Magic and Hard Work!

There are those who sit and observe the magic of the world. And then there are those who get off their rear ends and make magic! I was fortunate enough to be taught from an early age that the magic of the world is not illusory but instead what appears to be mystical is often the result of the hard work of somebody somewhere who did something.

 I remember walking into an event once that I and many others had worked on for weeks. Somebody observed that it had all come together so quickly "like Magic." I smiled and left her there in her delusion. In my pocket was a speech designed to express gratitude to all of those who had made it all possible through weeks and weeks of time and effort and sacrifice and at that point she would understand that the magic didn't happen but that the magic was made.

 All over this province-and country-Canadians are working very hard to help people they don't know find a better life. They're participating in the fundamental lesson we were taught in kindergarten, or perhaps even earlier-that we should share.

That they would take the precious moments of their lives to do that is magical. I am constantly impressed by those who spend their lives in the aid of their fellow humans. A few of them in this town got together on Friday and made others a priority and it was an incredibly fun day.

We used our creativity to make our fundraiser special..we called it the "We Knead Dough" fundraiser and renamed some common baked goods to "Two Fam Jam Jams" and "May as well get used to the Snow..balls!" The ladies & one gentlemen(our MHA Derek Bennett) think they're baking but they're really making magic. And yes it was work but the dollars earned will be combined with other dollars raised and the total will aid in the efforts to help 25000 new Canadians get here to start their lives. These sorts of efforts are happening in communities all over the country.  It is such a heartwarming effort.  And here are the results of our day in the kitchen.

Abracadabra!

Two Fam Jam Jams

For Sale!

Well worth the effort!

Special Labels so you know who you're helping with your purchase

One of the boxes full of the delicious baked goods!

What would you Take?

We watched this video in church today. It needs no commentary.

A Child's Plea--in Song.

I usually do not post twice in the same day. But this is something too valuable. When the children speak we must listen. Oh that this would be seen by those who cause the strife in Syria and that it would melt their hearts so that the fighting would cease. Meanwhile let it warm our hearts.  When a child has such pain we must sooth it.

Video: I didn't Even Know You

Sometimes it is difficult for a writer to find the right words. That is when you wait for somebody else's words to say what you want to say.

Here is a video I watched this morning.  I am so grateful for this beautiful song and excited to have discovered a new singer/songwriter unfamiliar to me prior.

You didn't even know me. Do we have to know each other to be a sister or brother to each other?  The value of a person isn't determined by who they know but by who they are. Such a beautiful sentiment explored in a beautiful song.

Tick Tock Tick Tock-Let's Learn Arabic!

The beginning..Hello!

On January 22 we were informed that a family had been identified that would come to Lewisporte. We were told they would arrive in six to eight weeks.  It is exactly three weeks later today(Feb 12) so that means three to five weeks!

Naz, our Arabic Instructor!

It's like going for a six hour drive and you realize about three hours into it that you are now on a three hour drive. Time gets away as the pavement disappears beneath the wheels.

So the eight week mark is around March 18th. That's not very long! And it could be as soon as March 4th Three weeks from today.

Yes indeed,we're chomping through time like a bunch of hungry langoliers!

The beautiful Arabic Alphabet.  Always written cursive & from right to left

As the clock ticks, we are coming closer and closer to the moment when we welcome Muhammed, Fatima, Moussa and Rayane to Lewisporte. Time is paradoxically slow and fast all at once.

Because we cannot wait to meet them.

I think of them more than anything. In all the committees and meetings and forms and letters, it is that family that is in my thoughts the most.

I wonder, what are they thinking now? Have they been able to learn where Lewisporte is in Canada? Do they think Toronto and Montreal when they think of our country and do they have any inkling that the home they'll be coming to is about as different from those cities as the moon ?  (I also worry that they will become Leaf's fans as Reverend Art Elliott suggests or will we be able to protect them from such folly!  )

I imagine their nervousness.  I cannot really.  I try to understand that they will also have sadness because surely they have made friends in the camps that they will leave behind.  The children will have made friends and will miss them. It has to be one more difficult leg of a painful but necessary journey. But there will be hope also, and much excitedment because it is Canada.

I feel the privilege of my citizenship keenly these days and feel the responsibility of it even more so. I've been given too much, more needs to be shared.

We have spent a lot of time being concerned about  cultural sensitivities and what we can do to ensure we do not inadvertently offend our new friends.  I asked a few of my friends who have immigrated from other places and they all said a variation of the same thing. They chose Canada as their future country because they wished to be Canadian. Their understanding of Canada is that more than anything we are accepting of differences and so to be Canadian they must accept our differences. So they came here with minds open to trying to understand why we do the things we do.

I think we simply need to be kind and compassionate and considerate. Those are things that are shared among cultures and practicing these things cannot steer us in the wrong direction.

My friend Sabhira once told me that she celebrates Christmas, though she is Muslim, because most  Canadians do and she wants to be a part of everything Canadian.  She loved the idea of Santa and described how surprised her children were their first Christmas morning.  It was during the fast of Ramadan when she told me that story and I think our conversation made her hungry because as she spoke she decided then and there that they would have a Christmas type turkey dinner immediately after the fast. They liked Christmas so much they decided to do it twice!

As time passes we are not idle.  Things are getting done!  Last night was a fantastic meeting in which we unanimously voted to partner with the Penticostal Church here in town to bring a second family in. This is a wonderful partnership with us being one committee, connected towards a common goal.  To bring TWO families to Lewisporte from Syria.

It changes things in that our goal to raise $12000 becomes a goal to raise $42,000 but with the need for added financial resources comes a huge cache of human resources from a church that has a reputation both locally and world wide for humanitarian efforts.

So the challenge is greater but the reward is multiplied! Piece of cake, we got this!

As the committee has grown and refined into the working groups, branching off into different subcommittees, it has been a remarkable feeling to bask in the positive energy that is all around. This group of people are truly good . Deep in their hearts is a calling to do something, to be the solution.  It's a calling everyone shares and I feel us all bonding in this common good.

Meanwhile, we are learning some basic Arabic so that we can at least greet the newest members of our community in their language. I am focusing on "Welcome" which is phonetically spoken Ahlaan wa Sahalan in English. The room was full and the teacher, Naz who speaks three languages and is originally from Iraq, was fun to learn from. It is a $2 donation to come to learn. Naz will help with translation when the family arrives and is working on some fundraising efforts that I'll assist her with. I think our partnership will become a fast friendship as we work together.

If you're in Lewisporte the Arabic Lessons are Thursdays at 6:30 in St. Matthews United Church in the Sunday school room.

We are getting ready and I, personally, cannot wait to say

Hogan's Heroes-the spinoff!

Homs, Syria After and Before the civil war

Homs, Syria Before and After the civil war

"I am from Homs.. and if I want to describe how is my city looking like now, I will say it is just like Berlin or Stalingrad in 1945.. completely destroyed city… the house where I was born is not existing anymore. What remained of the city is just less than 40% while the rest 60% is abandon areas … city of ghosts."

~Talal 

             
These are the words of Talal. He is one of the refugees that the Gander Refugee Outreach has committed to bringing to Gander when they made their plans to bring five families to the town.  

Of the five families, four are unknown. But Talal's family is different because he has a connection to Gander through his friend Kathleen and her husband Peter, the Hogans. The  others will be matched with Gander Refugee Outreach by the Association for New Canadians. Three applications have been placed and we await the news of who they are and when they'll arrive.

Without going into the intricacies of sponsorship, other than the fact that we know this family through their Gander friends, the needs are the same. There must be funds raised and a home secured.  The needs for this family are included in the total fundraising amount. 

There is a blizzard here this morning and all of my appointments were cancelled.  So I spent the morning working on Lewisporte and Gander Refugee Outreach and concluded it by having a conversation on Facebook talking to Talal in Turkey which by my estimation is 5.5 hours ahead of us.

It is one thing to hear of a war through the media, it is quite another to have a first hand review of it from a person who has lived through the reality of its horrors.  I vascillate between horror and sadness, anger and relief as I review the accounts I have been sent written by Talal including how he came to be in Turkey. It is a narrative so blunt and real it has shaken me. Others are still living in that horror I think. At this very moment they are there. And it hurts my heart. 

Talal is one of the lucky ones.  It may not appear so at first glance being a refugee but he is. He got out in time and his family is with him.  He is as well off as a refugee can be. But that's not really well off in western terms.

Talal speaks English. He is fluent with just enough residual second language to make each sentence a charming turn of phrase.  But discerning his meaning is easy. 

He has left his aging parents behind and worries constantly for their well being. But his children's future will be secured in Canada, a place he says he has dreamed of since he was ten years old.

"The Prime Minister is a good man," he says, "and very handsome." I have to agree.

"Canada is famous of its equality between all people from the world who living there" he types. I am struck by how proud and grateful I am that this is what he feels Canada is famous for. 

He sends me the family's registration cards that identifies them as refugees. The family is gorgeous and two bright-eyed intelligent little faces look back at me from two of them. Helen is two and Reyad is four.  His children. 

These are educated people, both parents with University degrees in English literature. These are people with spectacular timing who escaped to a nowhere land where they are essentially in limbo.  Canada is their hope. Kathleen Hogan and GRO their beacon on that distant shore.

Talal works. He has managed to support his family with the basics using his language skills and works as a translator. With four other families coming to Gander, two to Lewisporte and one to Bishop's Falls, he is employable. 

They have no rights in Turkey. It's a stopover. They may live there...at least for now. Two and a half million Syrians do. But there is no opportunity. No guarantee they won't be forced to move on.  The children will grow up without rights of citizens. This is something they can never achieve in Turkey.  This is why they dream of Canada. And this is why we've agreed to bring them here.

There is one more element to this story. Kathleen and Peter Hogan. Kathleen and Talal in particular have connected as friends over the past eight years and she has worried as he has lived through these past years. She has celebrated  his joys with him as his family grew and has worried like family when he was under threat in Syria. She celebrated with him when he escaped and she dreams with him of the day they land at Gander airport as Canadians, safe and sound. The Hogans are not people of great means but they are people with great love.  So they're looking for help from the community to help realize the dream of having the family they love come here as soon as possible. 

There is a blog called Gander Families that will carry Talal's stories of his life in Syria so I won't write more on that.  It is a compelling read and I recommend you follow it as it's updated. www.ganderfamilies.wordpress.com . I know it's a silly pun but if you donate you will literally be the Hogans' heroes.     You may donate to the Gander Refugee Outreach by clicking  Contribute Here . 

The following says all there is to say for the millions who are displaced by the Syrian Civil war. They are Talal's words and I think he speaks for himself and his fellow country people in the same situation better than ever I could. 

"I am now in the middle of nowhere .. between earth and sky.. no future for my children and my wife and I in Turkey and we cannot get back and will never get back to Syria even on our bodies." 

~Talal 

(PS. Some of you will get the Hogan's Heroes reference, for the rest of you click here) 

Minutes Taken, Moments Given

Yesterday I wrote up the minutes of the last meeting of the Lewisporte Refugee Outreach (LRO). This isn't one of my favourite jobs and I'm not particularly skilled at it.  While in the meeting I'm always frantically writing the notes and trying to keep track of discussions and so I don't participate in the conversation quite so much and quite often the entire meeting is a practise in recording more so than in absorbing.  But it's a necessary job so that we're not wasting time on who is doing what and I've always considered a highly important task of any committee, just not one I necessary relish myself.

But there is an upside. It is while going through the minutes I'm able to unpack what is really happening in every single meeting. And I'm not referring to the actual events but rather the overarching narrative of this adventure we've decided to take together as a group.

From the moment last Thursday when a new person who has volunteered to help with translation described her first impressions of the west and how we can expect these newcomers to feel,  to the moment another resident shows the little foam hearts and book marks her and another member have painstakingly created as a fundraiser, I am in awe of these people.

People are all ordinary. We might, as humans have a tendency to categorise people as great or regular or even "less than"  but when we break it all down people do ordinary things nearly every day no matter what arbitrary construct we have of them in our minds.

People around here for example pretty much sleep, eat, exercise(or not) care for their families, work, drive to work, drive home, hit the drive thru, watch TV, do some Face booking and Tweeting, play some games, love their friends and start all over the next day. 

But people are extraordinary also. In their hearts.  And the best example of that is when they show up and allow the regular pace of  their lives to be interrupted to fulfil the needs of their community and the world, in an act of kindness and compassion. That is extraordinary. It isn't something everybody does.

Sitting and using scissors is normally considered an ordinary endeavour. Creating something with those scissors that is a tangible example of the remarkable spirit of giving is extraordinary. 

As I wade through, recording and setting up the "action list" I always create to help write the next meeting's agenda I am warmed by the offerings. Not offerings of things and dollars, (though many things and dollars are coming and we need them!) but offerings of time. The world is full of things that will still be in the world when we are not.   But time is something we all have a finite amount of and it is something that will expire for us. So when somebody says "I'll take this task and spend my time doing it for this effort" they are donating their most valuable asset. And that is extraordinary especially given the fact that these people are exceptionally busy to start with.

So in spite of the fact that I don't care for the task and that I'm not skilled at it, I am particularly grateful to take these notes and transcribe them because as I do so I realize that this my opportunity to record not just the minutes, but  some of the moments, of these very special people that I am fortunate enough to know.  

The minutes are taken, but the moments are given. And what could be a greater gift?

The Act of Understanding

Last night was the meeting of the committee. What an incredible show of community spirit with people speaking with such passion about how best to help our new family who will arrive in mere weeks.

It's really important for me to try to keep perspective. This isn't a project.  It's about people. People are not projects.  I try to think of it as preparing for company that is arriving here and that we're just supposed to make them feel at home.  And while I sit and take the minutes and worry about agendas and sit through three hours of meetings which is important so that things are in place to make a successful transition it is important for me to always to bear in mind  that these are human lives with needs that are common to our own.

As a mother the number one desire I have is for my children to be safe and well and to have a home. A few years ago we made the decision to move from Ontario to Newfoundland. With two small children in school it was important for it to be a smooth transition. It was a big move by our standards but relatively small by contrast to the move the Syrian family is undertaking.

 But my desire, which I think I share with all parents, is for the contentment and ease of adjustment when such a move is chosen.

When I try to superimpose my own experiences into the lives of people who have experienced war, I cannot.  Nor can I place their experiences in my mind.   I can imagine the sheer horror and despair knowing your family is in danger and then making the decision to again remove them from what they've known for quite a while but I have been so privileged to never know it and imagining is not experiencing.

I am amazed and humbled by the strength that it takes to move to a country where things are new and different, where you are dependent upon strangers, don't know the language and have no family or friends there.  I am eternally grateful that we are given the opportunity to help.

So how can I fully understand? It's humbling to realize that I can't. The best I can do is guess.

If this were me, as a mother, as a family what would the needs be?

I would want to be able to provide for my children. I would want them to be safe and to meet friends. I would like for them to have as much food as they required.  And I personally would like to prepare it myself. I would like my family to earn its own way as soon as possible to not be beholden to others. My husband would want to work for an income as soon as possible. That would be very important to him. I would want to work for an income also but caring for the children would be a priority.  I would want to make my home comfortable and familiar.  It would be important to me to be able to be a part of the community and to have something to give back. I think I would love to volunteer at local charities that helped others so that I can be a giver too. The ability to share and give would be a huge loss if it were taken so I'd want to reclaim that.  I'd want my children to have opportunity and that would mean school. I would make learning the language a priority and would try to learn it.

And sometimes perhaps I would like to be asked what my needs are. Because I cannot assume that the above paragraph is relevant 100% and cannot guarantee I have not missed something.  People are individuals and families don't fit into a niche. Families need to be able to make their own individual niches and the members of that family then thrive in that comfortable place.

Independence for my family with inclusion and acceptance and support from the community. Pretty much like everybody else right?

It's so simple. All the tasks, training, jobs, assignments and research has the goal of this family becoming an independent entity surrounded by people who love them.  As we focus on the first part of this, doing the work of fundraising and setting up supports for all of the language and education, health and so on there is no doubt in my mind that the amazing people at the meeting last night and the wonderful hospitable residents of Lewisporte will handily take care of the last bit.

This article is a great read and very helpful also. Wise Counsel for First Time Sponsors.

What's in a Name?

Like many of you, I've seen the photos of the camps. Acres of dingy grey tents that line up like grave markers in row upon row, all housing the most vulnerable humans on the planet, those who have been traumatised in the worst possible ways by the horrors of war. In those tents reside families like yours and mine who have been left with no choice but to live in a tent with millions of others, destined to live there until a solution can be found for their plight by others because they do not have the ability to do anything but try to survive until that happens.

When people in the developed nations have hard times..and there are poor among us, it is our neighbours to whom we turn to for assistance. In this province we feed each other and care for each other. In a refugee camp your neighbours are as helpless as you. There is nowhere to turn for aid.  In addition there is no purpose or direction, no room for ambition or improvement and all of this creates a feeling of hopelessness that permeates the canvas tents and pierces the hearts of all who inhabit these hectares of despair.

It is all too easy for us in the developed world to turn our heads and turn off the television. We can click the little x in the corner of the story on our Social media with a sad sigh knowing we simply can't help. Some of us can even justify not doing anything by exclaiming we must help our own first.

Our own? Who are our own? Those who are related to us? Those who look like us? Perhaps our own are those who pray the same as us or who think, like us, that the problem is not ours, it's theirs.  We'll help our own we say..and we do. And there is no fault in this. Helping people is a good thing.

But what if you are not the poor who have neighbours to help? That's a different kind of poverty. The kind with no government supports, with no neighbours with the financial means to provide assistance or extra food to offer a meal.

But what of our responsibility? What of our compassion?

Compassion doesn't have borders, it doesn't see skin colour or religious persuasion. Compassion is a soul feeling not a physical action.

It is though, so easy for humans to not see humanity. It is easy to be blind to the plight of those we do not know simply because we do not know them.  They're nameless and faceless and therefore not human like those who live across the street or down the road.

Every single person in those miles and miles of tents is a person with a life, an experience and a story. And one family at least in those miles and miles now has something new. They have hope.

Mohammed and Fatima will have learned by now that a sponsor group in Lewisporte Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada will be welcoming them to their tiny little town.  Canada!  yes, that miracle of a country  where opportunity is a natural resource and success is only impeded by lack of ambition. Such a dream, our country is. We should see it that way more...look at it through the eyes of the world and that opportunity will be arriving in the form of a family who will arrive here from Syria with that Canada in their hearts and minds. And it will be nothing like they dreamed and so much more!

They will likely have explained this brave move to their children, nine year old Rayane and seven year old Moussa.   All will be nervous about this.  They've been through so much and now to move away once again from all they know. They will have made connections in the camp, formed friendships. There will be more loss as they choose to do what they need to for their own family. It will be emotional.  They have no family in the country and they don't speak the language. I have imagined the call and wondered how they reacted. I know our committee cried when we learned we had a family we   could help. We all cried again when we learned their names.

We are strangers to them. We will be their only support and the responsibility is daunting if I think about it. I don't. I just do what I've committed to do..everything that I can to help. Company's coming and we have to get ready!

So far I really like these people.  Mohammed, Fatima, Rayane and Moussa.  Their names are an introduction, they identify them as people not just abstract and anonymous ideas of people.

We now know their names and it makes all the difference.