It was my friend Ed Gulley who suggested we might be brothers from another mother. I have felt the same way about Ali, and today, I felt this same connection with Saad, a man I barely know from the other side of the world.

When we said goodbye, we both gave each other a great hug, and I thanked him for trusting me, for telling me his story, for letting me take his photography, for hopefully making his awful journey of pain and loss and isolation better in some small way.

We can do some small things for him, but the big ones are in his hands, and I feel guilty, almost as if I am abandoning him now in some way. He is a good and kind-hearted man, and I pray he is  strong enough for what lies ahead. I think he is very strong This week, we are trying to help Hawah find a permanent home for herself and her children, and will meet a Syrian mother whose son and family were all killed in the dreadful Syrian civil war.

She is also abandoned in America, and in need of a small studio apartment. Ali and I are meeting with her on Tuesday. I hardly know Saad, but I will miss his gentle and soft-spoken presence, I think he knows I will always respond if he needs help.

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I wanted to mention that tomorrow I will undergo additional surgery on my left eye, I have a retinal disorder that threatens blindness if not  treated. The first round, several months ago, did not quite work, so we’re going to try it again sometime around mid-day. I should be home in the late afternoon and running my mouth on the blog if all goes as planned, and I am sure it will.

Thanks for following the Saad story and for  helping to give him a new start in life here.