Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling took to Twitter, and in one tweet summed up how she feels about the media’s coverage, or lack thereof, concerning the Syrian refugee crisis using the hashtag #refugeeswelcome. With over 5 million followers on Twitter, J.K. Rowling has considerable influence and used the platform to bring worldwide attention to the thousands of people seeking asylum.
For months now, people from the Middle East and North Africa have been fleeing war, poverty, and persecution . Germany has taken in the most refugees with Sweden right behind Germany. Worldwide attention was brought to the crisis when a photo of a little boy who drowned made its way to news outlets and social media. The little boy’s family were escaping from the Syrian civil war.
Hypable reports this is the worst refugee crisis since World War II with over 100,000 people crossing the European Union’s borders in July. J.K. Rowling isn’t the only author speaking out. Author John Green is also urging his fans to help out by donating to author Patrick Ness’ fundraising campaign.
On the fundraising page , Ness wrote, “I am fundraising to help with the Syrian refugee crisis because I can no longer stand to just tweet about it.”
J.K. Rowling also took the Daily Express to task for publishing a headline about the crisis on the bottom of the front page. In her tweet, J.K. Rowling isn’t implying that she doesn’t care about animals who need safe homes. Rather, Rowling is highlighting that the story about one dog seemed to take precedence over the story about thousands and thousands of people seeking safety.
Want the Daily Express to care that you’re trying to find a safe home? Be a dog. pic.twitter.com/4F46vcWBWu
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 2, 2015
If you can’t imagine yourself in one of those boats, you have something missing. They are dying for a life worth living. #refugeeswelcome — J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) September 3, 2015
Eric March for Upworthy wrote, “Hopefully, if more people like Rowling speak out, more people around the world will start opening their hearts and their communities to people in need. We might not all have the same platform that Rowling has, but our combined voices can surely make a difference.”
Do you think the fact that J.K. Rowling’s tweets reached thousands of her followers have brought more attention to the humanitarian crisis overseas? What do you think of J.K. Rowling’s tweets on the matter?
[Photo by Ben A. Pruchnie/Getty Images]
