Wednesday, January 27, 2016 || Journal Entry
Mytilini, Lesvos Greece
Hannah’s Community Center
The community center had well over 100 refugees pass through today. The 500 square foot room held a minimum of 80 people for seven hours.
It’s nothing special in there. The floors are pieced together with area rugs, there’s a long, thin, hand-made coffee table for coloring, a love seat that has been sat on enough to be reshaped, the walls are painted different colors and the bathroom is separated by a curtain. The toys and food are all donated by Hannah’s church members and locals.
We knew it would be busy – the morning was cold, and when Deborah and I left Dino’s yoga class it was snowing.
At 2:38 p.m. I walked in and never made it further then eight feet into the room. I told Kai that I would take over doorman duty and give her a break, a chance to get some fresh air. For three hours I stood next to the boy in the wheelchair (he broke his leg in Turkey just days ago).
Opening and closing the door.
At first glance it was difficult to take it all in, but when I really focused in on the people, I saw women changing diapers and nursing infants, and toddlers tripping over everyone. Babies were in every direction I looked, adults were attempting to sleep, and a group of men were at the front of the room to my right. Coffee, chai, apples, oranges and biscuits were in high demand and baby formula was constantly being made.
At one point I kneeled down to talk to one woman.
Me: “Do you speak English?”
Woman with the colorful head covering: “Yes, a little.”
Me: “Where are you from?”
Woman: “Iraq, all of us are from Iraq.” Pointing to her sister-in-laws.
…
Me: “What did you do for work there?”
Woman: “I’m a dentist.”
…
Woman: “My sister is asking – what do you, as an American, think of people from Iraq?”
Me: Floored by the question and nervous to get my answer communicated well… “I think people are people. I think some people can be bad and I think some people can be good. But I DO NOT think that all bad people come from one place. I don’t think badly of all Iraqi people.”
The woman with the colorful head covering translated it to the sisters and all three responded back to me with accepting smiles and gratitude that l did not see them as evil.
To be continued – be sure to subscribe for updates
