June 1, 2019
After recovering a bit more from jet lag, I feel ready to write my first post since arriving in Greece. I'm excited to share some of the information I have already learned these past couple of days, as these are the kinds of things that get me motivated and ready to make a difference. Before I begin this entry, I want to open with a quote that one of my instructors said that I think really resonates to the work we will be doing here, and I hope everyone takes these words to heart.
"For evil to succeed, all it needs is for good men to do nothing." -Martin Luther King Jr.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the news of all the atrocities in the world. Sometimes we become numb to it, and our empathy quickly turns to apathy. Unfortunately, I even find myself falling into this pattern at times. However, there's always that one podcast or one conversation or one movie that reignites the passion I have for making sure every human on this earth has an opportunity to live a life they love. I know this statement seems a bit naive and exaggerated, but I also will not be the one to put limits on my own goals. Even the previous president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, made the bold argument that it is possible to end extreme poverty, so saying that it is possible to improve the quality of life for the world's inhabitants suddenly doesn't sound so crazy, and I think it's something everyone else could agree would be a great triumph.
In order to start working towards this, I joined this NAU in Greece Program, which I described in my first post. Already, I have learned information that has made my heart both ache and fill with rage. Last night, we sat in a large room on the second floor of our hostel and were given a presentation on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. This is because the same problems that we see here are nearly identical to those of the European refugee crisis. In both cases, the limitations placed upon the available points of entry have led to the death of thousands of people trying to escape from violence and poverty--while also failing to fulfill their original purpose of deterrence. These walls, bans, and other obstacles, take away opportunities for legal migration, and force people to choose between staying home and fearing for their lives or leaving and being put into a detention center for years on end.
Today, we met with the owner of the hostel we are staying in. It had previously served as a transition center for refugees in which they provided shelter, food, and other basic necessities to the men, women, and children who came in from unstable countries. What makes this place special is not only did they meet these basic needs, but they also gave the support and resources needed to successfully transition people from a place of trauma to a place of community and cooperation. For example, kids who came in had a hard time talking about what they had gone through. Many had lost parents, siblings, cousins, and others who were close to them. Sometimes they witnessed these killings themselves. The success of the hostel's mission can be witnessed in the painting sessions they gave to the kids. At the beginning, they painted images that typically depicted death, blood, and darkness, but after just six weeks, these images began to portray ideas of love and hope. The pictures in this post show this transition. I believe this shows the need for places such as this hostel, and the need for caring for those who have no other options. In regards to the refugee crisis, we need more people like the owners of the hostel, and less who watch the crisis unfold and do nothing.
"For evil to succeed, all it needs is for good men to do nothing." -Martin Luther King Jr.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the news of all the atrocities in the world. Sometimes we become numb to it, and our empathy quickly turns to apathy. Unfortunately, I even find myself falling into this pattern at times. However, there's always that one podcast or one conversation or one movie that reignites the passion I have for making sure every human on this earth has an opportunity to live a life they love. I know this statement seems a bit naive and exaggerated, but I also will not be the one to put limits on my own goals. Even the previous president of the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, made the bold argument that it is possible to end extreme poverty, so saying that it is possible to improve the quality of life for the world's inhabitants suddenly doesn't sound so crazy, and I think it's something everyone else could agree would be a great triumph.
In order to start working towards this, I joined this NAU in Greece Program, which I described in my first post. Already, I have learned information that has made my heart both ache and fill with rage. Last night, we sat in a large room on the second floor of our hostel and were given a presentation on the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border. This is because the same problems that we see here are nearly identical to those of the European refugee crisis. In both cases, the limitations placed upon the available points of entry have led to the death of thousands of people trying to escape from violence and poverty--while also failing to fulfill their original purpose of deterrence. These walls, bans, and other obstacles, take away opportunities for legal migration, and force people to choose between staying home and fearing for their lives or leaving and being put into a detention center for years on end.
Today, we met with the owner of the hostel we are staying in. It had previously served as a transition center for refugees in which they provided shelter, food, and other basic necessities to the men, women, and children who came in from unstable countries. What makes this place special is not only did they meet these basic needs, but they also gave the support and resources needed to successfully transition people from a place of trauma to a place of community and cooperation. For example, kids who came in had a hard time talking about what they had gone through. Many had lost parents, siblings, cousins, and others who were close to them. Sometimes they witnessed these killings themselves. The success of the hostel's mission can be witnessed in the painting sessions they gave to the kids. At the beginning, they painted images that typically depicted death, blood, and darkness, but after just six weeks, these images began to portray ideas of love and hope. The pictures in this post show this transition. I believe this shows the need for places such as this hostel, and the need for caring for those who have no other options. In regards to the refugee crisis, we need more people like the owners of the hostel, and less who watch the crisis unfold and do nothing.
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| First Week |
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| After Six Weeks |
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