Today is World Refugee Day. There are 40 million people who have been forced from their homes by war-- not to mention the many more that have fled for other reasons. To experience displacement ever so briefly, through the eyes of our clients, is harrowing, sad, exhilirating and powerful. The eyes that touched me those first days of work are now ones that recognize me and have learned to say hello in English. Her parents, I now consider my friends. Her baby sister is still intrigued.
In my third week of work, I have come to appreciate the stories I have heard. As I sometimes must try to maneuver my Chinese and they, their English, I often wonder what would possess a 15 year old to swim across a river, or walk across a border to get away from what they know to be home. What makes them strong enough to survive being sold into marriage, or years of imprisonment and still have a smile on their face? I guess for the stories I hear, there is in some ways a happy ending-- that through it all, they are the ones who have reached their destination. A new hope for the future.
But for the many millions more, their stories are still being made- they live in tents, they don't know whether they will be caught, deported, and even killed. They can't be sure where their next meal will come from and whether their children will be able to go to school. So it continues- they struggle with the unknown, with instability, and as they wait, they merely continue to live.
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