The words from my 8 year old last night .. He asks questions like this quite regularly. You see he can’t understand why there are such massive inequalities in our world, it makes no sense to him. 

Actually most children around his age think in this way .. A simple, yet superior way of thinking when compared to the adult view of the world. We can all walk past homeless people, turn our head away from extreme suffering .. its our way of coping .. to build up defenses and walls to protect ourself . 

Now as I make the journey back to Greece, again I am struck yet again by how privileged I am . I have a passport and some money and a place to stay and a family/home/job to return  to in a few days .. 

I know people much younger than me (children really) who have left their families to make a perilous journey to a country where they don’t speak the language, have no place to live, know nobody, have little money and crucially have given up their ability of real choice .. A trade off in a bid to escape war. ..  and yet my friends and family still tell me to be careful and worry about me when I am away.. its a strange messed up world . 

My 8 year old wanted me to give him a kiss this morning even though I was leaving very early.  He sleepily held my hand and mumbled ” bye mummy”. Turned over in his comfy bed to get another hours sleep.  

I think of my other sons . My eldest in university and my middle son doing A Levels . Studying, having fun with the world at their feet, yet I still worry about them . At 19 and 17 they are still children to me, their mother . . . I feel a mix of relief at our privilege and unease at the inequality.  I think of Ramadan, a young Syrian boy I know, around the age of my sons. He travelled alone, faced danger and much suffering. Yet he retained his dignity, humor, compassion, love for his fellow humans and hope that his life will work out . His attitude brings me to tears on a regular basis ..and  I am not sure why .. because even with the mountains he has to climb .. I know his attitude to life means he will find happiness. 

Tomorrow I will be working cooking food for displaced people in Northern Greece..many people have donated money to help, to show solidarity ..  its a small thing we do .. but it’s a thing nevertheless .. 

💖💖💖💖