On Blankets and Bandaids
Just like anyone, it’s the stories that get me. Those little nuggets of hope that pull me out of obsessively reading insane #TrumpWallTweets or fury when organizations like MSF are forced to essentially stop rescuing migrants at sea. Stories like this one from our NeedsList partners in Paris- a group of young people called Compassion Without Borders who have been working with migrants and refugees for three years now. They sent this video after receiving fifty sleeping bags through NeedsList donors:
Their coordinator, Diana, wrote,
Ali is a refugee who received a sleeping bags last year from NeedsList when he was sleeping on the ground in the makeshift camp under the Jaurès metro line. He is now a university student here and is giving back by helping newly arrived refugees. He now passes out the same type of sleeping bags that he once received.
Thousands distributed, thousands destroyed.
Over the past four years, NeedsList has facilitated the procurement and delivery of thousands of blankets and sleeping bags to refugees and asylum seekers throughout Europe. While some volunteers have taken on the arduous task of gathering, washing, and redistributing these blankets, often they are either hosed down by the police in attempts to move “unsightly” migrant camps from the streets, or abandoned by people on the move. Today, in February 2019, winter number four of the refugee crisis in Europe, I struggle every day with the question,
“Are distributing blankets merely a band-aid solution when it comes to supporting displaced people?”
This issue of course goes beyond geographic borders, and is not limited to refugees, migrants, or asylum seekers. Just last month I was visiting family in Seattle. Down the street where I used to live, tents are scattered next to Aurora Boulevard, a few blocks from where Google and Facebook have set up satellite offices. Likewise, in San Francisco, my co-founder Amanda and I took a dystopian walk last year from the Impact Hub in the Mission to AirBnB’s headquarters for a meeting, stepping over discarded needles, shopping cards, and cardboard shelters and those who have fallen by the wayside.
It’s clear that blankets are not enough. The issue of displacement is one that requires fundamental policy change — a shift from our wall-building, boat-casting attitudes. A recognition that wealth without morality is the most dire type of poverty.
And yet, last week’s Polar Vortex is a stark reminder that sometimes one night of warmth can save a life. If we can provide someone like Ali with a modicum of comfort, to help him get off the streets, into university, into work, we know that he will continue to give back to others. We’ve seen this again and again throughout history and we see it every day from San Francisco to Paris to Beirut to Kampala, where those who have lost everything, regained a bit, and stand up to serve others.
It’s not an EITHER/OR question of course. Policy change vs. immediate humanitarian aid. We must continue to stand up against the criminalization of aid, of just migration policies, and defend international laws set up to protect individuals fleeing conflict. And in the meantime, we must continue to distribute blankets, to give Ali and all of the people like Ali a fighting chance. After all, having kids has taught me sometimes a band-aid is just what you need to get up and moving again.
To purchase a sleeping bag for Ali’s organization, Compassion Without Borders, please visit NeedsList.
To learn more about refugees setting policy for refugees, please visit the Network for Refugee Voices.
