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From Christiaan's desk
About Youssef. Looking back to look forward.
Christiaan Morssink, January 23, 2023
Philadelphia is a sanctuary city. Local politicians have taken that stance and many NGOs in the city work diligently with the local officials to provide shelter, care and support. Refugees know and can attest. The UNA-GP has been a great supporter of this sanctuary stance, recognizing the Quaker mindset that still dominates our city’s character. I love being and working in this city.
We have done our share on learning and understanding the plight of refugees and promoting their entries. Immigrants and refugees have been in our audience and in our speaker seats. When the Arab Spring blossomed (alas, a much too short period) and the Syrian Civil War unleashed unspeakable horror and terror we learned from the victims and participants. As early as 2011 we co-sponsored an event at UPenn, where the rapper Omar Offendum and scientists from Lebanon reflected on the outlook for an Arab Spring in Syria. We worked with Muhammad Sattaur, whose path of study and immersion of the Quran led him to create the Imam Ghazali Institute in New York. We had the honor of hosting Maya Khezam as speaker at our UN Cafes, where she laid bare the dramas of the onset of the Syrian civil war and the atrocities that unfolded. Maya had to interrupt her studies, but somehow got back on track in world of pharmacy; I believe she now works in Paris.
And in 2016, as speakers at our annual garden party/fundraiser, Bob Groves invited Matilda Issata Sawie of Liberia;
Youssef Abbara of Syria, and Adama Bangura of Sierra Leone, to bear witness of the tribulations that refugees undergo. Tribulations of Refugees.
Now in 2023, Amada Bangura works in taxes and financing right here in the greater Philadelphia region (she has a UN flag with her LinkedIn profile) and we find that Matilda Sawie is a delegate for Pennsylvania of the Refugee Congress and works at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Refugee Congress. We touched them and they touched us. It’s what happens in a sanctuary city.
What about Youssef?
I stayed in touch with Youssef over the years. He struggled mightily to make it in Philadelphia. He had a group of friends, we met each other at some get-togethers and he even lend me a hand, with his friend in the yard. But he never got his emotional health at the right level. He was homesick, he missed his elderly parents and the city of Philadelphia simply could not replace Homs. In April 2018, he went to Lebanon to meet with his family and eventually he went back, back to Homs. His parents needed him, he needed his parents. He transferred the stress of being a refugee into the stress of the prodigal son.
He found a calling of sorts in Homs. Youssef started to care for stray cats and dogs. In the aftermath of the
intense cruelty and destruction of the Civil War, in any civil war for that matter, pets are losers as well.Youssef has found a way to calm the stresses of his mental health by caring for animals. Something that the authorities condone, something PIC here that does not create strife between all that is humanity. He got himself a license and he operates now an animal shelter. He seeks help of course, because this kind of work is not financially rewarding, and pets need to eat and receive regular care from veterinarians. He sends me regularly photo’s via WhatsApp and I promised to mention his new cause among some friends and circles, including our UNA-GP and our friends with cats and dogs. An extension of our sanctuary in a way. May 2023 bring you peace and soundness of mind and body.
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