"'All I had was a bag with a few possessions; no money or food. I started asking people I’d only recently made friends with to help me buy food and I promised I would pay them later. I couldn’t stop worrying...'" In a Refugee Action report, Syamend, a young Syrian student forced to flee his country due to civil war, elaborated on his recent painful history. After trekking to a refugee camp in Turkey, floating to Greece in a makeshift dinghy and tumbling his way into the UK off some lent money, Syamend found himself in a state of desperation.
Similar to Seble, an Eritrean woman who escaped her country at a youthful 17-years-old due to religious persecution. Seble felt strangled by the governmental noose constricting her faith and she feared military conscription. After fleeing and working as a house maid in Saudi Arabia, Seble was terrified that Eritrean authorities would seek her out. She sought asylum in the UK, but had an inability to produce original documents clarifying who she was. Her application for asylum was denied. Seble spoke to Refugee Action and said, "'Everyone knows Eritrea has problems,' she says. 'But to get evidence on my individual case – it’s impossible...'"
Some are more fortunate to access refugee status, like Ban, a single Iraqi mother who fled from her country with her two daughters after the Saddam regime fell. Ban fled to Syria and applied for refugee status with her daughters. War soon surrounded them again with the civil war. Ban recalled, "'It was like a nightmare, you don’t know what to do. We had run away from the fire and were now in the frying pan. It was so depressing. My eldest daughter couldn’t sleep and would walk around the house all night in a sort of daze...'"
Syamend, Seble and Ban have all tasted the bitter slap of exclusion from one stage in life to another after their safety was dismantled. From Seble fleeing to live out her Christianity to Ban readjusting to a new language from her Arabic tongue, various challenges in refugees’ lives have a common baseline: Hopelessness.
This hopelessness is a mark, a low point of disparity that slices tattoos of angst and terror below the skin. Every refugee has seeping internal ink stains that mutate their histories; from the origin of their journeys to the finality of their residing, those who have lost their homes have a unique pain few Westerners can fully empathize.
To get a brief eclipse of the surging numbers of refugee's escaping their countries of origin, check out Operation Portal Refugee Situations at this link. Over 12,300 new refugees have arrived in Italy since New Years. That's 246 individuals with their own lives, beliefs, laughs and memories dangerously venturing across the Mediterranean to escape violence, war and persecution every day.
While the situations refugees face are burdening to say the least, there is hope with help. Syamend wishes to return to his studies and reunite with his family and Seble desires to have asylum in the United Kingdom. There is progress to be made.
So, what can we as Americans do? If there's no application in the theoretical idea of helping, then all thought towards refugees is simple speculation and mere wishing. Aside from praying, collective action is needed. Let's stop denying our ability to help just because the executive branch says no to housing people in desperate need of assistance. The call to help transcends the bounds of executive orders.
Posting social rants in any median that elaborate on decisions made by authority are not giving help to the afflicted, but here's how you can help: Pray, raise awareness, donate money to refugee programs that act inside the action and share refugee-aiding organizations' posts.
Growth from these dark tattoos of stinging pain can manifest in those who have lost what they call home, but we need to interject in some form and fashion. Let's save a few dollars from drinks and food once a week to give to those who hunger and thirst for more than simple sustainment, but for hope.
To find the stories over Syamend, Seble or Ban, or to donate to Refugee Action click here!
To donate to a well-orchestrated, refugee-supporting organization, click any of the underlined links below!
UNHCR
Save the Children
The White Helmets
International Rescue Committee
