Owls in Broad Daylight! Our Truly Magical Day Delivering Owls of Hope to Refugees

By Devra Dato-on

When the U.S. State Department announced that they will cap refugee admissions at a historically low 30,000 people, we at the Harry Potter Alliance were heartbroken. After all, we are fans of a series that has crossed every border, found fans in every country, and been told in 80 languages to date. The Harry Potter franchise inspired a generation of young people to read and to create charity projects, conferences, online communities, podcasts, countless fanfics and original stories, and of course, the real world Dumbledore’s Army that is the HPA. The world is better because we welcomed Harry Potter across our borders, and our countries are better when we do the same with refugees.

So we set out to protest the decision with love. Harkening back to the flood of Hogwarts letters that welcomed Harry to the wizarding world, wizard activists wrote 215 welcome letters to newly resettled refugees. We called the effort Owls of Hope. The letters were printed and hand-delivered to refugees at the Northwest Community Center in Dallas, TX by our owl wrangler and amazing volunteer, Devra Dato-on. After carrying your letters of welcome and love, Devra has a letter of her own to share with all of you.

Dear Wizard Activists,

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to send an Owl of Hope. We received 192 messages submitted via our website and 23 handwritten letters. That’s a total of 215 letters of welcome! Letters came from all over the US, as well as from Canada, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Australia, India, and Malaysia.

An image of an Owl for Hope letter. The message reads: “Hi, my name is Kaylee. I’m 12 and I live in the U.S.A. I want to let you know that I welcome you with wide open arms. I am trying to fight so that you can come and live here in a nice and safe home.”

Reading your letters brought so much joy to my heart and the hearts of everyone at the HPA. There are so many wizard activists of all ages who are welcoming refugees with kindness and promising to fight for them with love.

These letters were delivered to Northwest Community Center (NCC) in the Vickery Meadow community of Dallas, Texas. A little background about Texas, Dallas, and Vickery Meadow: Texas is home to one of the largest shares of resettled refugees entering the US (second only to California). Between 2002 and 2017, Texas resettled 84,000 refugees. Refugees coming to Texas are settled mainly in Dallas or Houston, and more than half of those coming to Dallas end up in Vickery Meadow. Vickery Meadow has become the epicenter of refugee aid in Dallas. Northwest Community Center is one of many non-profits partnered with the city of Dallas to provide resources to refugees.

An image of a wall in the Northwest Community Center. The wall features the text “Welcome to Northwest Community Center” and the NCC logo over a map of the world and names of countries

Every month, NCC distributes resources to refugees in the Vickery Meadow community. About 200 refugee families come to these resource distribution days. This past Saturday (November 10), I joined NCC for their monthly distribution day. Volunteers distributed resources like diapers, personal hygiene products, and basic home items. After they collected all of their new resources, they came to visit the Owls of Hope table, where I got to meet these new community members and hand them one of your letters.

An image of our Owls of Hope letters sitting on a table as people wait outside the doors. The letters feature colorful stickers, including stickers of owls!

We handed out 209 letters in total! (Six letters we received came after the printing deadline, so they have been mailed to NCC and will be shared with new arrivals at one of their upcoming events).

Most of the refugees were very surprised to receive a letter. “For me?” they would ask. They were very happy when I told them that a new friend wrote it just for them. Your messages of welcome, love, and hope brightened their day and helped them know that despite what they may see online or in the media, so many people are excited to welcome them to their new home.

Thank you again, wizard activists, for writing your kind messages. Delivering them was an honor and reminded me how true the HPA’s motto is: the weapon we have is love.

An image of our Owls of Hope letters held up as people stand in the background. The letter on top features an adorable sticker of an owl!

Stay magical,

Devra

Owls of Hope is an action of Dumbledore’s Army Fights Back, our campaign to help fans fight back against bigotry and fascism with energy, imagination, and love. To get involved, visit #DAFightsBack, join Dumbledore’s Army, or donate to help us make more magic.

About the author: Devra Dato-on is pianist, teacher, and social media volunteer with the Harry Potter Alliance. Visit her on YouTube for pop piano covers and easy piano demos.