“The car is amazing…We can't even avoid the conversation without it. It's more than wings for us; it's the Aladdin’s flying carpet. We have been in the car since the morning. It is absolutely spacious and comfortable…We love the car very much. We were overwhelmed by the support from you and the church…We don't even know what to do or how to give you back for your helps in our lives. We know that we can't reach what you have done to help us, but at least, somehow in some way we love to have a chance for our turn…Thank you so much…I promise that your help to get us started in our lives will not be wasted. “
Thank you.
the Lin Family
There is no doubt in my mind that they will be giving back and already are and the efforts have not been wasted. The gratitude of this family and their zeal and hard work to become useful citizens is humbling and I’m embarrassed by the Canadian statistics and record on accepting and resettling new refugees. And it is not for lack of effort on the part of many people. Read this speech by Mary Jo Leddy and it will make you sad, embarrassed and angry. And once you have done that write to your MP and tell him/her so. http://dojustice.crcna.org/article/mary-jo-leddy-call-refugees
Recently Canada announced that it would be accepting 10,000 Syrian refugees. What they didn’t tell us is that these will displace 10,000 other claimants. These lines from Leddy really hit home,,”…but this government has ruled by fear, by real fear. Make this a place that is afraid of criminals, afraid of young people, afraid of refugees, and terrible things happen. We know this historically when a country is gripped by fear. People do terrible things,…This is about who we are and who we want to be. Do we want to be a small, mean, little country, or do we want to be a country that has vision, that has confidence, that has hope, that has a sense of the future, and that can move to a common sense of responsibility for the world. We have been given this place on earth, not as a possession that we own, that we can extract from, not as something about which we can say “this is mine, not yours. I decide who gets in and who gets out.” We have been given this place to be responsible for, to care for, and to share with those who want to come and live with us in this little space of earth that we call Canada.”
My life is richer and so is everyone who gets to know the Lin family. And this is true for most whom we welcome as new neighbors. But if we live in fear this can never happen. More needs to be said and done.