Saturday, September 5, 2015

Seeking Shelter

It's All about Hope

I thought, if ever there were a time for a book about hope, it's now.”
Studs Terkel

All of us, the world over, have watched the refugee crisis unfold in Europe on the daily news. Hundreds of thousands of pitiful, beautiful, war-ravaged people, little children, old ladies, mothers and fathers, risk everything to get to the relative safety of a European shore. Half die at sea. The ones who make it are often turned away, tear gassed, shut out or carted away to camps. The countries being swamped by this sea of humanity are reeling from the impact. They have no clue how to provide even the meanest existence for so many. And yet, and yet...

All over Europe, in cities and towns, and along the open roads, ordinary people come out to help. They bring food and blankets, water and clean clothes. They play with the children, and console the stressed out parents. They welcome and offer solace. Everywhere there are good and decent people caring for total strangers, foreigners, asylum seekers, who only want to live. One man, sleeping with his two little sons on the concrete floor of the Budapest train station, commented that even that was better than what lay behind them. While governments wring their hands, argue and fight among themselves, everyday citizens are doing what needs to be done.

The only hope we have in this world, and I do have hope, is in the goodness of people. We seem to have reached a point where governments do not reflect the compassion of their people, but at least those people are still here. They know that frightened children, foreign or otherwise, need food and shelter, a warm blanket, and to be greeted by people with sympathetic hearts. I feel grateful today for the people of Europe, who step into the breech to lend a helping hand.

                                                    In the Spirit,


                                                         Jane

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