Canada today announced it has met its goal of taking in 25 thousand refugees.
Life style is defined as a way which a person or a group present their way of living. It is a topic that affects everyone: emotionally, physically, and mentally. The choices we make takes us into the direction we desire. The lifestyle change and shift could be a place displacement, a culture shock, identity change, and other several shifts that plays a role into our lifestyles.
Many people have experienced some of those lifestyle changes listed above. One of them is moving to a different place. Coming to the United States a few years ago was a big lifestyle change. Coming from a developing country, there is a significant shift of living style. I came from one of the poorest areas of the capital city called Merkato. There, school was too serious. Even though I had a passion for soccer, my parents didn’t want me to focus on that, instead on school. Education is considered to be the only way out of poverty. When I came to the State, school was not the only way for success. People have lots of choices, and not going to school is not a big deal, because people have many other choices. I was lucky to come to the United States to get education opportunity. But unlike me, my fellow friends chose immigration as a way to escape poverty.

It is not just in Canada that people are fleeing to, but in Europe, Africa, and in the U.S.
Lately I have been interested in the politics era as the election is approaching. I have been catching up with some of the presidential candidate debates. One of the big issue raised is immigration. The Ohio governor John Kasich have a logic argument about this topic. He thinks it is a silly argument to deport 11 million people who entered illegally. He then goes referring to Ronald Reagan who basically said:

“ the people who were here, if they were law-abiding, could stay. But, what didn’t happen is we didn’t build the walls effectively and we didn’t control the border. We need to control our border. But if people think that we are going to ship 11 million people who are law-abiding, who are in this country, and somehow pick them up at their house and ship them out to Mexico, think about the families. Think about the children. So, you know what the answer really is? If they have been law-abiding, they pay a penalty. They get to stay. We protect the wall. Anybody else comes over, they go back.”

Governor Kasich addresses his opinion as opposed to Donald Trump’s who believes that the 11 million people who entered illegally are going to have to go out. “We have no choice if we’re going to be a country.” But there is an opposite side of Trump’s quote. What makes America a country is a diverse and a nation who accepts families and individuals who are looking for opportunities.

The focus of immigration should be about keeping families together. This idea is what the governor would agree on. He believes we still have to finish the fence. For the 11 million who are already there, we have to identify them and ought to find who they are. If they abide to the law, they will be safe to stay, but will be sent back if they committed a crime. In addition, he says that “we need a guest worker program so that people can come in and work and be able to go back to support their family.

It is no question that America is one of the greatest nations in the world. And, that is why people are drawn to a nation with unlimited opportunities. Behind every immigrant or refugee, there is a story. My childhood friend recently immigrated to London. He is also from Merkato, where we both grew up in. In the capital, the economy is unstable. Even with a college degree, it is hard to find a job. With a dropout (like my friend), it is more difficult to get a job. And, even you find a job, what you get paid and the amount of work you do are far from fair. Life’s not fair. My friend now works very hard and gets paid fairly. The currency exchange is a great bonus when he sends money to his widow mother and his two younger brothers. It is the same way for individuals who come to the United States and work hard for their families.

As great America is, so are the people who sees and believes in the opportunities.