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Part One: The Broken Heart<\/h3>\n
A few days ago, this image came to my attention.<\/p>\n
(WARNING: The following image is graphic. You should still look at it and take in the full meaning of it, but you should prepare yourself.)<\/p>\n
\n![\"Drowned](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/ed04b0b975cb14277d79da82a702178da4556705\/0_227_1548_1141\/master\/1548.jpg?w=620&q=85&auto=format&sharp=10&s=242757d6e7c6d94a1140fcdfac0cef60\")
<\/a>A Turkish police officer stands next to the body of the young boy. Photograph: Reuters<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/blockquote>\nNow, until that moment, the Syrian crisis was one amongst so many that my heart had turned cold. I am not a person who\u00a0feels<\/em> things well. I rely on reason and logic to deal with things, and my reason and logic told me I couldn\u2019t possibly deal with or solve all the problems in the world, so why should I try? What good is caring going to do for this situation? I am so broke\u2013like, SO broke\u2013and I have no power or influence, so my privileged-person guilt is all I have to offer, and guilt doesn\u2019t solve anything.<\/p>\nI have used disconnection as a coping mechanism. The weight of all the world\u2019s problems is too much, so I put as many degrees of separation between me and them as I can.<\/p>\n
But that photo, that broke me. I could not separate myself from it. That little kid? I have one of those (granted, she\u2019s quite a bit younger). Mine occasionally rolls into that same position in her sleep.<\/p>\n
And I know that there\u2019s\u00a0nothing I wouldn\u2019t do to keep her safe. That little boy\u2019s mom would have\u2013and did\u2013give up her life to try to save her baby, and even that couldn\u2019t save him. That\u2019s how awful this situation has become.\u00a0Moms, the closest thing to superheroes we have, cannot protect their babies from this crisis.<\/p>\n
Sure, this is just like every other crisis. Babies die in wars. But I never saw the photos before.<\/p>\n
I cried. Big, ugly tears. I picked up my daughter and squeezed her probably too tightly and promised to her that as long is there is breath in my lungs, I will do everything I can to keep her safe. And then I promised to that momma and her babies, the ones who didn\u2019t make it, and to all the other mommas in Syria who are\u00a0fighting so hard to protect their babies, that I would do everything I could to keep them safe.<\/p>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
Part Two: Mom Rage<\/h3>\n
What followed was, perhaps, the most effective motivator I have: Rage.<\/p>\n
Not just rage, though, as if that were not enough. Mom rage. Those of you who have kids know that this is the fierceness that comes with parenthood, the oxytocin rush that makes parents defend their babies in threatening situation.<\/p>\n
(Note: I have a degree in theology, not biology, so I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s actually oxytocin. I heard that somewhere. That\u2019s not the point.<\/em>)<\/p>\nI wasn\u2019t just angry that this was happening. I was angry that babies are dying and I\u2013and so many others\u2013have been able to ignore it. And what really stoked the flames of my mom rage was that so many\u00a0people who want the U.S. to be a \u201cChristian nation\u201d are the same people who want to restrict our borders even more. The same ones who want to limit welfare, who uphold racist and classist ideologies, who treat immigrants as sub-human, these ones want the message of Jesus to be the moral code that governs this country.<\/p>\n
Oh, I\u2019m sorry, this message?<\/p>\n
\n31<\/strong>\u201cWhen the Son of Man comes\u00a0in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne\u00a0in heavenly glory.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n32<\/strong>All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate\u00a0the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n33<\/strong>He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n34<\/strong>\u201cThen the King will say to those on his right, \u2018Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom\u00a0prepared for you since the creation of the world.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n35<\/strong>For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n36<\/strong>I needed clothes and you clothed me,\u00a0I was sick and you looked after me,\u00a0I was in prison and you came to visit me.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n37<\/strong>\u201cThen the righteous will answer him, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n38<\/strong>When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n39<\/strong>When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n40<\/strong>\u201cThe King will reply, \u2018I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n41<\/strong>\u201cThen he will say to those on his left, \u2018Depart from me,\u00a0you who are cursed, into the eternal fire\u00a0prepared for the devil and his angels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n42<\/strong>For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink,<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n43<\/strong>I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n44<\/strong>\u201cThey also will answer, \u2018Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n45<\/strong>\u201cHe will reply, \u2018I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.\u2019<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n46<\/strong>\u201cThen they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMatthew 25:31-46, NRSV<\/em><\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\nHmm. I must have read that wrong. Are you sure we\u2019re talking about the same Jesus, you know,\u00a0the one who was a refugee himself?<\/em><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n13<\/strong>When they had gone, an angel\u00a0of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.\u201dGet up,\u201d he said, \u201ctake the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n14<\/strong>So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n15<\/strong>where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled\u00a0what the Lord had said through the prophet: \u201cOut of Egypt I called my son.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\nMatthew 2:13-15, NRSV<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n\nI could go on, but\u00a0I\u2019m guessing this isn\u2019t going to be very effective. We must not be reading the same Bible.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nHere\u2019s the thing. Interpretations vary greatly when it comes to the Bible, but I cannot find any solid justification for why we shouldn\u2019t help these, or any other, refugees. I won\u2019t say \u201cthe Bible clearly says\u2026\u201d because I don\u2019t think the Bible clearly says anything, but this is probably as close as I\u2019ll ever get.<\/div>\n<\/div>\nBut really\u2013does anyone think that the Divine will be proud of them for not helping? If it does so happen that I stand before Her someday and all my decisions are recounted, I\u2019m pretty sure the\u00a0times I\u2019ve closed my heart\u00a0or my wallet\u00a0to another human in greater need than I are going to top the list of \u201cReasons Denika should go straight to Hell, do not pass go, do not collect $200.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\nErr on the side of generosity, my friends.<\/div>\n
\nPart Three: A\u00a0Call to Action<\/h3>\n
So, if you\u2019ve made it this far, you\u2019re probably thinking, \u201cOkay, yes, Denika, I hear you. But what can I do? We are so far away and I have so little to offer and my voice does not carry very far. I want to help, but how?\u201d<\/p>\n
1. DONATE.<\/strong> Trust me, I hear your lack of money.\u00a0I really do. Our\u00a0stack of bills just keeps getting higher and we\u2019re a single-income family living a hair above the poverty line with a very expensive baby. Here\u2019s a thought, though. The next time you think about swinging through a drive-thru, stop. Make a PB&J and donate the $5 instead. Yes, that choice is a privilege, and there is bound to be someone reading this article who truly cannot afford to spare any money. I\u2019m banking on the statistical probability that you are not that person.<\/p>\nYou can donate to the UN Refugee Agency here<\/a> or through the link at the top of this post, but if you want options, Elizabeth Licatta has put together a fantastic list of where to donate over at Mommyish<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n1. Doctors Without Borders<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 I<\/strong>n addition to their work in war-torn areas, Doctors Without Borders also maintains three rescue ships in the Mediterranean. On Tuesday they reportedly rescued over 1,600 refugees from drowning.<\/p>\n2. UNICEF<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Unicef provides clean water, medicine, and other services to children in Syria and refugees.<\/p>\n3. Save the Children<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>This charity has been supporting child refugees with schooling, food, medicine, and more.<\/p>\n4. World Food Program<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 This is the food assistance branch of the UN and is working to provide food and prevent hunger in Syria and for refugees based elsewhere.<\/p>\n5. The UN Refugee Agency<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<\/strong>The UNHRC has been helping Syrian refugees with basic supplies, medical care, food, shelter, and schooling.<\/p>\n6. Migrant Offshore Aid Station<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 This charity runs independent rescue boats in the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n7. Islamic Relief<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 This organization has been providing food, medical assistance, and hygiene supplies to vulnerable people in Syria and neighboring areas.<\/p>\n