Morjes!

Welcome to my blog. I write about fitting in, sticking out, and missing the motherland as a serial foreigner.

Syria on my mind

Syria on my mind

I scrolled through Twitter just now and this came up three times, tweeted by three different people.

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.

Grandson helping Grandpa in the Aleppo Souq.

Grandson helping Grandpa in the Aleppo Souq.

Kids in the Aleppo Souq.

Kids in the Aleppo Souq.

Little boy in northern Syria, not far from Aleppo.

Little boy in northern Syria, not far from Aleppo.

Boys in northern Syria, near Serjilla.

Boys in northern Syria, near Serjilla.

Schoolchildren in northern Syria.

Schoolchildren in northern Syria.

August 19th, outsourced

Window washing

Window washing