After Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson returned from a two-day tour over this weekend in Jordan of multiple camps housing Syrian refugees, he quickly shared personal observations on Monday with his Facebook friends. He said he and his wife, Candy, went to Jordan because he wanted to see the actual circumstances for himself. He conveyed he wanted to talk with refugees directly to try to "find a solution where we (United States) can be both smart and compassionate."
Within the first 17 hours, Carson's remarks have received 51,055 "likes" and 12,459 "shares."
Carson also told Fox News/Fox & Friends in a Tuesday morning interview "what's good for the goose is good for the gander," when referring to U.S. President Barack Obama telling Turkey to seal off their border. Fox News said Turkey representatives instead pointed Obama to worrying about the U.S. southern border with Mexico.
Carson said, "Our border is completely porous. For us to sit there and proclaim sanctimoniously that 'you should close your border,' while we haven't done that, to protect the American people, seems to me the height of hypocrisy."
"A terrorist can come here, also. I've been down there," he said in the interview. "I was astonished at how little protection there is, and all the drugs that are coming through."
"What I saw (on the weekend tour) was stunning. Jordan is now home to 1.4 million refugees from Syria. Only 100,000 or so live in the camps, the rest are in every community. One out of every five persons living in Jordan is a refugee, " penned Carson.
"Jordan is a small country with a massive heart. But the influx of the Syrians is stretching all social services. Schools now teach in two shifts. Hospitals, police, and food service organizations are all under pressure."
Carson said he found a well-equipped hospital at the camps, surprisingly with no patients, because "the international community can't agree who should pay to staff it. Living conditions are simple but not bad."
He said the refugees all have one dream: Getting to the day when the violence will stop, and they can return to their homeland with their families.
Children make up a huge portion of the population in the camps, Carson continued. "In fact, since the beginning of the crisis, 50,000 Syrian babies have been born in Jordan. Luckily, these children will never know the horror of fleeing your home for safety."
All total in Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon more than 4 million refugees have found safety and wait until the war is over, he said. "The Obama Administration's plan to bring 15,000 refugees here is as small as it is wrong."
Instead, Carson said he believes United States leaders "can be smart and keep our country safe and also be compassionate."
"Let us commit to help care for these people. We are a generous people. The Jordanian Government expects the cost to care, educate, feed, and protect the refugees is about $3 billion per year - roughly the same amount of money we spend on Halloween candy in the U.S. each year," he said.
Carson is not advocating that the United States shoulder the entire cost ourselves. "We should lead though."
One of the Facebook replies from Nathan Joraanstad received significant support from other Carson supporters: "I can't remember the last time a politician took the time to actually be with the hurting people and learn what help they need. Instead, we have politicians that take a stance based on what is politically expedient and then never move. Thank you, Dr. Carson, for being humble enough to take the time to learn about the problems in order to find real solutions. You would make a great president. You have my vote."
Carson on Tuesday said his trip was "enlightening," and shared that "what's actually going on and what people actually believe is so different, than the actuality."
He said he believes "the United States has a responsibility, as the pentacle nation in the world, when you see something that's about to create havoc, to do something about it and not to sit there and leave the responsibility for somebody else."
"There are humanitarian solutions that don't involve exposing the American people to danger, and they actually work, and aren't little Band-Aids to make people feel good," he concluded.
