Keeping Families Together. This week, every week
Last year I wrote about the humbling experience of having Alaa, a Syrian graphic designer, sending me design options for a NeedsList logo. At the time, he was based in Aleppo. It blew my mind that he could be designing at the height of the siege. I had met his brother Tarek in Lyon and stayed in touch with both of them, checking in periodically.
A few months later Alaa and his wife, Baraa, escaped Syria by crossing the Turkish border and making their way to Istanbul. I was able to support Alaa’s application for asylum in France by writing a letter saying they could stay with my family if needed. That was more than a year ago.
Last week I received a WhatsApp message from Alaa. His application for asylum in France was finally accepted. He and Baraa are overjoyed, as is Tarek. The brothers have not seen each other for years. They are still nervous because Turkey has been known to deny exit visas to educated Syrians, but they are hopeful and should have word any day.
Tarek told me,
“I was speechless. I kept asking Alaa for two days if that was real or only a dream!! I couldn’t believe it!! It was incredible. Now I’ll have a member of my family around me, which feels just awesome!!”
Over 65 million people forcibly displaced. All of them far from home.
Today kicks off World Refugee Week, a week to honor and bring awareness to those who are forcibly displaced. This week we are also bearing witness to despicable actions tearing families apart throughout the United States. And in Europe, news reports state that French authorities are reportedly holding children as young as 12 in cells overnight, without food, water, or paperwork.
We may have geolocation abilities in our cameras, our phones, our vehicles, but our moral compasses are tragically malfunctioning.
It is not easy to keep focus in light of ever-worsening news, and it is certainly not easy to stay positive. That is why Alaa’s news moved me so much. It was a very concrete reminder of the small actions we can take that can have such a tremendous impact on someone else’s life. It was a reminder of how much we receive when we give.
I know we can’t all offer a spare room or or donate thousands of dollars. And yet, what I do know is that we can all do is something. It takes 15 minutes to sign a petition, 5 minutes to buy a pack of diapers for a refugee mother. Give an hour a week to mentor a new arrival. Offer an evening to host a welcome dinner for refugee families.
We’ve designed a World Refugee Week NeedsList with these kinds of things in mind; an engagement possibility for all, a range of ways to support refugees. Please, take a look. Do what you can. And consider it a starting point, because I am afraid that this anti-migrant backlash is going to get worse before it gets better.
