A Selfless Journey

While reading Refugee by Alan Gratz, I was very intrigued with how people helped out all three refugees in different time periods. There was Captain Gustav Schroeder who did everything in his power to ensure that the Jewish refugees arrived in a safe port. Isabel’s grandfather who sacrificed his freedom for his family. Then, there was the villagers who welcomed Mahmoud and the rest of the refugees to their town. These simple acts of selflessness were very inspiring and had me wanting to see other stories that are happening today. 

This journey led me to two separate families from Sudan. Emanuel took his wife, three children, and his recently murdered brother’s two children on a trek across Sudan to Uganda. During the same time, Peter, who is 14, witnessed his parents being murdered and grabbed his younger brothers to escape Sudan as well. Both families were scared for their lives, but they made it to Uganda and live at the Imvepi Refugee Settlement. The most powerful part of this story was how Emanuel met Peter and his brothers at the settlement and decided to raise them as his own kids. 

From there, I stumbled upon some videos that were created to raise awareness about refugees. One was a spoof on the reality TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.” 

The video was powerful because they were actual stories even though they used fictional characters. To me, it seemed like a futuristic game show which is kind of disturbing to think about, but I think that was the goal of the video. 

The next video I saw was a social experiment and it had a very powerful message. It showed people reacting to someone when they wore something offensive, but there was no reaction when they asked for help. You see this happen a lot today and it’s sad that no one has the same reaction to a “Help Refugees” sign.

I finally stumbled upon an amazing article about the company Lyft. They are working with 50 non-profit organizations across the nation to provide free credits to immigrants and refugees to make certain appointments. I thought this act by a major company was amazing. This reminded me of Captain Schroeder and all that he did for his passengers. 

I enjoyed taking this journey to learn about some of the stories happening today and how companies and individuals are bringing awareness to the refugee crisis. It’s rewarding to know people are still selfless today and it only takes one person to spread kindness like a wildfire.