What do I say to My Friends?
What am I supposed to say to my friends in this country? Our apartment is pretty international right now. The four of us living there come from 3 different countries, two of us are refugees, and all of us are foreigners. The home countries of my two refugee roommates were on Donald Trump’s recent list of countries whose immigration status to America was put on hold. On top of that, last night 10 women and children were killed in an American-backed attack against terr-rists not far from my roommate’s home province.
The hardest part is writing this knowing that each situation is overwhelmingly complex, and, accordingly, solutions to match these situations get even murkier. One semester, I took an ethics class in University where we read cases of hard situations like these, and we all seemed able to give good responses. Now my friends tell me stories of family members and friends killed by terr-rists and I’m at a loss for words. I have no response.
None of this is easy. I can’t exactly pin down why I’m even writing about it, because, honestly, I feel kind of politically numb after the past two days. It almost feels like we’re all drawing lines in the sand then spinning our wheels accordingly. All I know is that when I go home tonight, I will sit down, eat, and laugh with two dear friends who would currently not be able to visit me in my home in America because of the country their passport was issued in. And in the midst of our laughter and good times, there will also come the inevitable question: why?
At the moment I have no answer. All we can do is laugh with them when they laugh, mourn with them when they mourn, and scratch our heads in perplexity with them when we just don’t understand. Pray for us.
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33