Very real divide over the Syria question

It wasn't a headline then. I was in Greece in 2014, standing on the beach, kicking at a deflated rubber dinghy, partially buried in sand. No trace of the people it carried; they would have arrived in the cover of night. I am on the island of Samos near Turkey. Beaches hug the island on all sides.

• Russell Wangersky's column: Our home and heartless land

I will see another deflated dinghy and another. It is early 2014, and the migrants arrive at nighttime so that the Greek coast guard won't see them, stop them. The goal is to get on the ferry to Athens, quickly, without being noticed beforehand.

There are stories of migrants camping in wooded areas, waiting for the ferry. One day, walking a beach, I find juice boxes and shampoo bottles with Arabic lettering on them. Next to them, a child's flip flop. Where is the other flip flop? Where is that child?

We see the children now, every day in the news. It's all out in the open now. The misery, the uncertainty. We hear the politicians. We hear how members of our own communities are getting involved. 

Unwavering yes

Thursday on the CrossTalk phone-in, TC Media's Atlantic regional columnist Russell Wangersky came to the studio to head up a conversation about whether Canada should take in more Syrians. Wangersky's answer was an unwavering yes. In fact, he and his wife are planning substantial contributions to help sponsor refugees.

Caller after caller voiced their desire to see Canada embrace more Syrians, albeit with thorough security checks. But many others took to social media to say that Canada should refuse to take in more of the Syrians who are escaping the civil war.

One listener said in an email he doesn't want even one of them admitted into Canada.

"ISIL has boasted that their killers are embedded with these Sunni Muslim migrants waiting to strike the infidels. We should not be putting Canadians at risk by admitting this terrible threat to our country," he wrote.

Another listener waded into the conversation on Facebook with a different perspective.

"Calling all Muslims terrorists and extremists is the same as calling all Caucasians rednecks. I believe it is a crime to paint them all with the same brush," he said.

"Yes, of course we must do the proper security checks but we need to do our part and take more…"

Many people have concerns that have nothing to do with talk of terrorist threats. They pointed to domestic problems, and what they believe our priorities should be.

Think with heads instead of hearts

One Facebook commenter said there's a need to take care of our own.

"This province is struggling to provide public services to citizens, yet they want to bring in more [migrants] and offer them money and benefits to which they've never contributed," he said.

"Our seniors and veterans on low and fixed incomes get peanuts, with prices still rising."

Meanwhile, another Facebook commenter said she has opinions that run in a similar vein.

"People need to think with their heads instead of their hearts. I feel horrible for what [the Syrians] are dealing with. Maybe offer financial help, but think ahead," she said.

"I think Canada as a whole needs to get itself together and take care of its own first. There are people still suffering and starving in our own country," she said.

What did we learn?

So what to conclude from all of this? This conversation is one that's just beginning, and yet it touches on long-standing debates. What is Canada's role on the international scene? How is Canada handling its own social issues?

Someone better listen. In the meantime, let's keep talking.

Sept. 14 on the CrossTalk phone-in, the guest is Canada Post spokesperson Jon Hamilton. All the ruckus over community mailboxes: Are people over-reacting? Phone in after the noon news and weather (11:30 in most of Labrador). The numbers are 709-722-7111/1-800-563-8255.