Stained Glass Secrets

by: Elexis Penner

#wehaveroom

 

Last week the world was slapped in the face with the image of the lifeless body of a baby boy, drowned at sea. An impossible image to erase, as if we should even try.

 

Our collective heart broke and if you’re like me you’re stuck with a thousand questions that all boil down to the one, “How could this happen?” And if you’re like me, not a huge expert on world news, you could not exactly describe the events that brought people to this place. But even if I was an expert, I think my question still might be, “How could this happen?”

 

There is a heaviness that settles in after seeing a picture like that, as there should be. But the next feeling that comes in is that of helplessness. What can we do? What can we do here in Southern Manitoba, when people are dying on the other side of the world?

 

This is not an exhaustive list, and probably leaves room for improvement but…

 

We can support our government in moving faster to accept more refugees. To oversimplify things, it would mean more money on services to help settle newcomers. Which essentially means choosing to make do with less. We can decide to be okay with this, even though the system may not always be perfect.

 

Get informed. I attended a rally at Winnipeg City Hall on Sunday evening. I didn’t know what to expect – I’d never done anything like that before. I felt very Power to the People and Give Peace a Chance. The boys asked how many gas masks we should bring and what was everyone wearing to deflect the rubber bullets. Right.

 

I didn’t think it would be anything like that, and it wasn’t. But here are some things that impacted me.

 

A singing group called the Raging Grannies (exactly how it sounds) made the statement, “When we have so much, we don’t build walls, we build a longer table.”

 

A young woman shared how her parents had lived in a refugee camp for 22 years. TWENTY-TWO YEARS. She described how they had applied to go to Norway. Eight years later, they received a letter telling them their application had been denied. She still remembers the look on her father’s face when he opened that letter. When they came to Canada (she was 15), she had a grade two education – and now she is in law school! The day they received their Canadian Citizenship, her father told everyone to put on their best clothes. He said that that was the day they were born. They had never had citizenship in any country before. I didn’t even know that was a thing. She said that when she has nightmares of bombs and war, she wakes up and sees the snow outside, and she remembers that she now lives in peace and without fear.

 

A woman came to speak to us. She was holding a sign with a picture of a demolished neighbourhood. She told us that this was her sister-in-law’s house in Syria and that this devastation had happened that morning. Her sister-in-law had lost her husband, and was now left homeless, 20 years old, and pregnant. This woman said that she was financially well off, and able to sponsor her family coming to Canada, but the process was very slow. Not much consolation for someone whose house got bombed today.

 

Over and over we heard how nobody chooses to be a refugee. Nobody chooses to leave their country. Nobody gets into a boat with their children in the Mediterranean Sea unless they have no other option.

 

Find and hear the stories of people who have walked this road. It will change you. Follow the news. Watch less reality tv and more reality.

 

Get involved locally. Sadly, these kinds of crises are not new. There are many families living in Southern Manitoba who have fled their countries and found refuge here. Some of whose stories we cannot imagine – stories that look much like the worst news reports we see on TV. There is a way to help right here, right now.

 

There are Settlement Offices and volunteer organizations in our communities that make connections with newcomers. The only skills you really need are the ability to speak English and a willingness to help people transition to life in new country. Honestly, you don’t even need a tonne of compassion – that will come.

 

That being said, I do not make light of this involvement. This will cost you. It will cost your time. It will require understanding and it won’t be ‘done’ in a week. Involvement can range from being an ‘English Buddy’, or walking someone through the stuff of everyday life – bill paying, grocery shopping, help with school work, or navigating the Driver’s Ed system. Or just being a friend – especially that.

 

We are not helpless – look for ways to get involved – there will likely be more opportunities in the weeks and months ahead.

 

Build relationships, not boundaries. Take a break from voicing negative, inflammatory, or unfounded opinions about someone else’s religion. This mindset does not build bridges. At best, it shuts down any type of authentic communication. At worst, it incites fear and paranoia.

 

Listen. A friend of ours once told us about his story of coming to Canada. He said that they did not come just because they were hungry. They did not come just because they had no home. They came for peace.

 

So if it had only been the hunger and the homelessness, it would have been enough to stay.

 

Let that sink in. I have not forgotten it.

 

There are 19 million refugees in the world today. That number is overwhelming – but helping one family at a time might just be doable.

 

“Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa.