
My time at The Bourj el-Barajneh Refugee Camp
“We must strengthen the conviction that we are one human family.” –His Holiness Pope Francis
Today, I visited the 70-year old Palestinian refugee camp of Bourj el-Barajneh outside of Beirut, Lebanon.
All I can say is that: I entered as one man. I left as another.
We hear about these things in the news: the refugee crisis, the plight of the Palestinian people. But, we cannot know the truth until we see it with our own eyes, hear it with our own ears and feel it with our own hearts.

My guide today was Mariam El Shaar, a social entrepreneur and generational refugee who overcame impossible circumstances to launch the first-ever all-women refugee truck, Soufra, which means ‘feast’ in Arabic. Mariam is a shining beacon of what is possible when hope triumphs over fear. Thomas Morgan made a documentary film about her story.
I met Mariam through Michelle Mouracade, Country Director for Alfanar, the first venture philanthropy organization working exclusively in the Arab world. I am grateful to Michelle going to such lengths to make this happen.

“Heartbreaking” and “hopeful” are not big enough words to describe Bourj el-Barajneh. You cannot imagine the conditions here: patchworks of electrical wires above and narrow, dirty streets below. Established in 1948, this refugee settlement, out of necessity, sort of cobbled itself together into a city. More than twenty-thousand people live within one square kilometer. Yet, under such pressure, they live in dignity, grace and harmony.
If it is true that pressure creates diamonds, then these people are the jewels of humanity.

In the midst of it all, I saw bright smiles, tenderhearted love and irrepressible hope. The light in these people shines away the darkness that an uncaring world has cast upon them.
While the media portrays our world as more divided than ever, I don’t believe that. I believe the politicians are divided. But, I believe the people are united.
We all want the same things: peace, dignity and opportunity. These things resonate in the hearts of us all, regardless of faith, border or background. And yes, they unite us.
Each of us must work towards peace, dignity and opportunity for the vulnerable. And, we dare not linger. “To whom much is given, from him much is expected.”
I must underline a final point here: If those who decided to stop funding UNRWA took the time to meet these people and to listen to their struggles, their hopes — and most of all, their potential — they would have thought twice. Yet here we are.
If our leadership will not lead on this humanitarian issue and stand with our brothers and sisters in Bourj el-Barajneh and elsewhere…
Then. We. Will.
