Heroism

A reader writes about a week ago:

I heard this story this morning as I was driving to my office and I immediately thought that you would like to hear it.  The story is an interview with a woman by the name of Philippa Kemson who is a British ex-pat living on the Greek island of Lesbos where many Syrian refugee boats wash up.

 

The whole thing is worth listening to but the end of the piece was particularly good:

 

KEMPSON: (Laughter) Yeah, we moved here with my daughter who was just a baby at the time. We just wanted a quiet, out of the rat race kind of life basically.

GREENE: Do you think about leaving and looking for a different quiet place ever?

KEMPSON: To be honest, we’re going to have to leave eventually. I mean, we’re staying at the moment because there is no one else here who is dealing with the refugees arriving, but we had to send our daughter back to the U.K. a year ago.

We’re constantly under threats here by different groups who don’t like what we’ve done. We’ve had many death threats. Yeah. It’s not an easy place to live now.

GREENE: Why are they threatening you?

KEMPSON: They blame us for bringing the refugees. Apparently, if we didn’t help them, they wouldn’t come.

GREENE: Do you believe that in any way?

KEMPSON: Of course not, of course not. That – I mean, these people were fleeing anyway. It’s just a case of we couldn’t stand by and watch them drown.

GREENE: What needs to happen if anything is going to ease this crisis?

KEMPSON: I don’t know the solution to this. But I know what doesn’t work is making these people criminal, refusing to give them any sanctuary, even temporary. The rest of the world seems to treat this like some kind of plague they need to keep out instead of seeing it as humanity they need to help.

Enter into the kingdom which my Father has prepared for you.  For I was a stranger and you took me in.