U.S. Lacks Compassion for Syrian Refugees

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/30/opinion/us-lacks-compassion-for-syrian-refugees.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Anne Frank Today Is a Syrian Girl” (column, Aug. 25):

My thanks to Nicholas Kristof for recalling the desperation of European Jews in the years just preceding World War II, and the frustration of the Americans who tried to get their relatives out of Europe before it was too late.

I have vivid memories of my father making one phone call after another in his attempts to obtain a visa for his elderly aunt and two cousins who were stranded in France after fleeing their home in Austria. Most of his efforts ended in frustration. His aunt died in Auschwitz.

The fact that the United States is again allowing in only a trickle of refugees was made especially painful recently when my Canadian nephew, my father’s grandson, wrote to me from his home in Newfoundland describing the challenges and satisfaction he and his neighbors were experiencing in welcoming several Syrian families into their community. I am ashamed that my own country lacks similar compassion and generosity.

RACHELLE MARSHALL

Mill Valley, Calif.