TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - The recent attacks in Paris have gained global attention, but one University of Toledo professor has a personal connection.
UT political science professor Joel Voss and his wife lived in Paris for a couple years and have traveled to and from the city multiple times. He says after his initial thoughts of sadness and shock, his political views stepped in.
"And my first thought was, after the bodies were counted, was, 'They're going to have a very difficult decision to make between security and freedom,'" Voss said.
He says although it sounds cliché, France is a freedom loving country and they should use that as an answer: Instead of closing borders to refugees, he believes they should stay open.
"The most European thing for the French to do, and the most French thing for the French to do, is to remain an open society," he said.
And while Voss and his wife didn't have any friends who were injured during the attacks, he has been in contact with a friend here in the states who did have a friend who died during the attacks in the theater.
He says he understands it's a tough decision to move on as normal without closing down the borders, but he believes it's important to continue to accept refugees and others during this time.
"The right thing to do would be bring in the refugees and migrants," he said. "One person may have been a refugee, it looks like from Syria, but one terrorist doesn't mean that all refugees are
bad."
Voss added we need to keep in mind refugees are men, women and children running from a bloody civil war in Syria. So while this is a time where some may want to close up for protection, he says the right thing to do is help the people who need it the most.
"This is a hub for Syrian refugees, and we should reach out and help these Syrian refugees integrate into the wider community and make their transition as easy as possible because it's a terribly difficult time for them," he said.
