The violence in the Arab Peninsula brought the best and worst in humanity, especially in the West where hordes of refugees fleeing terror and war chose to relocate. The human wave overwhelmed border officials in Greece, Italy, France, the UK, Macedonia, Serbia and other countries on that axis. There was no option but to let them in, albeit some countries doing so reluctantly. Then something snapped: Paris was attacked. Overnight, the Syrian refugees were regarded with suspicion as there was widespread belief that terrorists could have infiltrated bonafide refugees and gained easy access to the West. The doors were shut in the refugees’ faces. Fear quickly settled in and spread to the extent that nine American Governors announced that they would oppose Syrian refugees settling in their states; terror had won, exactly what the terrorists wanted. When the FDLR militia launched their terror campaigns in northern Rwanda about 15 years ago, authorities did not buckle. Many had mingled with the refugees who were repatriated at the beginning of the Congo campaigns. The possibilities of infiltrations were evident, but the refugees as a whole were not victimized as it is happening now to Syrian refugees. Patient intelligence was gathered and former terrorists rehabilitated and brought back to the path of reason. Irrational fear did not take the upper hand as it would only have emboldened the FDLR and its supporters. The government voted to take it by the horns and address the issue. They were not turned into pariahs. That is the only way to address terror not burying the head in the sand, shivering with fear.
