Syria on my mind
I scrolled through Twitter just now and this came up three times, tweeted by three different people.
Donald Trump: 'I will look Syrian kids in the face and say go home.' pic.twitter.com/29S7REy916
— Sakir Khader (@sakirkhader) August 17, 2016
It reminded me of this quote from Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, by Alexandra Fuller:
"No one starts a war warning that those involved will lose their innocence - that children will definitely die and be forever lost as a result of the conflict; that the war will not end for generations and generations, even after cease-fires have been declared and peace treaties have been signed. No one starts a war that way, but they should. It would at least be fair warning and an honest admission: even a good war - if there is such a thing - will kill anyone old enough to die."
It reminded me of this recent article in the NYT: Watching my beloved Aleppo rip itself apart.
It reminded me of This American Life's two recent episodes about the refugee crisis in Greece: Are We There Yet? and You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee.
It also reminded me that a friend of a friend of mine runs a non-profit that provides direct aid to refugees in Greece: Lifting Hands International.
That's Syria on my mind. Here are some happy pictures of happy Syrian children taken in 2004-2005.