Thursday 23 February 2023

What They Took With Them


 Jenifer Toksvig [Sister of the more famous Sandi] wrote this poem inspired by first hand stories of refugees and what they were able to take when forced to flee their homes.
The UNHCR asked some great actors to read the poem and made it into a brief film.
This video moved me to tears. 
Watch it, and tell me that it is still OK for our government to send people to Rwanda...

23 comments:

  1. It is very sad, isn't it?
    When we (my mother, step-father, and I) left our country of birth, it was by choice, yet, we were limited to taking only what could be packed into two suitcases, each. There was a weight limit, too, of 40 lbs. per suitcase. I remember there was much weighing and packing and repacking to make sure that we were not over the weight limit. What did we take? Documents (birth certificates, etc.), a couple of photo albums, a bed spread my grandmother crocheted, a bed sheet she had hand embroidered, clothes, a small religious statue, my mother's recipe book, my knitting needles, an autograph album in which my classmates signed their names, a couple of small gifts family and friends gave as parting gifts. We asked family members to store one or two items for us, to be collected someday - we collected them when we went back on a holiday, 6 years later. But, as I said, we left by choice.

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  2. 65 million people.... the population of the UK is around 66.6 million

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  3. There's some hard hitting lines in that poem. "My cup. It gives me independence". The Rwanda policy is an outrage to human decency and its advocacy shameless.

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  4. Philip said perfectly what I was thinking.🥲 Catriona

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  5. So very sad and I feel so helpless too make a difference.

    Hugs

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    1. Every little helps - a small donation, a prayer, a smile of welcome...

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  6. Such hard hitting words and so powerful. Breaks my heart.

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  7. We must never forget that refugees are people, just like all of us, no matter how different some of them may seem. We all love and need love.

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  8. Thanks for sharing. The piece is extremely thought provoking. I have shared it with the other volunteers at the foodbank in our church. We have many clients who are asylum seekers and recently some Ukrainian families whose experiences are reflected in the poem.

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    1. Thank you Dorothy - for sharing the poem, and also for the great work which you and your friends are doing, Bless you for your goodness and generosity

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  9. That is remarkably powerful and moving. Love Fatdormouse xx

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  10. Thank you for sharing this. It is very moving, and distressing but necessary for others to see and know. Here in the US some politicians treat refugees from the Americas appalling. It's all so sad.

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  11. Oh gosh. Heart breaking, and tears falling. That is so powerful, I have no words.

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  12. This is so well made and so powerful! I too, was moved to tears. It could so easily be us. I'd never even thought about what I'd take. Do you think this is something we could share with teenagers or kids? I'd like to share it. Kxx

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    1. I think I might use it with Yr 6 [after all, when they do WW2 on the Home Front, they talk about the evacuees and their little suitcases] I'm not sure I'd use it with any younger ones [even bright, caring children like Rosie]

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  13. By the way, Angela, I used this video yesterday as I spoke to a group of women about missions in our denomination. Many of our missionaries are working with refugees so I thought this video fit perfectly. Thank you for sharing it!

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    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you were able to share it ❤️🙏

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