When I was there, a couple things really reminded me of our shared humanity. Clearly, one was looking at the faces of the children and seeing incredible potential, and talking to people like the man who said, “Why would I go back?” He said, in English “I have seven years of education. I want to contribute. I want to be part of this.” I kept thinking, “Would I have this grace? Would I have this ability to interact with someone very privileged if I had been stripped of everything?”
The other piece that really hit me was that when we talk about people who’ve lost all their belongings, we have to contextualize what that means. When you see people who are without, it’s too easy to react with pity. What’s more powerful is that when you see people who’ve lost their belongings, and those belongings consist of three or four blankets and a couple of changes of clothing for an entire family, and you realize that you can put those belongings into your carry-on bag, that’s the really humbling piece. We live in a world in which we’re seeing an increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots. And yet, those without are still thinking about the very same things that any of us would think about in a similar situation: Are my children ok? Can I protect them? Can I feel proud in front of my husband or my wife? When will I get back so that I can send my kids to school? When can we start to get on with our lives?
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