I am sorry for the Buzzfeed style headline, but this is an important topic.

For Canadian readers, you may or may not know that it was reported today that Stephen Harper and the Prime Minister’s Office directed Canada’s immigration officials to stop processing application for Syrian Refugees this spring. (Read the Globe and Mail article here)

I read this article this morning, and then later today came across this video:

Isn’t it unbelievable that Canada’s Prime Minister is willing to let more Alan Kurdi’s drown trying to make it to a better life. Why is  a 9-year-old girl doing more to save children than our government?

For readers in other countries, investigate to see what your political leaders are doing. Unless you live in Germany, the answer is not much. So why are we our leaving  it to our children to save the vulnerable children of the world? Maybe we need to elect leaders based on what they will do for our neighbour and for the most vulnerable among us, rather than voting for tax breaks and trade deals.

I hope Selina’s efforts remind us that we can all do more and that we should expect more from our political leaders.

Please scroll to the bottom of this post and share it on social media and if you want to participate in Selina’s project, here is more information about Selina and what she is doing, written by her parents:

Many of you likely know the story of Alan Kurdi, the 3 year old refugee whose body was washed up on a Turkish beach after he and his family attempted to flee from the conflict in their home country of Syria. http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/his-name-was-alan-kurdi

When my daughter Selina saw his picture and learned of the crisis, she was deeply affected and immediately wanted to take action. She is initiating a child-focused project to raise awareness of the conflict, especially among her peers, and to motivate the world to take action. We are sending this message to request your child’s involvement in the project. Selina explains it best. Please take a short minute to view the following video of Selina explaining her vision.  
One way to support the refugees is through donations, so a focus of the video – and the project in general – is to encourage people who view it to donate to one of the humanitarian organizations that are assisting with aid in the area. 

It doesn’t matter if you are a boy or a girl, or what age or grade you’re in – Selina is hoping to reach children and youth from all walks of life to support this project.

If you are able and willing to support this initiative, please create a simple poster with a message of support for the refugees. A few examples include – “save the refugees”, “care for others in need”, “remember their suffering”, etc. (These are just a few examples, feel free to use your own words of support). It doesn’t need to be fancy – it can be as simple as pen on white paper, or as complicated as you wish to decorate it. The message of compassion is the important element. 

When taking the picture, please have your child cover their face with the poster. As Selina explains it, most of these children are invisible to us on this side of the world, and by covering our faces, the Canadian children stand in solidarity with the refugee children. In addition, this is also a safety net for our children involved in the project in that they will not be identified on the video. 

Selina is hoping to collect between 25-50 pictures to create the final project. We are asking that all pictures be sent to the following email address canadiankidsforrefugees@gmail.com by Saturday, October 24th. After we have compiled it, the final product will be put up on youtube. 

Thank you so much for your time and attention to this important cause. 
Shirley & Gavin 

With love and thanks from,
Selina

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And if you would like to donate to help Syrian Refugees Canadian Lutheran World Relief is an excellent place to go.