According to a series of articles in the New York Times,  hundreds of thousands of Syrian migrants, primarily fleeing unrest throughout all the Middle East, are dispersing from their war-torn home of Syria in search of lives and homes, seeking the simple safety that we take for granted every day.

As daunting of a task as it is to make it out of the country alone, it is now one of the least of their problems.

Once the migrants have escaped their home country, they are faced with the seemingly impossible challenge of making it to a country that will welcome them. Refugees who have been voyaging across Europe for the past weeks, using any means of transportation available, are being detained or turned away in countries across the European continent.

What do Blanchet students know about the crisis?

“I know that countries such as France and Germany have now limited the number of migrants that they are allowing into their borders because they have already met, if not exceeded, their quota,” said sophomore Jimmy Rosenberger. “This action is leaving bordering countries to Syria with thousands of desperate refugees.”

But what about actually helping the cause? Can one school on the other side of the world do anything​ at all to help the crisis?

“The Blanchet community alone?” said junior Joe Solan. “No, I don’t think there’s anything we could do to make an impact, but I do believe that one of our best sources for supporting this cause would be The Red Cross Foundation. I know that they can then take those funds and distribute them to the sources in Europe that can directly help these refugees.”

It certainly appears that the Blanchet community is informed on and willing to help the crisis by whatever means are realistic. So yes, the reality is that we are a small school in the scheme of things, but to those refugees being turned away by countries after treacherous journeys across Europe, that sense of care from a small school could mean more than any of us will know.