steps away. >> if we are close, it stops. >> they're trying to make sure that that doesn't happen. adam rainy, aljazeera, paris. >> i'm tony harris, and john seigenthaler is back now.

>> the other man in the car is that the french believe that his brother, who detonated the suicide belt in the street. and now surveillance shows that there was another man in the car so far unidentified. now he's being sought as the second fugitive. add those two together with the seven suicide-bombers, there were at least nine attackers last friday night in paris. >> french police are quickly retracing the steps of the paris attackers. they raided the city hotel rooms 311 and 312. officials say that the fugitives who is still on the run rented the rooms. inside they found pizza boxes and what appear to be sir ridg syringes and drug paraphernalia. at another paris location the police discovered an apartment. they say it was rented by his

brother, one of seven suicide-bombers. in the 18th district the police track down an abandoned car they say was directly rented by awdesalam. his brother called on him to surrender. >> the best thing would be to surrender so justice is brought to the story. i remind you that he has still not be heard by the authorities, so he should be presumed innocent. >> two men arrested in belgium helping him to escape in france say they didn't know he was involved in the bloodshed. after meeting with president françois hollande, u.s. secretary of state john kerry said that isil is being pushed back. >> i'm convinced that over the course of the next week's daesh will feel even greater pressure. they're feeling it today. they felt it yesterday. they felt it in the past weeks. we've gained more territory. daesh has leicester tore. >> russia, also hitting islamic state targets in syria said it

would cooperate with french military strikes. that after the russians now confirmed their airline center egypt was brought down last month by a bomb on board killing 24. the islamic state claimed responsibility. today we spoke to this group of parisians on this the scene of the friday's attack on two of the restaurant. they all live in the neighborhood and agree that a war is being fought here. a french muslim. >> we are at war, but we are in war against who? against the ghosts. because it's not a state. the war involves two states. but these people are murderers, serial killers. >> a tourist guide said the attacks have not only rattled the french but americans and europeans, too. >> there are lots of tourists who have canceled already their trips for new year's eve period,

christmastime which is understandable. people are afraid. i would do the same. >> after reopening on monday the iconic eiffel tower was closed tuesday because security was too lax. president holland will go to washington to meet with president obama next tuesday. then he'll go on to moscow to meet with president putin. >> thanks, dana. the hunt is on across europe for paris attacks suspects. in belgium the focus is on one particular neighborhood. we're in brussels with more. carl? >> john, we're in the neighborhood of brussels. and if you look about 20 or 30 yards behind me that is the

house that this fugitive used to live in along with his family. now his family still lived there, of course, and the manhunt is still very much on and very much a focus here in this neighborhood. about three hours ago now there was a very large police operation about five minutes on foot from where we are now. around 30 police officers some of them covering their faces with black ski masks to conceal identities are raiding an apartment building there. they kept us behind the police cordon. when they left there were multiple cars and police advance we couldn't see if they had arrested anybody or taken away any property. also police are saying that they're not giving out any information about ongoing operations right now. but certainly the manhunt is still very much going on. it is covering this neighborhood here. we don't know if there are similar operations that are fanned out into other parts of belgium.

another part of the investigation, what it's trying to focus on is what what the suspect's role was in this whole operation. we do know already that he ren rented some of the vehicles that ferried some of these attackers down around paris as well. but we then don't know whether he took part in the shooting. we don't know perhaps if he was even himself supposed to be a suicide-bomber, and if he was supposed to be a suicide-bomber, what happened? did his explosive inves vest simply not happen? and if that is the case he's in difficult territory right now. having to flee back to brussels, back to his hometown, he's now in a plan b scenario. that said, of course, taking into account he has managed to allude security forces now for more than four days. it does suggest that perhaps he did have a plan always to return to brussels and try to allude the authorities. now talking here in this

neighborhood tonight to some of the people who knew him and also to his elder brother, who died in those suicide attacks in paris, they say that they didn't know them as religious hard liners in any sense, but they did know them as people who had links to petty criminal gangs. a lot of these small gangs in these communities pedestria peddle drugs and hashish. it may be why he has not been caught yet. >> carl, thanks. >> robert ford was u.s. ambassador to syria from 2011 to 2014. he resigned in part because he could no longer defend u.s. policy in syria, and he joins us tonight. ambassador, welcome. what do you think of the u.s.

policy in syria today? >> well, first its nice to be with you. the american policy on syria remains a policy that prioritizes efforts against the islamic state, but does not deal with the deeper root causes of the syrian conflict that helped the islamic state recruit and replace fighters with our bombing, french bombing, russian bombing, they're killing. it does not do a very good job fixing the islamic state problem. >> how would you characterize the situation in syria today, and what sort of future does this country have? >> well, the future unity of syria is seriously a question. i'm not sure that the country can be put back together again or not. but i think that the most important thing for the viewers to understand is that the horrible brutal fighting barrel

bombs, chemical weapons, bombing victims in syria, that brutality of that conflict is driving a small portion of the young men in places like syria. to join the islamic state. that's why american intelligence assessments this year, 2015 on two different occasions have concluded that the islamic state is basically able to recruit as many new fighters as the ones that the bombing campaigns killed. we have to deal with that route cause. that is the brutality of the broader conflict between bashar al-assad and the syrian army. >> i was going to say when you mentioned brutality it seems that the big winner in all of this is assad. is that right? >> well, i'm not sure that it has helped a great deal. i've not gained the impression

that american policy towards assad has changed or that western or turkish or saudi policy has changed. i think all of those countries are still saying that bashar al-assad must go, but they're hoping that the russians and the iranians now that we're consulting with them in vienna, they're hoping that the outside countries can reach a framework deal which will then press the syrians themselves government in opposition to come to a final deal. >> but this attack in paris, is this a game changer for syria? >> no, i don't think it is. as awful as it is, and as tragic as it is, i fear that if won't do very much. the french are now intensifying their bombing runs. russia is bombing, but russia has been bombing now for almost two months. the american have been bombing for in syria for about 14 months, and yet as you see it has only a very slow, very

gradual effect on the islamic state. it is not a game changer. there is no quick fix to the islamic state problem. it's a problem that grew over a period of years. and it's going to take a period of years to put it back in a box and destroy the box. >> ambassador, it's good to see you. thank you very much. >> my pleasure. >> in syria today more airstrikes by france and russia against the isil stronghold of raqqa. vladimir putin promised to step up attacks on isil. he said that it's now clear that the group bombed a russian plane in egypt last month. jamie mcintyre with the pentagon with that. >> the pentagon has been complaining for weeks that russia is not targeting isil. officials conceded that yes, this latest round of strikes were landing in areas where isil held sway. but even at the same time officials here expressed skepticism that the two

countries worked together to defeat a common enemy. having declared a terrorist bomb brought down its airliner last month, russia launched retaliatory strikes against isil in syria deploying three dozen long range bombers and firing off dozens of air launch cruise missiles. the weapons typically resolved for attacks. from stead used against isil position where is there are no air defenses. what seemed to be a showy display designed to underscore russia's military might. after russian president vladimir putin toured an athletically large high tech command center in moscow made a point while the cameras were rolling ordering his navy to cooperate with france. french president françois hollande has called for the u.s.

russia and france to join forces against isil in what he called an unique coalition. something that the pentagon has so far move ruled out. >> we're not coordinating or cooperating with the russians. >> at the same time the u.s. is looking for partners at a forum in washington defense secretary ash cartered said that he hoped the attacks would galvanize others to join in the fight. >> the u.s. remains committed to its current strategy insisting it will eventually succeed. >> there is a clear strategy in place, and step by step i'm confident that the momentum will pick up. >> vladimir putin is claiming support at home while president obama is under fire from his critics for appearing weak. >> a couple of hundred thousand syrians dead, millions of refugees later, and the

president of the united states still won't act. still believes as he stated in his press conference yesterday that some how everything is going find. what delusions. >> the pentagon disputes the idea that the putin has outmaneuvered the u.s. >> the notion that we're beyond the curve is a mistaken one. we're looking at a whole host of opportunities to further this fight against isil, and that's what we're going to continue to do. >> spokesman said that france is free to work with russia if it wants to, but the u.s. is not ready to make moscow on as an ally. the pentagon still says that the key to success in syria is local ground troops not airstrikes and that's the strategy the u.s. is pursuing. >> an impressive as these

airstrikes are, are they really defeating isil? and what else account u.s. do? >> i think that the u.s. has been bombing syria and iraq now for more than a year. more than 8,000 coalition airstrikes. and it's clear that the airstrikes alone are not getting the job done. the president ruled out yesterday putting, quote, large numbers of u.s. troops on the ground, but the argument that the critics are making are not for large numbers of troops but small numbers of special operation troops on the ground. they say he's drawing a false dichotomy. he said that's not what they're talking about. >> jamie mcintyre. thank you very much. pentagon sources tell al jazeera america that the white house plans to close the prison at guantanamo bay.

cuba has been delayed. an official said the plan was supposed to be presented to congress last week but it could be pushed back to after the holidays even the new year. >> coming up, two deputies beat an alleged car thief. we talk to a prosecutor who compares it to rodney king. >> verify that terrorists are not trying to infill rate the refugee population. >> banning refugees. is it for security or scapegoating. plus faces of children fleeing a civil war and facing an uncertain future. the only way to get better is to challenge yourself,

and that's what we're doing at xfinity. we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment,

we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. >> we're keeping a close eye on the investigation of friday's

attacks in paris. no. minneapolis the death of a black man shot by police has been ruled a homicide. the mayor is asking for a federal civil rights investigation. it led to dozens of arrests. ash har quaraishi is in minneapolis tonight, ash har. >> dozens of people have come out tonight. we're outside of the minneapolis police precinct a short distance from where jamar clark was shot last week. and demonstrators have come out calling for transparency and justice. >> jamar clark died on november 15th. >> they announced his death tuesday afternoon. >> he had been shot by police officers just after midnight sunday. witnesses say clark and his girlfriend got into a fight. she called 911. after a confrontation with

paramedics he allegedly got into a physical altercation with the police. >> he was not moving, fighting, screaming, nothing. the next thing we know maybe a minute watching it, the gun went off. that's what i saw. but the guy was not fighting back. >> some say in a he was restrained in handcuffs when he was shot. >> the police say he wasn't. >> we need to know what happened. everyone involved needs that and deserves that. >> activists are call forgive justice for jamar clark. activists blocked traffic for hours. 51 people from arrested. there was an opening of a civil rights investigation. >> people are expressing frustration. we're doing the best we can to

have an independent process. >> some say clark was brain dead and taken off blood support. >> i loved my son, you know what i'm saying, getting shot like that, that's bad. that's bad. >> tuesday afternoon cold, wet and weary a few dozen protesters kept up the vigils not far from where clark was shot. they're demanding that police release any video and. >> we feel that there is information on there. we feel the family has a right to know. we're here to support them. >> they have not done enough to avoid another ferguson flash point. >> it's time for change. it's time for our government leaders to step up to the plate and stop making excuses and start taking action. >> now john, the medical examiner confirmed that clark

died from a gunshot wound to the head. the information has been handed over to the federal bureau of apprehension. the investigation can take some time and they expect this one to last between two and four mont months. pore the time being the officers involved in this shooting remain on paid administrative leave. >> two officers in california on paid administrative leave. they were captured on video brutally beating a suspected car thief last week. one of th alameda county sheriff department punched him twice. the second deputy arrived and both beat the man repeatedly with their batons. he was hospitalized with broken bones, hands and arms. >> it's shocking. the video shows is a young man who is turning a corner being pursued by the police. he's taken down immediately, and in an action that is reminiscent

to rodney king you see police officers beating him. you can hear him crying. and screaming. >> alameda county public defender brandon woods agree agrees with that assessment. he said this is clearly a case of police using excessive force. the lawyer for rodney king in his successful lawsuit against los angeles, he represents the family of a man who was shot by the police last year, and he's in culvert, california, tonight. what do you think when you see this video? >> well, when i see the video from san francisco, my heart goes out to this poor man. of course, his family because they're the ones who have to deal with his recovery, which is hopeful, and perhaps with care for any brain disease he has from this horrible beating. when you see these officers

pounding on this poor defenseless man who has no weapon. he only seeks to protect himself from these blows, you can only think that these officers are helped up on what is called adrenaline. this figure represents a threat to them and instead of flight, they're going to fight. and they proceed to beat him uncontrolbly. i believe it's a question of body mechanics, the adrenaline kicks in, and unfortunately, the train something not such that it can suppress this by putting in common decent patients. soldiers are trained not to shoot friendlies. but this is what is happening. beating something because the ajuices are going, and this is what happens, train something what needs to be put in place. civil rights, federal prosecutors. >> there are some people who question whether or not it's just adrenaline. how do you compare this to rodly king?

>> it's an easy comparison. three shifts of officers came to the scene. we had two highway police officers and two other police officers. it may not be just about racism, but it's about human rights. and beating this man you can send people to jail for beating a dog like this, and these companiecops are getting paid leave. incredible. in san francisco it's unbearable to watch. that's my feeling. >> you say some of these are not about race. we've seen a series of shootin shootings, of beatings in this country, and the whole black lives matter movement has come out of that. but when you say it's not about race. if it's not about race, if it isn't in this case, what is it about? >> well, it's about the thin blue line. i've given radio interviews,

people calling in saying they were beaten. a jewish professor, a white woman, they were beaten and given a lack of disrespect but it did not lead a violent beating because now we have a war mentality. when officers go on patrol they look at people who may be of color not to exclude everybody else that may be not of color, and they see them as the enemy. and the second they sense some type of resistence where someone says don't beat me because i'm not rodney king, that i a imflames the officer, and then the battle is on. i think it's about training, training, training, anything that the federal government is going to do is going to help that. >> thank you for joining us tonight. we appreciate it. >> my pleasure, and thank you. >> coming up next on this broadcast. after now that some say taking

syrian refugees is too big of a risk. plus refugees in turkey. we go to an istanbul slum to families from syria that's lost everything. ything.

>> after paris trying to close the doors to refugees. >> the security problems that europe faces are filially

complex. >> tonight the calls are growing in europe and in the u.s. in turkey we take you to one of the poorest parts of istanbul where syrians are fighting to make a home. plus future tents, fleeing water but still at risk. millions of syrian children uprooted from their homes and on the move. >> and the debate over refugees has shifted from a humanitarian crisis to a security problem. still the wave of refugees shows no sign of letting up. sheila mcvicar reports from paris. >> paris' worse nightmare. the attacks that left 129 dead, hundreds wounded, and so many more deeply traumatized. it has added fuel to a fire that was on a slow burn. as waves of refugees washed ashore over and over, european

leaders failed to agree to cohesive policy and failed to agree to a strategy to end the war in syria, the one thing that would stop this flow. in macedonia, 15 adult refugees crossed this border. >> every week for more than a year this engineer joins the protests. and thousands march. >> i oppose the misery that the islamists cause around the world. we don't want to give islam a knew home in german. >> in this crowd there is a clear link between the refugees,

their religion, and rising fear. >> i see a connection between paris and the refugees. >> sheila joins us now from paris. it seems in the last 24 hours more bomb threats, more scares in paris and around europe. give us a sense of what it's like there tonight. >> people say they understand what it means to be at war. but today there were numerous bomb scarce, traffic shut down. people panicked. people wanted to get out of their cars and run. there is a situation in germany that led to the cancellation of a soccer match that chancellor angela merkel was supposed to be at. and there was the cancellation of a music concert in tha

hanover: paris has been through this before. paris has been through this several times. several times in my memory. but never quite like this where it is very close, and where people feel very uncertain about what comes next. >> there is new pressure on muslims in france, europe, and concern about all averages coming in. how are europe pianos going to deal with that? by the went of october of this year 1 million refugees will have requested asylum in europe. 1million. the vast majority of those are syrians who de facto have a case for refugee status because of the situation in their home country. hour europe going to deal with that? how is europe going to cope with

that? in france there are 29,000 refugees. we hear the language from marie la pen, the leaders from the far right, who talks about the need to prevent people from moving out into villages and towns and beginning life in france. she's talking about having to be certain about who it is who come to france. there are many who would agree with that, but there are many who feel that there is a tipping point that europe is very close to, and this will be something, john, that will play out in the coming days and weeks. >> sheila mcvicar, thank you very much. you can see more of sheila's coverage on "america tonight" at 9:30 eastern time. in the u.s. republicans on capitol hill are calling for a temporary halt to accepting syrian refugees in this country. the house could pick up a bill on that issue earlier this week. meanwhile, governs want to block

the refugees entering the united states is growing. now includes 31 governors, mostly republicans. some of the candidates have seized upon the paris attacks and the refugee debates. their views vary calling for the u.s. to welcoming syrians and saying we should focus on christian refugees to remoting an outright ban. >> in cleveland monday night vermont senator bernie sanders stepped in front of thousands of supporters and said now is not the time for fear mongering. >> during these difficult times, as americans we will not succumb to racism. >> we will not allow ourselves to be divided and succumb to islamphobia. we will not turn our backs on the refugees from syria. >> last summer as hundreds of thousands of syrian refugees fled the region, international

aid groups urged the united states to accept 65,000. the obama administration set a goal of next year of 10,000 only accepting only 2,000 total over the past four years. >> we have the most extensive security vetting we've ever had dealing with syrian refugees coming into the united states. >> but the attacks in paris has reports that one of the suspects may have traveled through france as a migrants. >> bringing people into this country from in a area of the world i think is a huge mistake. >> there is no way to back grown check someone on from syria. who do you call. >> even jeb bush who seem sympathetic to the plight of refugees this summer now believes that only certain kinds of syrians should be left in. >> we should focus on the christians who have no place in syria.

they're beheaded and persecuted from both sides. >> is this a trojan horse? >> the hard line against muslim refugees amounts to a political lay up. in july a pew research survey showed that 71% of republican voters were very concerned about the rise of islamic extremism compared to 45% of democratic vote. now four straight days of intense media coverage from paris. rand paul and ted cruz saying they both plan to introduc legislation. >> president obama and hillary clinton's proposal to bring refugees to america is i think is absolute lunacy. >> even hillary clinton, mindful of her potential candidacy next year, has stayed quiet on this issue. when asked, she focused on the security of americans, not the

plight of thousands of refugees. >> that we should go to 65, but only if we have as carefully screening and vetting process as we can imagine, whatever resource it is takes. >> martin o'malley believes that the proper screening is already in place, and he spoke about america's moral application. >> the accommodating 65,000 refugees in our country today. people of 320 million, is acan kin of making room for of 6.5 more people in a baseball stadium. >> all of this means the support for refugees coming to the united states, o'malley and sanders stand alone. >> we will do what we do best, that is be americans, fighting racism, fighting xenophobia, and fighting fear. [applause] >> republican jack kingston of

georgia served 22 years in the house of representatives. he's in washington, d.c. tonight. congressman, welcome, thank you for joining us. i understand that you agree with some of these governors to keep syrian refugees out. tell me why. >> well, absolutely. because we don't know who they are. we don't know where they go. we don't know who is going to pay for it. and by the way, this bill, which was actually introduced in july by brian babb bought of texas, simply says put it on pause until the gao can figure out what the costs are to this program. during that period of time let congress decide on it. you know, we've already seen a president who refuses to lead, a president who won't work on a bipartisan basis to try to find solutions. i hear bernie sanders talking about we're not going to let fear rule us. well, why aren't we in the middle east right now on the ground or at least in the air why aren't we training troops?

why aren't we arming them to stop this crisis. we are not doing anything. >> the united states is accepting refugees from iraq, somalia, most of them muslim. you think that the u.s. should stop that as well? >> i think right now now is a good time to put it on pause. the united states has been a target. paris was not something kne new. we've seen this in australia, the u.k. spain, al-qaed al-qaeda-affiliated type groups with isis in the background. i think the time to sit back and say let's put a collective head together. since 2009 under president obama, 500,000 refugees have come through the united states. and we don't know what their impact is on the states because he will not tell the governors where they are and how much it's costing them. i think the governs, by the way, the list went from 20 governors

this morning to 24 with one democrat, and to 31 as we speak, and then a democrat leader chuck schumer said we needed to look at this, we need to do something. he has moved to neutral. and others have come out in support. this thing is moving. >> i understand that there is fear in the united states. at the same time, though, i mean, doesn't the united states have some moral responsibility? if you put it on pause thousands of people, women and children, who need to get out of their countries, who have no home, will continue to have no home. >> and you know what, the unbelievable part is that the e.u. and president obama is afraid to go fight isis. 1million people. >> isn't that a different question? >> you can't divide them. that's what i would say, john. if you're really say don't let fear guide us, then you have to make a statement. one of these things, being half pregnant in war is not a good

idea. you have to say we'll put troops on the ground, we're going to surge. we're going to win. otherwise we're going to continue to have the same failed broken western policies in the middle east, which is caused the whole destabilization. i think unpopular as it is, if there is a war going on you have to fight to win it. you can't have these advisers and committees. i think that has to be part of this discussion. >> so as. >> i would support house bill 3314 that case put it on pause until we know who they are, what the cost is, and how you control it. there is no way that you can really vet these people. when i hear people like martin o'malley say you can vet them. in kentucky last year there was a refugee that was thoroughly vetted, and turned out to be a terrorist. he had gone through the process. so maybe we need to fix that

process, but for right now i think pausing is the right thing to do. you know, as we sit here there is no telling when and wear the next attack is going to take place. >> but they would there have been homegrown terrorists in this country, too. there are some who are already in the country. >> you know, one of the things that the congressman said is that 4,000 of the insurgents came from europe. 400 came from the united states of america. so absolutely there are terrorists within our borders right now. but why take the risk unless you have a better system to let these people in? >> congressman, good to see you as always. thank you very much. >> thanks, john. >> linda the executive director of arab american association in number. >> there is lots of fear in this country. there is fear that people will

want to come through and come in and kill people. >> i say let's look at the facts. none of the current suspects are refugees. >> one might be. >> nothing that has been confirm: we're a nation of immigrants. we have the statue of liberty welcoming people who are fleeing war-torn countries and persecution. we cannot punish people who are running from the same terrorism that happened in paris and beirut. >> how do we know the difference? how do we know which person is a terrorist, and which person is just running. >> our legislature needs to be schooled on the vetting process of all refugees. we work with refugees, immigrants and the vetting process including multiple bio metics includes medical

examinations, criminal records, i mean, the process is so tedious that they have no idea that the department of defense of is involved, other defendants are involved. when was the last time that a refugee within the united states was convicted of any terrorism. >> always mistakes can be made, and we know in this government bureaucracy that some how, sometimes people get through. >> we can't be 100% sure but to collectively punish a group of people is not fair. we should always welcome refugees to the country. >> we haven't talked in a while. now after the paris attacks can you talk about what you're hearing from arab americans in this country and what they're saying to you and how they're reacting to this fear?

>> arab-americans are focused on this crisis. we would refugees from any part of the world. we're asking these governs who have no legal authority over saying they accept refugees railroaor not. they're just playing political football. they're still coming here. >> we've talked about islamphobia before. does this crank it up again? >> of course, every time there is an international attack there is collective blame on this religious community in this country. the vitriol that you see online is outrageous. we're tired of apologizing for something we had nothing to do

with. the largest group of victims of violence of isis is muslim. they kill more muslims than any other group. and we have to make sure that we're talking about that. >> i've he heard some in the middle east suggest that the united states is responsible for creating--the united states and other western countries are responsible for creating isil. and therefore planting the seed in isil to launch these attacks. dubai that? >> our foreign policy in the middle east has created futile ground for isis. we went to a war in iraq. >> but the terrorists are responsible for themselves. not the united states? >> john, isis did not just show up one day. why was it around 20, 40, 50 years ago. when we went into iraq our flawed foreign policy we went in-- >> so it's the iraq. it's the united states going into iraq. that's why they kill people in

france. >> i say there is a long record of flawed foreign policies that have created fur till ground for isil. >> thank you very much. >> not everyone uses turkey as an transit point. many people settle there. >> one of the things we're doing in istanbul is not just looking at the geopolitical situation or the complexity of turkey. one eye to the west, one eye to the east. one eye to europe and one eye to the muslim world. but we're talking to more some of the more than 300,000 refugees from syria in this city. we went walking through a dilapidated neighborhood. it was condemned and demolished. then these syrian refugees showed up. we went walking through the street. i ran into a little by who let

us through his house where we met his grandfather, who was telling us about how they had lived in hama in syria, and how they escaped from syria, made their way by land into turkey and finally into istanbul. he told me about all the trials and tribulations they've been through. listen to this. >> we left against our will. of course we came here to turkey. to raise these children away from the fighting and the war. we came here and the children started to work and help us survive here. it's not much but at least here in turkey we're getting by now. it's better than the fighting. i mean there, are rockets and mortars raining on you for no reason, and people are dying, and you don't know which side is doing what. it became so bad that we had to flee. we took to the road. sometimes by foot, sometimes by car. until we reached the border. thank god we're living and getting by here now. there is no fighting, there is no killing here. >> does the turkish government give you refugee status?

>> we smuggled ourselves in and they gave us identity papers and nothing more. those who are registered have to go to the refugee camps. we don't want to stay in the camps. the most important thing by far is to get away from the killing. i have one ask for his excellency president erdogan. he should help us syrians who don't want to live in the camps and help us in our homes. he should pay us more. if we have children who can work so we can help each other out. do you think we like living in such humiliation? there are people who are going out and begging in public. by doing so they bring humiliation on us all. i now have my elderly wife who is six. she needs money for testing. i've left her to her fate. the turkish state should be providing insurance for people with medical needs and make sure

that they can get free care. these are normal things. but we're syrian refugees and there is nothing for us. >> and john, the numbers say that there are more than 2 million of these syrian refugees in turkey spread out across the country in dozens of refugee camps. more than 300,000 of them in istanbul alone. some of them are trying to make a life here. many more are trying to leave for europe and the west and obviously their ability to do that has suddenly been hampered even more than it already was. >> ali. thank you very much. ali velshi on target.is coming u up in mine minutes. stay tune. up next, the effects of war on agriculture. and the pennsylvania man who is trying to protect the world's endangered crops.

>> we've seen the human toll of the war in syria and the faces of refugees streaming out of the

country. but some are harder to see. ancient seeds that have fed generations are facing extinction. we go to pennsylvania. >> that's nice. >> food historian and author has a green thumb. for 40 years he has been collecting and cultivating endangered rare plant seeds from all around the world. it is his passion. >> the pole green from africa. the soybean and the kale, which we're standing in. >> weaver hopes to save some of these plants from extinction. >> we're going to have a food crisis on our hands because people can't grow food the way they used to, and plants are disappearing, and no one is stepping in to intervene and save this. >> we're threshing a plan over there, a seed, and it's on the

u.n. >> well, it's mustard from cypress. it's on the red list because it's super endangered. >> in another part of the garden is owen taylor taken bye-by on by weaver. >> we made a stake for the garlic. this one is from syria. >> syrian garlic. >> yes, it's very small. >> so it goes this way up. >> theater. >> and the shoots go down. >> and you can see it's already growing. >> it's amazing to think that this little seed comes all the way from syria, and it's going to grow in a pennsylvania field. >> that's why it's really important to do this work. this year i planted syrian peas and syrian lettuce and syrian chard. it may not be happening today because the country is war-torn and farmers are not able to get out to their land.

>> how is it that the seeds from warmer climates are doing so well. >> the micro claim here is very much like burgundy in france. >> taylor is working with a friend to plant this collection from the vaults of the u.s. department of agriculture. seeds have taken over inside weavers house, too, in the kitchen the lettuce seeds are stored in small envelopes. the pantry is full of rare seeds in jars. >> this is an indian squash, we're the only folks who have got this blue strawberry shape, if that's what you want to call it. >> you are amazing. >> actually, these are all very good to eat. that's the best part. >> let's go and eat some. come on. >> all right. >> john terrett, al jazeera. devon, pennsylvania. >> coming up next on the broadcast, the youngest victims of the refugee crisis.

>> the paris attacks that touched off a debate about refugees. their plight has become political. but it's important to remember what we're really talking about. should the world be afraid of this boy? what about this young family? or this child? they're all seeking a better life. they're all now victims of fear. the attacks in paris triggered a reaction across europe and here at home. calls to seal off the borders to keep syrian refugees out. is that the solution? look at these faces. men, women and children who fled war-torn countries. they cross dangerous water in the mediterranean, trying to find new homes anywhere that is safe. and will take them in. their fate is unknown. they are helpless. they should not be hopeless.

>> that's our broadcast. thank you for watching. i'm john seigenthaler. i'll see you back here tomorrow. ali velshi on target is next. a "on target" i'm ali velshi "on target" from istanbul. i.s.i.l. exposed. what it wants and more importantly, how it can be defeated for good. welcome to istanbul turkey. tonight the fight against i.s.i.l. after the paris attacks. we need to figure out what i.s.i.l. wants and why and more importantly, how to defeat it.