Don't feel sorry for refugees -- believe in them | Luma Mufleh

"We have seen advances in every aspect of our lives -- except our humanity," says Luma Mufleh, a Jordanian immigrant and Muslim of Syrian descent who founded the first accredited school for refugees in the United States. Mufleh shares stories of hope and resilience, explaining how she's helping young people from war-torn countries navigate the difficult process of building new homes. Get inspired to make a personal difference in the lives of refugees with this powerful talk.
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[@p.a.f.mitasol8071]

We should not forget the courage it takes just to stand on a TED stage. You could tell she was nervous.

[@nurhancavusoglu5988]

It's saddening why so many people disliked this, but it also proves her point.. Wow. Ashamed.

[@lucidvibes8133]

yeah why would they do that?

[@saracrecca3897]

I have had the honor of meeting Luma Mufelah in person. She is a graduate of Smith College and could do anything she wants with that degree. She chose to build a school for refugees, all of whom enroll many grade levels behind their American peers. Her fight to get funding to meet their needs is like rolling a boulder up a hill every single day.

[@tabaraktamer3630]

WOHOOO GO COACH!!! thas my coach!!!

[@smartmonkey175]

Same

[@smartmonkey175]

@Charlotte Austin yes

[@PhilPhantom]

Absolutely inspiring presentation. I wish that there was some way to sway the vast majority to see how these people are suffering and to actively help and believe.

[@sarafarr3148]

I just read the book.. she is so inspiring !

[@breezinoz]

This talk has moved me. You are doing what I hope to do in future. Thank you for sharing your story Coach 😀

[@ninishibby]

This was a great talk and I'd like to thank the speaker and TED for sharing. She is absolutely right, and the whole world should be ashamed that this crisis has become such a huge problem. The American people should be point their fingers at themselves. You have contributed to many of this world's wars and violence that makes people flee their beloved home countries, yet, you are unwilling to take them in and actually help them by giving them the opportunity to live their lives in peace, despite your constitution and the very foundation the United States were built upon.

[@jajaborfromhiraeth]

Always keep coming back for her speech. So natural and with such passion ❤️ bless you

[@StarringLight]

That woman is the pride of humanity !! we do need to make some progress in humanity !! she makes me so proud of being an arab muslim gay young man !!

[@hessmesspbj]

I stand in. total support of people helping those who are in need. I've worked alongside refugee students--Muslim,Hindu, Buddhist and Christian alike. All of them will surpass your expectation of a refugee. They are all the most hard working, loving population I've had the privilege to know. That's the issue really... All of the hate is stemming from fear of the unknown. Get to know a refugee family and then comment on here. Stop comparing them to every whack job you hear of in the news. Those people are radicalized. Look into our screening process in America. It takes forever to get someone in because of all the steps required. Don't comment out of ignorance and fear.

[@shuntaki234]

I’m Japanese. Our Asylum recognition rate was only 0.2% in 2016. We are exactly ones who should be ashamed.

[@jinaihou]

I watch this because of my school assignment. But Luma, I admire you so much!

[@briet70]

Thank you for your work and your words. It matters, and ignorant people will react with hate. Keep on and keep strong!

[@matth6762]

I get what she is saying but i would like to hear what she has to say about the problems with mass immigration happening right now and how she plans to "stop forcing them from thier homes".

[@edmondherrera6288]

Yeah true. I expected to see solution but was dissapointed.

[@EmmeChatterton]

Beautiful and moving, thank you for raising your voice. How to advance our humanity at the rate of our technology...

[@samira.8919]

That's one great speech. Very touching.

[@zeeiremonger9201]

Dont scroll down, just dont.

[@teriscallon]

Yes...it is important that you let us know about your kids.

[@Afrinn]

noone's gonna read this but more power to you, incredible speech

[@jjoyjit_162]

Friday dekha hochhe

[@maciek_k.cichon]

good talk, coach

[@Tutohia]

If anyone dislikes this video, please educate me on why. Thanks.

[@safisafsaf663]

Really impressive..wish yu all the best!!

[@ellahemsworth5898]

Great talk

[@ShadaOfAllThings]

Our people will look for any chance they can to ignore their own humanity, and this comments section is proof of that

[@rickgeng463]

Why are people dopwnvoting the videO??

[@LaDayna04]

The person who commented before me has a point. If you come here you become American. Native American people were and are treated like crap. This is not a country thing......this is a human thing. Humans are not nice to each other. Families in the USA can be quite cruel to their own. Wild animals will eat their young for practical reasons. Humans will act according to so many different things it is like dealing with something crossed between a teddy bear and a viper. You are incredible. Because of you I am changing into a better human being. Thank you for going against your nature and telling me who you are and what you do.

[@TheEllenMellon]

Before I even read other comments, let me say: thank you for this! Thank you thank you. The point of view of refugees is under told because there are so few let in...... and those who are here feel silenced. It is......so so sad. I want to know how I can, like, help.

[@nicoled5160]

❤

[@leanneorear3352]

Amazing, beautiful, emotional talk. Thank you, Luma, for sharing your story and theirs. Anyone who has worked with refugees knows that they frequently have a more knowledgeable and fervent love for this country than many of our citizens.

[@77chickensandadog]

[@stevenscalling]

Or they're just able to ceperate true refugees and economic migrants. To discuss on an intelligent level its important to do that.

[@808sdean]

just like me fr 💀 -sphs when giving us this project to work on

[@Afrinn]

bruh

[@808sdean]

@@Afrinn i commented this on every other hyperlinks lmao

[@agniagniagni13]

girl why r u on here

[@808sdean]

@@agniagniagni13 because

[@agniagniagni13]

@@808sdean 🦷

[@ejbuhnieeee6148]

💖i love this lady💖

[@weltfenos1021]

Could i do both?

[@marcia8937]

When it’s over ?

[@JoniHankin]

A beautiful talk and the message IS heard to those that have a heart and ears to hear. The HORRIFIC WARS must stop and those that train and support the enemy and insight division in the lands, those guilty of perpetuating war, those that divide with their fears and tongues, these must be AWAKENED to their hateful deeds and turn around and realize we are ONE. We CAN HEAL, we CAN have peace. Thank you Luma Mufleh, for sharing your heart and true humanity. May your message be received worldwide! I live on the west coast, and shared your message.

[@HiHello-ui4tt]

The comment section and like to dislike ratio is cancer. Don't go down there

[@rubenhernandez8623]

If you breath its good enough to (be) even if I don't agree,,, the more I live the more I see how unconscious we live ,,, but what can we do in a world that is being made more artificial 🤷‍♂️

[@Gauhar1986]

She is gay and Muslim. And she is very brave that she talks about it )

[@DTHUNDERDK]

Sorry to say. Nothing but problems in Denmark...and Sweden. Many who come are only looking for a better life. Who can blame them, but our society can't handle the amount of immigrants NOT refugees! In Denmark 90% of couples on velfare are not Danish....

[@Yellowjellobelly11]

Do people just dislike the video and dip

[@owen2013]

Yes I did

[@SusansEasyRecipes]

well said and great speech ☺️👍

[@jeffbriggs1987]

I believe in them, I believe they can fix their own countries.

[@Avery-Marx]

I'm not sorry for them. I want them back to where they came from.

[@AaralynAllin-Zayas]

how?

[@laurakata7014]

People keep forgetting that the dislike button is not an "I don't agree" button.

[@ShabaaUkelele]

THEY ARE NOT REFUGEES!! They might have been but only until they reached the next country. From then on they are immigrants. Very different...

[@heykenzo4284]

"The issue shouldn't be 'stopping refugees from coming into our countries", the issue should be 'not forcing them to leave their own'." I bet that at least 370 people just read the f*cking title and didn't even got to this part.

[@user-jy4er7ki7l]

*Look Europe and say it again*

[@NotOfThisWorld567]

PROUD to be an American who protects his country's values! No shame here sister!

[@choukisme7539]

what are your values ? LOL

[@Horst-Rudolf]

"Do not ever help people and only think about yourself"

[@kegans6296]

NotOfThisWorld567 so America wasnt founded on the values that everyone should be free? America was once a place for everyone, no matter your culture. I guess times are changin'.

[@NotOfThisWorld567]

+CHOUKISME I try to live by the values of our Saviour Jesus Christ who gave His life for our sins. The authors of the US Constitution attempted to exemplify these values within that document and have done the best job of protecting the most people and offering them a chance at equality and freedom based on those values. What are your values? Do you love the US Constitution or oppose it and think some other way of life would be a better solution to our societal problems?

[@NotOfThisWorld567]

+Kegan Sharako America once welcomed those who wanted to destroy it and offered them the same liberties as it did to those who loved and worked for Americas success? When was that?

[@FunkyMusics]

Samba shoes :)

[@bjovers1]

Yes but stop confusing refugees with economic migrants! Noone has any problems with true refugees. Everyone who's not blind can see the pileup of african men on italian islands. As long as the politicians are calling them refugees, people are losing respect for the term refugee.

[@ramzichouk4080]

They are or will be a huge drain on a welfare system ? but your system is based on resources that are stolen from Africa and the middle east , technically it's our country not yours ! 10 or more could be helped in the middle east for the cost of bringing ONE over here ? how can you help someone who doesn't have a home , food and water ? go check how it looks like there ! and their culture is not compatible with Western values ? what are this values ? you stupid !

[@Cibertina]

"Refugee" is a real status. 'Economic migrant" is not. Its a right wing buzz word used to confuse people and make it sound like everyone leaving their country does so to steal your money. Don't be taken in by this nonsense. People who claim to be refugees and are not get deported.

[@Cibertina]

Do you really believe in No Go Zones? I live in Europe, and its a joke here that there are people naive enough to think that embarassingly transparent right wing rumor is true. Come visit for yourself.

[@elijahgutman2169]

Yes thank you so much for pointing this out.

[@remyllebeau77]

+Ramzi Chouk Even if it is true that we stole resources, you think any of the citizens voted for that? No we didn't. It is just the criminal elite in our government that are desperately trying to police the world and preserve the petrodollar. You don't own jack squat of our country, and you certainly didn't pay into any of the welfare systems. Maybe if you lifted a finger to stop your government from supporting the USA maybe things could change. How clueless can you get? I was not suggesting helping refugees while making them stay in their old homes. Obviously they would have to move to somewhere nearby in the middle east where they would know the language and have an easier time adjusting than if they were brought into the West. But if you were honest you would just admit that you don't care that more could be helped over there, you desperately want to bring more and more into the West. It is easy for people like you to be "generous" while trying to spend money that isn't yours. "What are this values?" Let's start with not killing people who leave your religion and not throwing people off of a building because they are sodomites. How about not raping little children? If that is stupid then I'll gladly prefer that to your evil.

[@TomPark1986]

If you want "humanity" Take a look at the metastasis in europe.

[@ZakariaBachir]

Why that many dislikes ?!

[@morbidblade]

People are tired of economic migrants taking advantage of their countries. Not all the "refugees" are polite hipster Arabs like yourself.

[@daryn3835]

This is so disappointing. Some of you literally looked at the title and then clicked the video just to dislike. You want people to believe your side, but you can't even afford 14 minutes of your time to see what she's actually saying? This is why we can't get anywhere in this world. All we do is make assumptions, jump to conclusions, and refuse to listen to other people's points. Disgusting

[@daryn3835]

And it's actually kind of disgusting that some of you do not value human life. Wow.

[@WrUSasu]

I think TED has a very bad hand for titles. So the things that deserve instant disliking like the 'Fatphobia' and 'racism in algorithms' video get disliked but also videos like this one will be disliked by many [european] people who are fed up with the crimes the 'refugees' brought to Europe. Many of those people [the 'refugees'] make the real refugees here in Europe that need help look bad to the average person who works in retail for example while the ones who actually learn the language and work to integrate themselves go unnoticed.

[@paolacaiguara]

Daryn i like your view

[@MrAwesomeBart]

Daryn Can you give me exact number of people who did that? How many of them, you assume to, simply give this video a dislike for a title? And what about people who do the opposite? Are they hypocrites too?

[@daryn3835]

Mr Awesome Bart when I clicked this video it had only been uploaded for about 5 minutes and already had 130+ dislikes. The video is 14 minutes long. The people who liked this video before listening are in the wrong too. But mostly the people who disliked were making strong judgments based off something they hadn't even watched.

[@flesh1131]

Jez...The dislikes are more than likes...

[@gaIskab]

Did you know TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design?

[@felixnuwahid9879]

Before it was taken over by sjw

[@alekseyalexej9665]

So what? What about believing in refugees today?

[@ahmedsadeek1163]

guys not being racists but i am a muslim how is she gay and a muslim

[@pipopipo6477]

I know it has nothing to do with her speech but she don't look realy arabic. She could come from everywhere in europe... Anyway great speech!

[@ammaralli5242]

In 1964 there was no Assad regime. The father Assad became president in 1971, but yet the speaker would like to blame him too.

[@NadavIgra]

HOW ABOUT NEITHER

[@mek86]

She had a hard time, like a lot of people do. My wife was a refugee, came here when she was very young. now she makes more money than I do with a degree from a good college. But... This does not mean we should be blind. Blind that in these groups coming from the middle east there are people who do not wish to join us. They wish to destroy us. They wish to come in to Europe and the US to bring their own way of life. We are seeing it in Europe right now, how many people need to die before people admit that blindly allowing people to come into a country without looking into who they actually are is stupid and dangerous. If you want to blame people for the way they feel, then you are just as stupid as the ones who blindly allow them in. You should blame the countries who make them flee.

[@alexross1997]

Video uploaded 5 minutes ago... it's 14 minutes long.... 37 dislikes already. Just goes to show how ignorant and bigoted people are to the point they won't hear people out

[@powernoid]

Vast amount of people seem devoid of empathy in 2017. very sad.

[@AlexWilliams-yd4dv]

The dislikes I can handle. Some of the comments are something to ponder. The American media has created both of the sides to this argument and people can't even listen anymore. Sad.

[@ShabaaUkelele]

Alex Ross because it starts with disinformation straight away therefore it is one to avoid...

[@Alianger]

And you would all do the same if it had a negative slant.

[@tristandecarvalho9722]

A video can be watched before it's listed

[@tylerm1538]

I believe in them so much, I believe they can swim back to where they came from :D

[@husainshaikh8724]

one of the first

[@squareyes1981]

I disliked the video for legitimate reasons. Live with it.

[@bvdrst]

uh... okay? good to know...

[@SharpestBulbs]

Wow comments allowed still? Anywho, they should have to prove their refugees not have their claim accepted at face value. If they're not they should be sent back on the door they floated here with.

[@Itsme-ng3oz]

"I'm a muslim, I'm also gay" First how are u a muslim & you're not wearing hijab? Second if you're a muslim u know that being gay is haram right? 🙄 Overall I like your speech.👍🏼

[@teknolojigezgini203]

i invite this woman to adopt 2 or 3 refugee children else you're in search of fake good look, there is a funny image that shows 2 different twitter or face posts, first one : saying refugees are our religion brothers sisters, on second post cursing to them because one of them wants to marry with his daughter, so looks like religion brotherhood doesn't work outside of social media or public speaks, i think this speech is same way

[@tabaraktamer3630]

Mehmet Altıntaş First of all, I don't comprehend a word you are saying. Second, she is my principle/coach. She spends her days working with refugees and helping the, succeed in life. Notice this is a private school, which means she has to work EXTRA hard to get the money to support us. Lastly, she takes money out of her pocket to help the parents who just came to America. Coach is amazing.

[@supershinigami1]

first

[@Briare0s_]

Don't even bother to read the comments. Far to many ignorant people who won't listen to each other's side of the argument.

[@saracrecca3897]

Anyone who mentions Shariah law on this string did not bother to watch the first few minutes of this video, where Luma says as a gay Muslim she would be punished in her home country. Shariah law is literally the opposite of what she is advocating. Please remove your ignorant comments.

[@TheUtilitarian]

Incoming couch potatos believing they had a hard life and that their sheltered opinions should matter.

[@TheRealDanBond]

It's been up for 2 min and the video is 14 mins long, yet there's already more dislikes than likes. Hey, you: WATCH THE DAMN VIDEO FIRST.

[@ajcent6440]

Thank you

[@weltfenos1021]

Shame on them.

[@RockGodFuck]

People don't ACTUALLY want to hear anything about it, let alone let ANYONE change their views. They are just here to let everyone know how much smarter they are.

[@morbidblade]

no

[@theSafetyCar]

Ping Ping you could say that, but don't judge a book by it's cover. The title comes up just once in the entire talk whilst the rest of the talk is about the experiences of refugees and why they shouldn't be treated so hatefully. More than anything the talk is trying to fight ignorance in regards to refugees.

[@skansoul9315]

first!!

[@m6mememe484]

Muslim and Gay ???? doesn't make sense

[@Eagle-Rad]

Why not? She is a human too. It is okay to be gay and at the same time Muslim.

[@txexmxiii9561]

❤