other smugglers.

“They damage their competitors’ reputations to boost their own”

pg. 39

The smugglers like to make it known that it is an expensive operation, maybe to make the refugees feel that what they paid was a fair market price. One of the original group members, Elias succumbs to the offer from a different smugglers gang. He was guaranteed to board a boat sooner that the group he started with. With much back and forth, Elias decided to give it a try. He failed. His new group was in the same predicament as his original group. He thought he was getting a better deal and found himself being swindled by a really good salesman.

So many characters are introduced to us in this book by Wolfgang Bauer. It’s almost hard to keep them straight. The gist of the book so far are a group of 13 people wanting to escape Syria and try at a better life in Europe. One must be wealthy it seems, in order to try at this idea of escaping. It costs quite a bit to hire a smuggler “travel agent”, who orchestrates the whole trip. They pick them up in Syria, arrange various apartments for them to hide out in along the way and even organize the transportation to and from various points. None of this is as appealing as it sounds. Not like an American wanting to explore Europe for leisure.

These men are faced with seriously harsh circumstances. Before they even make it to the boat to attempt the crossing of the sea, they are kidnapped from their smugglers and held for ransom. No one tells them what is going on, they must have faith in their hired travel agents to get them to the ports on time, when it is safest to cross. Near death experiences just in their bus rides to various places has them on edge. Will they ever make it to the port? Or will they be turned in before they even start their crossing?

After years of being alone with the knowledge that North Korea wasn’t the best country in the world, both Jun-Sung and Mi-Ran hid their truest feelings from each other. The people they felt the closest too still weren’t able to share their hearts with one another. Jun-Sung knew what was really going on in South Korea because of watching the TV and hearing radio programs. Everything he had learned, he couldn’t share with his girlfriend of 7 years. I couldn’t imagine being trapped in your own mind and not being able to express fears, desires or needs to another person.

Mi-Ran loved Jun-Sung but knew her family line would bring shame to his family if they were ever to marry. He wouldn’t be able to join the workers party or pursue his career at the university. She made the choice she couldn’t do that to him. With her family, she escaped to China. When her father passed they decided to try and get into contact with his relatives. The adventure began and even though fear resided in all of her family, the idea of a better life was on the horizon. They had to try…

I don’t know much about the Syrian problems or the reasons why there are refugees, but the timeline project we did in class has be intrigued to know why US has interjected itself. Why are we arming rebels? What if they were to rebel against us one day?

Crossing the Sea, already has peaked my interest because it already paints a way different picture that what I imagined. I would like to know and read more about survival stories. How many people reunite with their families? Are they able to make it financially in another country after starting with next to nothing? ht. The idea that you have to pay to be “smuggled” out of your country instead of attempting to do it on your own, I would like to know more about how they weigh the risks of survival with being caught.