Loading ...Orange County effort to aid Syrian refugees transcends ethnic lines
Shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, a line of dusty vans and trucks pulled up to the parking lot at Fountain Valley’s Mile Square Park to drop off their eager passengers.
They included some Arab grandparents, young Asian mothers pushing baby strollers, Latino churchgoers and a steady stream of Vietnamese Americans. They greeted one another in nearly 10 languages.
They were all there to participate in #Walk4Refugees, a four-mile walkathon whose aim was to raise money and attention for the hundreds of thousands of people desperately fleeing war-torn Syria. Many have paid traffickers to get to Europe or have died on the open sea as they sought refuge elsewhere.
“If we don’t shine a light on this horrific humanitarian crisis, how will all these families find help?” said co-organizer Rida Hamida, president of the Arab American Chamber of California. She stood alongside volunteers who nodded their heads in agreement when she said, “This is about people — not politics. Everyone here has hope that our movement will raise awareness, especially locally.”
Fellow organizer Jonathan Bao Huynh, who heads the Asian Pacific Cultural Foundation, jumped on the stage, shouting out to community leaders and social service groups who united for Sunday’s cause, which drew about 1,000 participants.
Source: www.latimes.com