Bono Calls On American People For Help With Syrian Refugees


Rock icon Bono plans on taking his message about the plight of refugees directly to the American people. In an exclusive with GMA, U2’s front-man pleaded for the audience to understand that globalization makes the refugee issue a problem for both Europe and America. Seeming to realize that average Americans aren’t losing any sleep over 80,000 Syrian refugees displaced into neighboring Jordan, Bono emphasized it was a global problem.

“With global impact, we’ve got responsibilities,” – U2 lead singer and activist Bono.

According to the United Nations, 4.8 million Syrian refugees have fled their country while another 6.6 million are internally displaced. At a conference in Geneva on Wednesday, UN Secretary General Ba Ki-moon urged all countries to do more to address the crisis.

“The world must step up, with concrete actions and pledges. All countries can do more,” – UN Secretary General Ba Ki-moon.

Bono repeated a similar message when speaking with GMA. He also noted what many international security experts have said in the past: humanitarian crisis that are not adequately addressed by the Western world can become fertile breeding grounds for next generation terrorists.

“We now know that what goes on in the Middle East or North Africa this year will spill onto the streets of Paris or Brussels next year and, God forbid, onto the streets of America.” – Bono

The calls from the Grammy winning artist and the UN Secretary General run counter to popular opinion in the US. When the issue of the US taking in refugees from Syria was last a topic of popular discussion, the majority of Americans said they were against it. This was especially true for Republican voters where 8 out 10 expressed their opposition to the US taking any Syrian refugees. Those polls were from late November and it unclear if anything has changed popular sentiment.


But if any celebrity can change the minds of world leaders, it’s Bono. He’s met with numerous world leaders in the past including Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama. His meeting with Bush, which many criticized him for at the time, was instrumental in securing $15 million in new funds from the US to help combat the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. With help of his One Campaign, and its 7 million members around the world, Bono is aiming to shine a big light on the plight of refugees from war-torn Syria.

Featured Image is courtesy of u2verdaderoultraviolet.org.

 

Jeff is reformed conservative who is happy to be thinking for himself again. He's an aspiring author working on his first book. Follow #Brick_Says