Loading ...Dinner With Syrian Refugees: A Meal Every Member of Congress Should Have
I spent my Thanksgiving in Bire, a small town in northern Lebanon about an hour from Tripoli and within sight of the Syrian border, across from the ancient city of Homs. It is a village of maybe 5,000 Lebanese residents but now is more than twice its original size as it has swelled with Syrians who have fled the brutal civil war in their country.
The Thanksgiving meal the author ate with Dalia and her family. (Photo: Pam Bailey)
The family of Syrian refugees I was staying with in Bire served what seemed like a fitting feast for Thanksgiving – homemade local dishes such as chicken kabob, fatoush, capsa, hummus and tea with cinnamon. Mohammed, 12, who dreams of being a chef, helped to prepare the food. Over our meal, Mohammed’s mother, Dalia – who fled to Lebanon two and a half years ago with her husband and three sons – asked if it is true what she heard on the news, that the United States may refuse to accept any more Syrian refugees.
I almost choked. Right before flying to Beirut, I had attended the hearing of the Judiciary Committee of the US House of Representatives, at which several Republicans boldly and without any apparent shame proposed rejecting all Syrians, or at least all Syrian Muslims. “Can you name one suicide terrorist who was not a Muslim?” Rep. Steve King of Iowa asked a State Department spokesperson.
Responding to Dalia’s question, I hesitated, trying to think of the least offensive way to describe the full House vote a couple of days later, which demanded a suspension in acceptance of Syrian and Iraqi refugees until national security agencies can certify they don’t pose a security risk (an impossible task because how can one ever prove a negative?). The bill now is headed to the Senate, fueled by unsubstantiated reports that “jihadist” cells are hiding among the refugees in Lebanon.
“The Republicans and the few Democrats who support them say they want a ‘pause’ in the review of Syrian refugees for resettlement,” I tried to explain. “They want the president to guarantee without a doubt you’re not terrorists.”
I looked around the restaurant-turned-refugee-home, a cavernous building with furniture handmade by Dalia’s husband, Abdullah; curtains bought at a secondhand shop; and a still scraggly garden where the family is trying to grow their own potatoes, radishes and mint. Their entire lives have been on “pause” for nearly five years, since civil war broke out in Syria. Fatigue from working long hours as a bus driver and, whenever he can, as a construction laborer is clear around Abdullah’s eyes. What could I do but apologize for my country?
Source: www.truth-out.org