Ali and I call ourselves the Start Over Crew sometimes, we have helped some of the refugees start over a bunch of times now, and he and I are quick and efficiently about it. When Maria is around, everything goes twice as fast. She is a dervish, she moves so fast I almost never see her move, she just pops up in one place with a hammer or a screwdriver or knife, and then another.

She put up six framed prints and paintings in about four minutes, gauging straightness, position, angles. Being a refugee is all about starting over, by definition they have lost everything.  In more compassionate countries, refugees are given months, even years to acclimate, find housing, learn a new language and customs, recover from their trauma, work with citizens of their new country.

This is America and compassion is considered elitist and a weakness. Like the medieval courts, the refugees either skim or swim, nobody seems to care as long as the economy is good. They arrive with nothing, are given little, are on their own.

We try to help give people an open field, a start, a fighting chance. We are not magicians or millionaires,  after our meager attention, they are on their own, and we know it and they know it. It was a bitter pill for me to swallow, but I have swallowed it, it’s the only way we can survive in our work, emotionally or financially.

There is a lot of laughing, story-telling, translating. Saad looked a little bewildered by the commotion, it was as if an Army of bees had invaded his spartan apartment. We warmed it up, it now looks like someone lives there.

In a very short time – an hour or two, we gave Saad’s apartment a Start Over. Books, a jacket, learning materials are all on their way, and when they come I will  give them to Saad and give him a hug and say goodbye for now.

He and Ali both asked if Maria could come with me all the time, I think I am slow and boring. I said, she had her own work to do, she just helps when she can. You’ll have to put up with me. Ali translated, and they both laughed, as if I were making a joke.

I liked this scene very much, Maria hanging a photo, Ali putting the TV together.

I took a break from holding the wall art for Maria to capture the moment. I’m the recorder of events, I said, it’s my job to preserve the moment.

If you wish to join this parade, this Army Of Good, you can contribute by sending a check to The Gus Fund or The Refugees, c/o Jon Katz, P.O. Box 205, Cambridge, N.Y., 12816., or by donating via Paypal, [email protected]