Since I’ve been back home, I’ve been looking for ways to stay involved with the work I was doing in Europe supporting refugees. If I were still in Europe, there are plenty of things I could be doing in any number of camps, but since I’m back in the United States my options are limited. There just aren’t very many refugees here, which is part of what I wrote about.
I figure the best thing I can be doing from where I am is pointing my words at people who don’t yet understand the severity of the situation. I’m planning to write my congresspeople (more on that soon), but I also want to get the word out more broadly. I contacted my local newspaper and asked if I could submit a column. The editors at the Tacoma News Tribune were very gracious and helpful, and I got a piece published.
HERE IS THE LINK TO THE THING I WROTE
Big thanks to Matt Driscoll, Matt Misterek, and Cheryl Tucker at the News Tribune for their help in making this happen. I spent a little extra time on this piece and I’m pretty proud of it.
Enjoy!
Thank you for spending part of your time in Europe helping refugees. Thank you for writing so movingly about them. Hopefully, many people read your piece in the Tribune and were also moved by it. Our hearts have been breaking for months as we watch those overloaded boats arriving in Greece, watch the refugees then trudging persistently northward, as ugly barbwire fences are created to keep them out.
At the time of the Kosovo crisis we were working in southern Albania and had the opportunity to welcome and work with that group of refugees. Earlier, in 1997, we happened upon a departure point for some of the hundreds of Albanians who were desperate to find a life in Europe. We were appalled as we saw them crowding into rubber boats patched with tape, and wondered how many of them would survive the Adriatic crossing to Italy. As we watch the Syrian refugees, we are reminded of those events almost 20 years ago.
Our hearts yearn to be there, helping today’s refugees, but age and circumstances make it unlikely. So we thank you for reaching out to them with your hands and your heart. Thank you for writing so eloquently about them. We pray that your words will cause greater awareness and compassion toward them.
Sincerely, Virgil and Jackie Jackson, Tacoma
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Thank you, Virgil and Jackie. I really appreciate your comment. I think that a lot of people here in the US are insulated and don’t realize the severity. I just wanted to try to bring it into the conversation and humanize the crisis.
All the best to you!
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