There is chaos in Syria right now, as there are upwards of 8 million children under siege by the tumultuous government. The children are poverty stricken and trapped within the deteriorating infrastructure of Syrian cities. The war is preventing them from going to school, and the lack of medical resources creates a threat for disease. This topic raises the question of the United States and its involvement in foreign affairs when human rights and democracy are at stake.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), along with many other humanitarian organizations, has already attempted many times to deliver aid, but alone, this simply will not suffice. The “sectarian crisis,” as the situation is often described, poses a threat to the future children of Syria as well, as today’s children are exposed to terrorist organizations and human trafficking. Due to the conditions of war and the inflexibility of surrounding countries, Syrian children are left with no other option but to remain under the oppressive regime.

Thankfully, evacuations of these children have begun in small numbers as some countries are accepting refugees, like the United States, which has a quota of 10,000 refugees for this year. However, this is just the beginning of a larger migration that needs to happen for these refugees.

Not only do threats of ISIS harm these children, but allies of the United States are also feeling the ripple effects of the war, as increasing amounts of refugees are rejected from Western countries and being placed in Jordan and Lebanon. As of today, the threat is only spreading.

Obviously, there is a risk for the United States when considering involvement with the crisis. Despite this, the United States has an obligation to help refugees when the current humanitarian efforts are not nearly effective enough. As the defenders of liberty and the free world, it is our responsibility to intervene when we hear the cry of injustice echoing around the world. It is the obligation of the United States and other countries to put this human rights violation to a halt, in order to stop future generations from worsening this issue to the point of no recovery.