We are in the heart of winter, it is not a brutal winter, like the one two years ago, but it is a persistent winter. Snow almost every morning, ice underneath. I had a bad fall this week by the pasture gate at the side of the house, I have learned how not to fall on my camera, and was not badly hurt, just sore. I have been luck with falls, but the ice is treacherous now and will be around for awhile.
Winter can’t seem to make up its mind about itself any more, it is cold for a few days, then warm, the ground is muddy, the frozen, soggy, then icy. Winter is very different, we all feel climate change so closely up here. Still, there is great beauty in the winter pasture, it is spare and color has great meaning.
Don’t Argue: Do Good: Above, Tuesday’s Amazon delivery.
Donation Idea For Today: kid’s socks, six pairs for $12.
The refugee volunteers sent me the above photo of yesterday – Tuesday’s – delivery of desperately needed donations to refugee families from the Amazon gift page set up last week by the U.S. Committee On Refugees and Immigration (USCRI). Scores of refugees arrived in the Albany, N.Y., metropolitan area in the days before the President’s suspension immigration from seven refugee-swollen countries.
The ban or “hold,” as the government is now calling it, has frightened and confused the refugees, as well as the people trying to help and settle them. They worry if they can ever be reunited with their families, if they will be able to remain here in peace, and they are frightened by what is happening in America just as they arrive.
They are all here legally, they have been thoroughly “vetted,” they are mostly women and children. They are no threat to America.
They have lost everything, and they suddenly have reason to be afraid in their new homes, a place they struggled for years to get to in order to be safe.
“Amid all of their uncertainties,” reports Amy, a volunteer co-ordinator, “the arrival of these Amazon boxes affirms that there are Americans who welcome refugees.” There are many, Amy, and I am fortunate to count many of them as readers of my blog, they come from every part of America, as far away as California and Alaska, Texas, North Dakota, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, Montana and the Northeast. From every state in the union.
These donors are an Army of Good, and I believe will continue to support these new Americans and show the true heart and soul of our country. We are all refugees, we are all immigrants here. In the past several days, says Amy, volunteers are rushing to unpack distribute these packages and gifts to people who need every one of them. They are inexpensive to purchase and the mechanics are simple and clear.
“We’ve heard “thank you” again and again,” says Amazon, the families are excited to receive this new and urgently needed gifts. Yesterday the volunteers inflated the soccer balls you have been buying for them and they’ve gone home to the families. “While it may be cold and snowy in Capital Region, some of the refugee children will be inside playing with soccer balls. Most of the items recommended are very basic – pots and pans, silverware, comforters.
Their parents are especially grateful for much-needed household items – plates, silverware, towels and blankets, and strollers have also been brought to new and grateful mothers, who until now, have been carrying their babies in their arms. “I never knew,” says Amy, “that a stroller could make a parent so happy.”
A number of refugee families expecting babies.
The gift list has been updated to include more basics – like kid’s underwear and socks. The comforters and blankets many of you have sent are very welcome, this is the first experience of many of these families with winter, and an upstate New York winter at that. You kept many people warm last night. They had to leave everything behind, some of their families have already been turned back under the new immigration orders so callously and abrutply announced last week.
Yesterday, a young family received a set of new dishes and silverware, plus a large cooking pot; it was packed in a wheeled cart they can use for trips to the grocery or laundry. ‘They were so grateful!,” said Amy, they wanted to make sure to say “thank you.”
USCRI officials say the volume of donations is “unprecedented,” and stunning and wonderful. The warehouse is filling up with boxes, the new ones are being stacked in hallways. More are on the way.
When you choose the gift and go to checkout choose the USCRI address option, mark it “Attention, Jake” if you see the message box. Please don’t send these donations to me at the farm, I’ve gotten a truckload this week and it is time-consuming and expensive for me to re-route them and pay for their shipping to the warehouse, thanks.
With your gifts you are making an extraordinary difference in the lives of these new Americans, our fellow Americans.
They have not come here to harm us, they are victims of terrorism, not terrorists. They have suffered dreadfully and waited patiently, sometimes as long as four years, to come here. They have done nothing wrong. You are showing them your souls, and comforting them letting them know they are welcome, and that there are many of us who do not fear or resent them.
The spirit and meaning of America are not dead or lost, this torch cannot be snuffed or extinguished. Every gift is a small step for humanity, a gift to the giver as well as the receiver.
You are an Army of Good, you are winning a mighty victory. The gifts and donations are very inexpensive and urgently needed. I try to send something each morning, it makes me feel good again. The gifts range from $6 to $30. I think a good motto for this gentle Army is “Don’t Argue, Do Good.” Let the angry people argue with themselves.
You can see the wish list for the refugee families here. And bless you very much.
We are in the heart of winter, it is not a brutal winter, like the one two years ago, but it is a persistent winter. Snow almost every morning, ice underneath. I had a bad fall this week by the pasture gate at the side of the house, I have learned how not to fall on my camera, and was not badly hurt, just sore. I have been luck with falls, but the ice is treacherous now and will be around for awhile.