Saturday, August 13, 2016

Potpourri

Nice perch
When I went to the post office this morning to check the mailbox, I kept hearing the plaintiff squawk of this gull. When I finally located him and saw the sky behind, I whipped out my phone and captured this picture. I wonder if he was calling for his mate. Two squawks and then apparently listening, over and over.

Last week when I went walking with the ladies, there were 23 of us. Today, only ten showed up, and we walked hills and trails for more than five miles and then went our separate ways. I sure do enjoy this time at the beginning of the weekend as a way to set the day's exercise on the right track.

I heard a distressing statistic yesterday while watching PBS, which had a short segment on the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team, which now has its own flag and anthem. When they walked out during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, they displayed little flags with the Olympic symbol of five interlocked rings. A non-profit group called the Refugee Nation commissioned artists to develop a flag and write a national anthem. From that link:
The flag is a banner of bright orange crossed by a single black band—colors that evoke the life jackets so many refugees have worn on their journeys to safety. “If you’ve worn a lifejacket as a refugee, you will feel something when you see this flag,” says Amsterdam-based Syrian refugee Yara Said, who designed the flag.
Refugee Olympic team's flag
 For more information about who is on the team and how it was founded, read the Wikipedia page about them. What I also learned from that piece on PBS, is that there are now an unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world who have been forced from their homes. Among them are nearly 21.3 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. There are also 10 million stateless people who have been denied a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, healthcare, employment and freedom of movement. These statistics are from the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

I was simply stunned when I heard these statistics and thought I had heard wrong, but no, this is really happening. One out of every 113 people who are alive in the world today is affected, and more than half of them are from Syria. The UNHCR receives most of its funding from voluntary contributions, as well as the European Union.

The Refugee Olympic Team may not be winning any medals, but they carry the heart and soul of many countries as they compete. I am humbled by their courage.
:-}

15 comments:

  1. wow, the flag is touching... we in the US are so untouched by the trauma endured as a way of life for far too many...

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  2. War is hell and when people are forced out of their country it is really sad. Terrorism has a hold all over the world:(

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  3. The Refugee Olympic Team epitomises what the olympics should be about. Champions one and all.

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  4. Thanks for sharing this with us. It is a tragic statistic, almost too hard to comprehend. It certainly puts our own issues into perspective. The basic rights and freedoms that we take for granted are denied for so many.

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  5. It is all around us. It is around me too - just a short way up my nearest motorway, refugees and asylum seekers are being dropped off by lorries. There seems to be no answers, just more questions. I don't know where it will all lead.
    The flag is an inspiration, but also a warning and a big kick to our consciences. I didn't know about the flag. Thank you for the reminder.

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  6. Beautiful sky shot with the gull.
    I will now go out and read more on the subject of the refugee site. Incredibly humbled I just know I will be after reading.

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  7. I didn't know about the flag or the anthem. It is a call to all of us to do more. In our last federal election last year, the Liberal party, which was elected, ran on a platform which included bringing in 25,000 refugees by the end if last year. Those families are here now and more, being sponsored by local churches, groups and individuals, are being slowly processed. Two small communities here have been waiting for some time now for their families. We support their efforts every way we can.

    It is not enough. If we each did something, it would be.

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  8. DJan, thanks for bringing this to our attention. It is both a sad commentary on man's inhumanity to man ... and an inspiring story of the human spirit.

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  9. We have much to do when it comes to refugees, but will we do it. World peace would solve the problem quickly.

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  10. And then there is building a wall here. What a disgrace...:(

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  11. I haven't watched any of the Olympics so I didn't know about the refugees participating. At least it is one way of acknowledging them. The numbers are staggering!

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  12. At the opening, when the refugee team came out, they got a standing ovation. It was very moving.

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  13. I had no idea there were so many refugees! That is a sad statistic indeed.

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  14. David has been watching the Olympics, so I'll ask him if he is aware of this refugee team. The statistics are heart rending, indeed.

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  15. My son has been volunteering time with the IRC to help settle refugees who were able to come to our country. He said it's really sad how very few people are able to actually come in.

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