Professor of comparative politics at Siena College, Vera Eccarius-Kelly questioned the “crisis” of Syrian refugee inflow to Western Europe and America at a talk Tuesday, sharing her personal experience and research about Syrian refugees.

Eccarius-Kelly grew up in Germany and has pursued multiple research projects in Turkey. This past summer Eccarius-Kelly spent the summer traveling in Jordan, Turkey and Iraq. During her time in the Middle East she met with refugees, nonprofit organizations and activists.

During her time traveling she said she tried to see and understand what it’s like to be a Syrian refugee; from watching families struggling to support themselves, to the long walk many took to escape into Western Europe.

In sharing her experiences communicating with refugees, Eccarius-Kelly emphasized refugees’ vulnerability rather than the common portrayals of them as dangerous.

“Saying refugees are dangerous to us is absolutely ridiculous,” she said. “Refugees are trying to escape violence and live a better life.”

One of her main points in the presentation was this notion of encouraging people to become more educated on the facts and data about refugees to understand what is happening and how it is important to defend refugee rights.

Though it is difficult to think about the refugees when the crisis is happening so far from home, discussion could simply come in the form of friends talking to each other about the issues and eventually speaking out about refugee rights, she said.

In her presentation, Eccarius-Kelly spoke about certain images that may produce negative connotations of refugees. One such image she cited was refugees using iPhones.

People may believe refugees don’t need iPhones, but Eccarius-Kelly said they are extremely important in helping refugees keep updated on the latest news of which routes they should use to travel.

“[If] some route is closed down, they look on Facebook or some other social media to figure where to go next,”  Eccarius-Kelly said. “Social media is a news source they use to keep updated on the latest.”

To combat these images, people need to change the way they think about refugees, Eccarius-Kelly said.

People must look past the political campaign messages, Eccarius-Kelly said, and understand the data and facts to comprehend what is happening in refugee and minority societies.

“I think it is on all of us; we have to work harder on addressing people that don’t share our view and educate them,” she said.  “It’s a battle and it’s difficult.”