I am not a migrant. I am a first-generation love immigrant who followed her heart -and the man who was holding it captive. I came to America from a wealthy West-European country, a land that granted fantastic healthcare to everybody. I didn’t know what co-pay was, could get my teeth fixed, my eyes checked, and had a yearly physical from an early age.
Peace for me, it’s the desire to live a life free from war and free from life-threatening physical violence. In addition, peace for me also means not experiencing oppression, social inequality, and other structural violence. Living in peace means the absence of fear, doubt, and uncertainty.
Happiness is not the destination, but the journey. Happiness itself is the state of mind, it’s the way we travel through life. What if it’s the same with peace? What if nothing will ever change if we don’t change within, each one of us?
A last-minute call from the township we live in. They asked me to sew banners. People had ordered them to honor their loved ones who served in the armed forces of the United States. The banners will be displayed on street lamps from Memorial Day through Veterans Day to both, celebrate, and remind the community of their dedication to our country.
What’s there to sew on a banner? I wondered.
I often had the feeling that I didn’t fit into this world. The feeling that the people I was surrounded by were somehow different from me, that they had completely different lifestyles, values, or views than I did, and that I did not SEE myself in any of them.
You’re standing with a “No war” sign as if indulging
the inevitable: this war can’t be stopped,
like bright arterial blood from an open wound
it flows till it kills,
A blogger I have never met and hardly know, made me cry. Silent, happy tears rolled down my cheeks. My heart was overflowing with gratitude, my mind puzzled by the kindness of a stranger. Sometimes it’s not just the gift itself, but the thought that counts.
Parvez Noori, 16 “War has affected our existence, our life, our culture. The war took away my childhood. I wish the war would end and more children could enjoy childhood and family life.”
In my life there is not much happiness due to fear.
The picture of the older gentleman, sitting alone, enjoying his cappuccino. All dressed up, showing the world that he doesn’t care or ask for our approval. Overdressed? I don’t think there is such a thing. One can never be overdressed if you have the confidence to be comfortable -no matter what you wear.
I feel your anger my blood is boiling too, yet, at the moment I will see looting my support goes away. It could be my property, my house, my car. I worked for it, nobody has the right to take violently away what’s mine. There was a time when I didn’t have much. Nothing was given to me.