Sometimes a picture can change the world, and it seems that, on at least a temporary basis, the picture of the little boy on the beach last week has done just that. I could probably watch these videos (of refugees arriving to cheers in Germany - examples here and here) on an endless loop. I'm not so naive as to think that these people's hard times are over, or that every group after them will be received so heartily...
...but in the meantime, wow do those videos make me feel like there is good in this world.
Also, in what is probably mostly a symbolic gesture but which is still heart-warming, the Prime Minister of Finland (read more) pledged his personal home for use by refugees.
In 2010, we took a vacation to Syria (from Egypt). When we arrived at the Damascus airport after our flight from Cairo, the girls were grouchy and hot and hungry and tired of traveling. We had to wait for a long time in the immigration line at the airport to have our passports processed. I remember that a total stranger in the line next to us saw our kids - tired of sitting in seats and tired standing in queues - and pulled some candy out of her purse and gave some to the girls. Syrians (and some other nationalities) seem to keep candy in their purses for this specific reason, by the way. It was a nice gesture and went a long way to making our wait in line more bearable.
There's a moment in the BBC video linked above where volunteers hand out candy to these Syrian kids who have not traveled by comfortable plane for an hour or two, but by foot and boat and train for weeks on end. They're not on vacation and their futures are still uncertain. In other words, their situation is totally different from the one we were in at the Damascus airport in 2010. But wow, the power of candy to calm travel stress! I hope for many more sweet moments in the futures of these children and their parents.
