Dear friends,
Last week, I shared the first words Leon Shombana heard on U.S. soil:
Words that constitute the core message of Refuge Coffee, a message that is needed now more than ever.
Last week, I attended a Kurdish Tea led by academics and leaders in our community that underscored our reasons for saying Welcome Home to our neighbors. The event was planned to educate those present about Kurdish history, culture, and the struggle Kurds are in now to find a sense of home. More than most displaced people, Kurds are doubly displaced and the world’s largest stateless nation. Yes, they are Syrians, Turks, Iraqis, but they are also Kurds, and proud of it. And now over 10,000 Kurds are Americans with the DNA of their homeland inside their souls.
Kurds primarily live in Syria, Turkey, Iraq, and Iran. Many live here, having come through the thoroughly-vetted refugee resettlement process. They are professors, doctors, architects, and students. Every Kurd I have met is a delightful human being (I know, I know… my experience is limited!).
One speaker said:
“Our culture learned to whisper.”
He described the way his family had to speak Kurdish without being heard. And he defined oppression as being told your language doesn’t exist.
At the end of his speech, he said, “We are not asking for pity, we are asking for understanding.”
No one could have expressed the authentic mission of WELCOME better: Understanding. Permission to speak. Celebration of your culture, no matter where you are from.
Not pity. Not handouts.
Just a listening ear Simply an open door.
When you become a member of the Cortado Club, our mighty group of monthly givers, yes, you get a gift from us and a tax write-off. But you also open a door, you listen. And you give us the means to welcome those who have had to whisper for far too long.
Thank you for welcoming people home with us,
Kitti
