Are We Self-Sabotaging Our Entire Existence?

"The thing is, whether we're talking about the existence of God, and the Burning Bush, the fishes and loaves, and the parted Red Sea, or about the color of the sky, or my latest hair cut, the entire world is based on four things: perception, accepting something to be fact, having the faith that what you believe to be truth actually is, and knowing when to hold strong to your faith and when to explore other realms of the truth."

I wrote this quote in June of 2008. In the moment I reread it tonight, I was impressed with my younger self. To think about and disect the complexities of faith, a person almost must have at least a slight belief in a greater existence. I won't begin to articulate my faith, or what it's in, at 12:30 AM, but I will say it's here, somewhere, that I believe humans are on this planet for a healthy, positive, communal, planet-friendly reason and that, right now, we are not living up to our beautiful human potential. In fact, quite the opposite, we are probably self-sabotaging our entire existence. But more on that later - after I've slept, showered, and had my coffee.

Imagine your own children...

Imagine your children feared thunder not because they didn't know the sound, but because they did recognize the noise as the sound bombs make when they are falling on your homes, your schools, your neighborhoods.

Imagine your children living in that kind of fear.

Jill Manrique

Friends, my friend - the awesomely inspiring and absolutely unstoppable Jill Manrique - is heading to Greece this summer to be a helper to refugees. Guys, Jill is you, me, and everyone. Jill is one person, taking a leap, like so many of my other friends. She is packing her bag and going to do some good for people who could really use the help. She can make a major difference and you can too.

She decided this was her way to help. What is your way?

Help My Friend Jill Help Refugees.

Valentina Caceres

I don't even need to write my own words. A friend I met through Carry the Future, Valentina, shared this story recently:

"I was walking around with a soccer ball ready to start a game with the first kid that came and asked me to play, and these little cuties big brother was the one. He walked up to me asking about the ball and telling me he had 8 brothers and sisters that would love to have the ball to play with. He grabbed my hand and walked me through a sea of tents to get to the one he lived in. He opened his tent where his mom and little brothers and sisters were hiding from the strong winds. They invited me in as if they've known me their whole life. The kids were all so bored in there with absolutely nothing to play with... So I told them id be back with some goodies for them. The little cutie wanted a baby so bad she asked me if I had a doll to give her and I had the perfect one! She was so excited about her doll!!! She immediately named her Zuzu💕"

Her original story here.

She did not give up. He did not give up. And so, I will not give up.

Take a good long look into her soulful eyes. Into his too. These two don't deserve to be in this situation. She did not ask for this. He did not ask for this.

Every single day I will speak out. Every single day I will tell someone this has to stop. I will say it over and over again until my voice is gone. Until my words are heard. Until this crisis ends and these families are embraced, protected, and loved. I will not give up.

She did not give up. He did not give up. And so, I will not give up.

Photo courtesy of Carry the Future

"We are runners from a war."

I have friends who are engineers. Some have families already, some may someday. Suppose, friends, your city was perpetually bombed, routinely terrorized, and left in ruin - many of your friends, family, and neighbors dead. Would you not become a runner from war to protect whoever you had left?

The International Rescue Committee shared a link to a beautiful column highlight just a few lives uprooted by this crisis. If you can stomach it - and I urge you to stomach it, read their stories below. 

Like any father, Yousef just wants to provide for his family. 

The 33-year old was an engineer back home in Syria and very much misses being able to support himself and his family. Currently, he his living in a large communal tent with his two children and his wife, who is pregnant. All he wants is to feel safe.

“We don’t want anything from anyone,” he says. “We are runners from a war. Just understand us. We don’t need anything.”

Read the whole column here.

A message from the CTF Board of Directors.

A Message from the Carry the Future Board of Directors

Refugees are facing deplorable conditions at closed borders throughout the European Union, and now the recently implemented EU-Turkey Agreement has called for the forcible return of refugees from Greece to Turkey. This agreement has led to tens of thousands of refugees being detained within refugee camps in Greece. As a result, many volunteer aid organizations are either being forced out of camps or withdrawing their aid workers in protest of the inhumane treatment of refugees. This leaves the refugees’ care and safety in the hands not of humanitarian workers but soldiers and police.

Since Carry the Future began operations in Athens, the Port of Piraeus has evolved from a point of transit for refugees heading to Macedonia to a makeshift camp housing over 4,000 refugees in tents and passenger terminals. In Frankfurt, we have volunteers distributing baby carriers and aid in overcrowded refugee camps. On the Greek island of Lesvos, we provided baby carriers to families at the same camps that are suffering from the absence of volunteer aid and humanitarian support. In truth, today these camps have become makeshift detention camps for predominantly women and children.

We are deeply concerned for the safety, health and welfare of all refugees, and our hearts are breaking for the families who are being denied their internationally recognized right to seek asylum.

However, Carry the Future is a global force of volunteers called to action to bring baby carriers and hope to refugee families. We will not be deterred by closed borders and this EU-Turkey Agreement. As we closely monitor the global politics that affect this devastating situation, we are committed to remaining politically neutral and have made the decision to continue our work in the field, in those areas where we can be most useful to refugee families. We will also expand our efforts as the effects of the current situation reveal the need for our volunteer response.

If you would like to join us in helping refugee families on their journey to safety, please visit our website to learn more about how you can support Carry the Future with your time, talents or donations.

In Solidarity,
Carry the Future Board of Directors

"we do what we can and we adjust as needed."

A story shared by Natalie Feulner, with Carry the Future. Original post here.

We are learning the difference of what may seem like a good idea, and what actually works. Many people, including our volunteers, have asked why we primarily focus on baby carriers. 

Simple, we can't do it all. 

A focused operation is a more successful one. It would be impossible to meet every need. But we do what we can and we adjust as needed.

Before leaving, many members of our team packed toys and goodies to give to children at the port. Lollipops, coloring books and glow sticks took precedence over a fourth pair of socks or a makeup bag. However, we quickly realized that unless we had one of everything, handing super-cool new toys to a group of kids stuck at a port for days, did more harm then good.

Like all kids, some would take more, leaving others looking for their share. It was heartbreaking to say we had "no more" when a nearby child clearly had five but didn't want to have to give one up.

And understandably so.

These children have had to give up everything, pillows, stuffed toys or a favorite pair of shoes, gone. Volunteers offer choices when possible, but many times there aren't options. They ask for simple things: pajamas, socks, shoes, a matchbox car for a little brother or friend. Many times we have to say no, but we do what we can-- a pair of socks slipped into the pocket of a carrier, or quickly forced onto the feet of a toddler too busy to stop.

This morning as we meet ferries, the need will be different. Some people may not even know where they are or that every border out of Greece is closed with police, barbed wire or worse enforcing the line.

We will adapt and as always, we will smile and love. Because no matter what we bring in pockets, we'll never run out of kindness. #ctftripjournal#ctfAthensTeam9
- Carry the Future Volunteer Natalie

Pictured: Team Leader Rebecca

#SolidarityMonth #WearAllTheBabies#RefugeesWelcome #SafePassage#CarryTheFuture

A closed Macedonian border and horrific weather conditions.

I couldn't live with myself if I didn't continue to advocate for my refugee families. I couldn't stand the thought that if only I had spoken up, maybe you would have helped do something about it.

I'm begging you, please take a moment to think about what difference you're capable of making. Think about how loud your voice can really be. Think about the number of people you see in a day, the opportunities you have to advocate - to do something.

And please, look at the photos, read the actual news reports, hear the testimonies from credible sources. Look at these photos.

You'll be sad, feel sick, and want to look away. There is no blood, no injuries, no war in these pictures. What there is though, are several innocent children being carried across a flooded, fast-moving river, there is a wheelchair, there is a father with only two hands and himself and two children to get across the raging current.

Behind them, atrocious conditions in a muddied up, worn out, and under-stocked refugee camp. In front of them, a closed Macedonian border. Their options are slim. Their options are grim. But they are their only options because farther behind them lies nothing but urban wastelands of barrel-bombed towns.

I have so many questions about how a species as advanced as humans could be so heartless and disconnected from one another. I find myself routinely lost in confusion about how we allow – nay, force – families to walk hundreds of miles, risk and often lose their lives trekking unnecessarily perilous routes to safety, live in deplorable conditions in refugee camps, and truthfully have no security whatsoever in the world. How can any person objectively believe any refugee deserves this treatment?

Thank you.

Thinking about our fifth team of volunteers who are heading to Athens today. They will meet every refugee family they possibly can in the days they are there. They will work through the day and night to meet every boat that arrives and they will find families in crowds of thousands, communicate mostly without words, and help each of them even if with something simple. They will be my hands, they will give my hugs - your hugs, they will deliver messages of love, support, strength, and perseverance. They will provide relief for weary-armed parents.

I cannot say enough how proud I am, how hopeful for our future as a human family, how comforted I am in knowing so many people have this love and acceptance of each other. I cannot articulate how amazed I am daily by the outpouring of love and support my global community has for our refugee families. This crisis - the biggest one of our time - is not the controversy our leaders make it out to be and our generations are proving that over and over again across the globe. Continue the love, friends. Continue the support. Continue the humanity.

Thank you!

International Women's Day: The White Helmets

These women are friends, sisters, moms, teachers, neighbors, students, business women - women we would cross paths with every day if they lived in our towns.

They live in Syria. They are the White Helmets. They are among the teams who rush toward the explosions rather than away. They are the women who find you amidst the chaos after a bombing, who rescue you. These women, they save lives every. single. day. They deny terrorists the power they vehemently seek by defying the odds, by rushing in rather than out, by saving the lives the terrorists senselessly seek to destroy.

These are the women I honor today. These are the women I am thankful for every day.

From Raed Saleh, head of the White Helmets, the Syrian Civil Defense:

"Barrel bombs - sometimes filled with chlorine - are the biggest killer of civilians in Syria today. Our unarmed and neutral rescue workers have saved more than 40,823 people from the attacks in Syria, but there are many we cannot reach. There are children trapped in rubble we cannot hear. For them, the UN Security Council must follow through on its demand made last year to stop the barrel bombs, by introducing a 'no-fly zone' if necessary."

To help thwart the attacks on civilians, please visit www.whitehelmets.org to sign the petition requesting Syria be a no-fly zone.

Rita Continakis

I am so happy to be part of an organization that cares and so happy to know a person like Rita Continakis who gives so much of herself and who embodies what it means to be one human family. ‪#‎carrythefuture‬

Shared by Carry The Future: 

"Big, small, happy, sad....they are the reason we are there to help..and much more. People are staying at the port for days and when they see us they recognize us and are happy to see us. They have become our friends." - Carry The Future permanent #AthensTeam member Rita 

#RefugeesWelcome #Parent2Parent#WearAllTheBabies #CarryTheFuture

Mary Moreno

Mary Moreno, fellow Carry the Future family member, has made it her mission to continue helping refugees on Lesvos with an aid organization I AM YOU. The story she describes of Fahtima is devastating beyond description. And, sadly, her story is one of thousands of the same. I am eternally grateful to Mary for having the strength to continue and the voice to share Fahtima's story on behalf of all the refugees displaced. Part of our mission is to be the voice our refugees families so often cannot be, to advocate for them when they're most in need of advocacy and to continue advocating until there is no longer a need. I am thankful for Fahtima for being strong enough to share her horrific story so that hopefully the rest of the world can come a little closer to understanding the innocent lives that are mauled, maimed, and murdered on a daily basis in Syria. When will we finally put an end to this madness?

This is the story of a refugee cat.

This is the story of a refugee cat who, much like refugee people, got separated from his family when fleeing with them from Iraq to Europe. His story is remarkable and compassionate and brave - he made it with his family across the Aegean Sea by raft and only got separated after arriving in Greece. People from all across Europe helped to find him, get him medical care he needed, and ultimately reunite him with his family who had recently arrived in Norway.

Let's allow this story of Kunkush and his family to be a testament to the love and support the world has for refugees. This is not the controversial issue our media is making it out to be. It is a humanitarian (and catatarian) crisis. There is no controversy in that; there is only space to help.

People of Nowhere.

Very seldom do I find myself truly speechless.
People of Nowhere from Lior Sperandeo on Vimeo.
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