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Local Syrian Refugee Also Wants Security

Naomi Gingold/KJZZ
/
file | staff |
Syrian refugees learn English in a class in Phoenix in 2017.

Late Friday, President Donald Trump issued an executive order stopping people from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

Protests have continued to take place across the country and a judge temporarily blocked the president’s order.

Amidst the rising tenor all over the country, a group of recent Syrian refugees gathered in central Phoenix for their regular English class: men and women, with all levels of English.

Speaking just before class started, teacher Noah Abraham, also a refugee from Syria, explained that he understood the underlying reasoning behind the ban. "As a newly arrived person in the U.S., I am concerned about my safety and security, too. So I don’t mind if they tighten the measures."

Banning terrorists? He said, "It’s not wrong at all, I support it 100 percent. But when you ban Muslims, it’s something different."

And Abraham said, how can you possibly judge anyone based solely on their religion? Be they Muslim, Jewish, Christian, or any other religion.

Naomi Gingold was a host at KJZZ from 2016 to 2017.