My first semester of college has almost ended. Wow. I've sat down multiple times to update you over the course of the semester, but haven't been able to do much on this computer without guilt that I'm not studying or writing a paper or...you know how it goes. I have a lot to do right now, but the world has continued moving while I've been inside "The Bubble" and I've stayed silent for too long. So here are the words that have come to me as of late.
Disclaimer: I don't have any answers. These are just my thoughts, and I've only lived for 18 short years so I realize they aren't the most insightful thoughts in the world, but they are mine. Please take this with a grain of salt and know I'd love your opinion, but not a fight. Thank you.
I'll start big.
The world stood with Paris when it was attacked. It was beautiful to see. Do you know how many people have died in Syria since the violence broke out in 2011? More than 250,000. 250,000 parents, children, uncles, grandmas, and beloved friends gone. My state, actually both Arizona and Mississippi, oppose Syrian refugees coming in. Why? Because of the Paris attack. Because a man in the attack came in a flood of Syrian refugees.
What happened in Paris was an atrocity, and it is scary to think about letting people in and not knowing what might happen. I'm sort of shocked, though, to see people do a complete turnaround so quickly. How are we so filled with compassion for the French and yet our doors are closed to 11 million Syrians looking for safety?
I don't know what the answer is, however I do know that we, ourselves, were once starving immigrants escaping oppression. I know that not everyone in Syria is a terrorist. I want to share with you something I read on the Facebook page Humans of New York today. This from a Syrian family currently living in Turkey;
“He cried a lot as a baby. By the age of two he wasn’t speaking or eating. Our local doctor didn’t know what was wrong, but we found a good doctor in Damascus, and he told us that our son had autism. The doctor recommended a therapist. On the first day of therapy, he was too scared to even enter the office. But after a few months of treatment, he was able to concentrate and even write the alphabet. He went to therapy every week for the next few years. It was really helping him. He was learning so many things. But when the war came, the roads were closed. We couldn’t go to therapy anymore. The bombs affected him very badly. He gets scared easily. He’s even afraid of the dark. But the bombs scared him very much. He hasn’t been to therapy for years. We have no money or insurance here in Turkey. We are very isolated. It seems that all the progress has been undone. He used to want to learn. He used to get his books out of the bag and bring them to us. But now he just throws them away. He can’t sit still. I’m afraid that we’ve lost too much time now. But my husband is optimistic. He thinks that we will find the right doctor in America.”
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| The family, courtesy of HONY |
America once symbolized hope for us, pilgrims searching for freedom. It breaks my heart that it can't be that for everyone. That family, wow. I can't find words to describe how that touched me--the cruelness of our world, the blessings we experience in the US, how strong they are. Would you let them into your state?
My favorite book, The Book Thief, has a moment that continually pops into my head when I wrestle through what the right answer is in this situation. For those who haven't read it (RUN DON'T WALK TO THE BOOKSTORE NOW), it's about a German family that takes in a foster daughter and a Jew during WWII. Near the end of the book, the father is wondering if risking their lives was really worth it, and Liesel, the foster daughter, answers him in a beautiful way.
We were just being people. That's what people do.
I may not know the answer to the refugee question, but I know in my soul what is right and what is wrong. I don't think many Americans today would act as Liesel's family did if the Holocaust happened all over again in the United States. You probably gasped and are probably mad at me for saying that, but I won't apologize for it because I think it's truth. I think they would be filled with the same fear, the what if they are terrorists.
I wasn't called to live a comfortable life; Jesus didn't live an easy life. I was called to live radically, with love that knows no limits and forgiveness that never runs out and HOPE so that I can do hard things because I know who hems me in behind and before.
America, God has hemmed you in. He has laid His Hand upon you. Believe in His provision and act like someone died for you so you could live.
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Philippians 1:21
Your blogger,
Claire
