"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.