This article was written by Simone Talma Flowers,
Executive Director of Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT).
No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark …
…. no one puts their children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land …
— From “Home,” by British Somali poet Warsan Shire
We recently celebrated World Refugee Day – honoring the many people in this world who have been displaced. People forced to leave their homes because they do not want to die.
Refugees put their lives and, their children’s lives at risk because they have no choice, to be able to live, they have to flee their home especially because “Home is the mouth of a shark.”
The struggle for survival for many requires courage, determination and resilience. To endure harsh conditions; to walk for miles, get in dangerous flimsy boats that go across vast oceans, takes grit. The will to live, makes you sleep in tents, the will to live, makes you hope for a better tomorrow. The love of your child and loyalty to your family give you hope and the will to carry on.
I feel so honored to work with people who have come to the US as Refugees to start their new lives. I feel honored to work with people from different faith communities, who put their faith into action every day to support Refugee families.
I recently watched “Human Flow’, a film produced and directed by Ai WeiWei. He took us on a journey through the world visiting different Refugee camps, and walking alongside Refugees as they journeyed from country to country in search of one that would take them in. The common thread in the film is that many of the Refugees faced barriers, fences, barricades, guns, barbed wire to keep them out. No matter where they went they were faced with this. Yet, while facing these barriers, they also encountered people along the way who extended a hand, gave food to eat, water to drink. Humanitarians who do this work and respond with compassion and love represent what humanity is about – humanity means answering the needs of people along the journey of life, without the impulse to control those people or to judge them.
My heart aches when I think about the mothers and fathers separated from their children at our southern borders. The cries of the children haunt my soul. At iACT we work with Refugees from across the globe, teaching them English and cultural orientation. We provide a nursery so that mothers can leave their kids while they attend classes a few doors down. Usually for the first few days they start at the nursery – both the mother and child cry because it is the first time they have ever been separated. The biggest fear Refugee kids have is to be away from their parents. They are already traumatized by the journey they have experienced, so even though mom is just down the hall, the child is afraid when she leaves.
The first week in the nursery is the toughest, for some kids more than others. So we call parents to sit with those kids in the children’s room for different intervals so that they gradually learn that they were not abandoned. It takes a few weeks for the child to be at ease when dropped off by mom – by then he’s learned that she is close by and is coming back.
What breaks my heart is that the kids at the border do not know when their mothers are coming back. And mothers do not know when they will see their children. And I have seen what it looks and sounds like when a child is crying in anguish for a mom who just walked out the door. I imagine those inconsolable cries coming from multiple kids at once and continuing for hours.
Love is a bond that keeps us safe, keeps us secure, and keeps us connected. As people of faith, as people of compassion, people of love, let us act to ensure that children can be with their parents and know the comfort, safety and love of their parent’s arms. Let us hear more laughter and cries of joy, instead of cries of terror. The power of love is strong, the power of love transcends differences and enriches the human spirit. Let us always remember and stand up for each other’s humanity.
