Our buddy at the gas station downloaded A Private War for us. It was the story of Marie Colton, a war zone reporter. Her story touched a chord in me. When someone asked her why she goes into such terrible places, she answered, "I come to see for myself. And so that people know." The movie vividly showed why these refugees fled from their homes in the middle of war zones. Horrid & unsafe conditions. No food. They flee for their lives & the lives of their children.
Here I see for myself these refugees. Their pain & their frustration as they wait in endless lines to get a small handout or to get an interview for a cleaning job. They search through their purses for legal papers. They sit or stand for hours holding babies who are uncommonly quiet.
Yet they smile at me and are kind to each other. I see them pick up fallen items for others and offer their chair to an older or crippled person. There's no pushing. I wonder how they manage to get up each morning, find & cook food, wash clothings & get to this center on time for an appointment??
The enormity of the situation...5 million...baffles my mind and I have to force myself to concentrate on what I can do for the moment to make things a tiny bit better for them.
Sent from my iPhone
Friday, February 15, 2019
Update 40
Cairo has what seems like an endless number of blah brown brick 5 to 20+ story buildings where the 20 million live. On the outside of these giants are so many balconies and at first I thought, how nice to have someplace to get fresh air, see the sky & feel the sun. But after being here over a month, I 've only seen people on their balconies 3 times...my favorites was a young man tenderly holding a small baby. It's funny how moments like that can glow in your memory.
Another warm time was while we were in a taxi...traffic was heavy, as usual & the driver spoke more English than most (usually less than 10 words). While we waited in a traffic jam, we asked our driver about his family. His face lit up instantly as he said several times, "I love my children!" He pulled out his phone and showed us pictures of his six kids...until he had to drive on...but at the next traffic jam...he repeated "I love my children..and I will have one more soon" and showed us more pictures.
We asked him about how much of the day he had to drive—7 am to 9 or 10 pm. And how many days—-oh, everyday...everyday.
We'd arrived at our destination, tipped him heavily & handed him balloons for his children as he drove off.
A loving dad...who worked 14+ hours every day. We wondered when he had time to give his kids all the love he had for them?!?
Sent from my iPhone
Another warm time was while we were in a taxi...traffic was heavy, as usual & the driver spoke more English than most (usually less than 10 words). While we waited in a traffic jam, we asked our driver about his family. His face lit up instantly as he said several times, "I love my children!" He pulled out his phone and showed us pictures of his six kids...until he had to drive on...but at the next traffic jam...he repeated "I love my children..and I will have one more soon" and showed us more pictures.
We asked him about how much of the day he had to drive—7 am to 9 or 10 pm. And how many days—-oh, everyday...everyday.
We'd arrived at our destination, tipped him heavily & handed him balloons for his children as he drove off.
A loving dad...who worked 14+ hours every day. We wondered when he had time to give his kids all the love he had for them?!?
Sent from my iPhone
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