TOW #6 - While other countries turn Syrian refugees away, Canadians are taking them home

In this article published by the Washington Post, Robin Shulman illustrates the positive effects of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's new Syrian refugee admittance has on families fleeing conflict. He shows the readers how Syrian families struggling to have a normal life have flocked to Canada to escape violence and their new experiences in the face of a foreign country. Writer and reporter Robin Shulman accurately captures the struggles that these families face in order to adapt to a new environment. Shulman primarily writes for those unaccustomed to having refugees living near them, in order to illustrate that these people are not much different from everybody else. In the midst of Donald Trump's anti-Islamophobia, Trudeau's admittance of over 25,000 Syrian refugees is a slap in the face for Trump and his supporters. Shulman uses pathos to appeal to the readers emotions. For instance, in the passage, he writes, " The girls, who are wearing snow pants and bulky winter boots for the first time, are struggling to walk. They laugh and grab each other’s hands." (Shulman). Pathos is evidently shown in this quote because it portrays little girls, which evokes empathy from readers, which helps him achieve his purpose of showing how Syrians are not dissimilar to everyone else. They also have families, children to take care of, and just like everyone else, they also seek peace and a place to flourish  and live. The fact that the girls are struggling to walk show how young they are, how innocent. All these features appeal to the reader's emotions and help the author convey his message. Through pathos, Shulman actively achieves his purpose of showing the audience that Syrian refugees desire the same thing that everyone else does.