Empathy.🌿

She remembers my name, a friendship in the making. Two weeks ago they arrived in our town - Refugees with no other option than to flee for their lives from their own homes in war-torn Syria and elsewhere. Many changes happening here, now the whole town is silent, everything has ground to a halt.

We mention the Corona Pandemic, we agree the our world is suffering greatly. For the longest time it seemed like we were the only ones, she says. Yes, I reply, ‘We  prayed for Syria, we watched you on our television screens, we felt sorry for you. We could switch channels though, we could close our eyes and continue on our merry way’. ‘Yes’, she said. ‘It felt like no one really cared’.

Let us pray for each other, we both said, almost in unison, a distinct feeling of ‘Empathy’ in the air. On the pier, the once used lobster pots stood forlorn, unemployed.

                          ‘Now we are all in the same boat and we are all seasick’. (G.K. Chesterton)