Lens Inside a Refugee Camp: Glimpse 6

In my previous post, I described the harrowing evening the refugees crossing the sea in dangerously overcrowded boats experienced and the trauma they endured that left them void of expression. Their faces were just blank, as if the effects of the epic storm had wiped away their ability to feel anything. The following morning when all the refugees were emerging from their huts, the only thing I saw was smiles. An endless sea of smiles. It reminded me of the scene in “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” when the citizens of Whoville emerge from their homes only to find their presents had been stolen, yet they all circled the Christmas tree and began to sing. And like the Grinch, I stood there dumbfounded over their ability to rise and find happiness, in spite of being the people at the center of the biggest humanitarian crisis on earth.

Nothing had changed between when I saw the refugees last and now. The borders of Macedonia remain closed, so they have no path out. Presidential candidates from the wealthiest country on earth are creating fear and flaming hate by accusing all these innocent human beings of being terrorist who want to kill Americans. They are living in an overcrowded concrete, barb-wire facility that can suck your soul dry. They are wearing somebody else’s clothes and in some cases remain barefoot. Most have no money because the smugglers have taken it all. Many have watched people — and in some cases family members — drown in the sea. Yet they smile. Contrary to the rhetoric of some American politicians and their band of ignorant, hateful followers, the only thing that lives in these people’s hearts is gratitude and love.

Every single person I encountered on this morning looked me in the eye and smiled even though I was asking them to gather all their wet, heavy belongings and leave their huts. I watched one father carry his handicapped daughter from their hut. She looked to be about ten years old. The father gently placed his daughter in a wheelchair that he would then need to push up and down a gravely, steep slope to get her to the bathroom. The “toilet” was a hole in the ground that would require squatting, something she would not be able to do on her own. Yet they smiled. Both of them. And for no reason aside from they were thankful to be together as a family and safe from the terror of ISIL or the Taliban depending upon where they came from.

Think for a moment about the last thing that upset you or your children. Was it that the wifi wasn’t working so you couldn’t get online? Was it that the restaurant messed up your meal? Was it that you couldn’t find a parking space? Was it that your doctor was running an hour late? Was it when you told your child they couldn’t have something like a new iPhone? Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth the negative energy that being upset creates. We need to conserve and channel all our energy into creating smiles.

If you think about it every human being is born with love and happiness in their hearts. That love emerges through a smile when babies are only a couple of months old. If a Syrian, Afghani or any other person stands over any baby and smiles, the baby will smile back. They don’t see a different skin color or a different religion or a different nationality. All they see and feel is love radiating from your smile. For all of humanity, we need to find that love in our hearts and create those smiles — as many smiles as we can and as fast as we can. The good news is that all it takes to create those smiles is kindness and compassion, two things every human is born with and has an endless supply of.

Please pray for the refugees. #BeKind