I'm from Earth. You?

She saw horrific photos. She heard the tragic news. She watched the heart breaking stories of those people. She read and read all bout the unfair, dreadful, sad events that have been happening all over the world. She cried. She cried looking at a photo of a man holding a dead baby on his arms sobbing. She felt his pain. She cried. Then she wiped her eyes, stood up and walked away. She was sad but she had a name and an address. She could go home, snuggle in her bed, call her mum, hug a friend and she'd be fine. 

But what about those who haven't and can't? Those who are only numbers to us and they have nothing but their own skin. Those who crossed the ocean and lost one of their family members. Those who left their home, love, mum, their favourite item fleeing the war zone. Those who couldn't stay on their homeland anymore as once the most ancient and beautiful city of theirs now smells death and blood. 

A while ago, I volunteered at an exhibition called All I left behind. All I will discover which gave unaccompanied young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK a platform frequently denied to them. It is always fascinating and on this particular situation heartbreaking to listen and see the stories of children. Each work really made me feel how they feel and go through.

Among all of the stories, what stuck me the most was this. Hello my name is numbers. When you turn the TV on, the main thing you hear is the NUMBER of refugees. This way we detach ourselves from them, No faces, no emotions, no stories just numbers. In order to solve the refugee crisis, first of all we have to change the way we see and perceive them. We have to recognise what they've been through and that each and every one of them has a unique story. They aren't numbers but humans!

During this refugee’s journey on an overcrowded pick up, a young boy fell from the truck. When his fellow travellers asked the driver to stop and pick him up, the driver responded, “Inshallah”, which is Arabic for ‘If God wills it’. The truck did not stop...

We are obviously familiar with the journey on the boats from Turkey or Morocco to Mediterranean but we tend to forget their journey is much longer and perilous. 

A simple prefix is enough for the item to become 

something else entirely: 
a barrier, a safeguard, a precaution.

"Stop war, to stop refugees, to have a good future.”

At one of the events I attended,  a panel speaker said "It isn't enough to be angry, we all need to do something".

Here's a few little things you could do;

Take 20 minutes and watch REFUGE a documentary that will pull at your heartstrings.

Back refugee women rebuilding their lives; buy a bouquet or attend a workshop at Bread and Roses. (get in touch with me for more info)

Listen to Are you serious?

Buy a "Choose Love" T-shirt from Help Refugees.

Watch a film with the refugees at the  Amnesty International UK Human Rights Action Centre.

Link for the exhibiton: https://medium.com/@BritishRedCross/https-medium-com-britishredcross-all-i-left-behind-all-i-will-discover-4c38b867d9c