Refuge, Part Deux
"plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose”
Six years ago almost to the day, I wrote this essay about my refugee friends whom I tutored and more generally about where we can find refuge in a troubled world. Much has happened since then, but some things haven’t changed. We’ve chosen a despot as our president (again). This family has moved from Georgia, and we are occasionally in touch. The last time I wrote them was almost a year ago when my friend and co-tutor Kaaren died in her 80’s. Although brief, our text exchange gave me comfort in sharing memories of our friend. Kaaren and I laughed over coffee for the entirety of our friendship. That was unwavering.
Now that Trump is calling for the halting — cancelling — of journeys of 10,000 refugees to the US, all of whom have been vetted and sent through the Byzantine bureaucracies of refugee resettlement for almost a decade, I’m sharing this piece again.
Apparently Trump failed to heed Episcopal Bishop of Washington Mariann Budde’s direct plea in her now-famous sermon at Washington National Cathedral: Have mercy on those who are scared.
Have mercy on those at your mercy.
Unfortunately, as the adage goes, the more things change, the more things stay the same. May we all find a way to undo that.
Thank you so much for sharing this again.
I am just so, so sad.
The photo is a view the tourist doesn't always see. Thank you, from this tourist.