Firstly I want to say “wow” about your friend, Jenny and her wonderful organization. She sounds like a wonderful person doing much needed work! I do not work with refugees, but I do run a food pantry on my university campus and the majority of my clients are our international students. They particularly suffered during the height of the pandemic. Forced to stay in the US as all borders and flights were stopped and yet not on campus where they could get meals they rapidly ran out of money to buy food. My Vice President personally shopped and delivered food to them! When my friend and I started our food pantry we stocked it with Mac and ch see and pasta/sauce. Those items remained in the shelves and we quickly pivoted to rice, beans and ethnic foods.
My comment to your point on the enrichment of other cultures is a musical reference.
Yesterday in choir I was singing a piece I did not know well, the girl next to me who had been singing alto like me suddenly switched to tenor for this song…..I was momentarily thrown off my line. I had to concentrate on my own notes and when we performed managed to do just that. As a result the piece was rich and whole. A soprano melody is beautiful but add in the solidity of the bass line and the harmonies of the tenors and altos and you gain so much more while still hearing that melody. I look at the integration of other cultures in the same way. Not to mention that the US has been a melting pot for so many generations that what Americans think of as their culture probably started elsewhere!
I love your choral-singing analogy so much! You are right: We need all the harmonies for a richer experience. And bless you, your university, and your vice president for keeping international students fed. As the mom of a (formerly) international student, I know how much it means for people to welcome and look out for them like you did.
I like this defense of taking in refugees. My own personality seems to be naturally curious about things and people I don't understand. It would be great if as a country we could cultivate an attitude of curiosity about refugees rather than suspicion.
My mom was not a refugee but an immigrant (though our home country had for decades been overshadowed by a guerrilla civil war). I spent my childhood in Los Angeles and despite being surrounded by many different cultural experiences, none of us lost our culture. We shared them. It’s wonderful.
Americans would do well to remember that what refugees likely feel strongest when they get here is relief. It’s not an easy path, but I imagine freedom from daily fear for your life makes someone a devoted citizen rather than an interloper.
Firstly I want to say “wow” about your friend, Jenny and her wonderful organization. She sounds like a wonderful person doing much needed work! I do not work with refugees, but I do run a food pantry on my university campus and the majority of my clients are our international students. They particularly suffered during the height of the pandemic. Forced to stay in the US as all borders and flights were stopped and yet not on campus where they could get meals they rapidly ran out of money to buy food. My Vice President personally shopped and delivered food to them! When my friend and I started our food pantry we stocked it with Mac and ch see and pasta/sauce. Those items remained in the shelves and we quickly pivoted to rice, beans and ethnic foods.
My comment to your point on the enrichment of other cultures is a musical reference.
Yesterday in choir I was singing a piece I did not know well, the girl next to me who had been singing alto like me suddenly switched to tenor for this song…..I was momentarily thrown off my line. I had to concentrate on my own notes and when we performed managed to do just that. As a result the piece was rich and whole. A soprano melody is beautiful but add in the solidity of the bass line and the harmonies of the tenors and altos and you gain so much more while still hearing that melody. I look at the integration of other cultures in the same way. Not to mention that the US has been a melting pot for so many generations that what Americans think of as their culture probably started elsewhere!
I love your choral-singing analogy so much! You are right: We need all the harmonies for a richer experience. And bless you, your university, and your vice president for keeping international students fed. As the mom of a (formerly) international student, I know how much it means for people to welcome and look out for them like you did.
I like this defense of taking in refugees. My own personality seems to be naturally curious about things and people I don't understand. It would be great if as a country we could cultivate an attitude of curiosity about refugees rather than suspicion.
Yes! We could learn something about the world!
My mom was not a refugee but an immigrant (though our home country had for decades been overshadowed by a guerrilla civil war). I spent my childhood in Los Angeles and despite being surrounded by many different cultural experiences, none of us lost our culture. We shared them. It’s wonderful.
Americans would do well to remember that what refugees likely feel strongest when they get here is relief. It’s not an easy path, but I imagine freedom from daily fear for your life makes someone a devoted citizen rather than an interloper.
Exactly! There is no one more patriotic than a new American who fled to the US from a terrible situation in their home country.