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This small town, devastated by floods, welcomed Syrian immigrants. They're now paying it back.
The first time Majd AlGhatrif saw this historic mill town of colonial buildings at the confluence of the Patapsco and Tiber rivers, he thought of Syria.
The structures, built of gray stone, and the history they evoked, reminded him of the timelessness and architecture of his hometown, Sweida, in southern Syria. He soon bought a house here, in 2013, then opened Syriana Cafe & Gallery, in 2016, and came to view everything about Ellicott City’s people — their kindness and decency — as an antidote to the fear others were expressing over Syrian immigrants like him.
So when floods again ripped through here in May, killing a Maryland National Guardsman, closing businesses up and down its historic district and producing images of destruction recalling the floods of 2016, he vowed to do anything he could to help a community that had become his own.
The result of that vow came to fruition Saturday at Syriana, where he presented the city with a check for $10,000, which he had raised from Syrian Americans from all over the country who had seen the destruction and wanted to show their gratitude not just to Ellicott, but also to the United States for accepting them.
The structures, built of gray stone, and the history they evoked, reminded him of the timelessness and architecture of his hometown, Sweida, in southern Syria. He soon bought a house here, in 2013, then opened Syriana Cafe & Gallery, in 2016, and came to view everything about Ellicott City’s people — their kindness and decency — as an antidote to the fear others were expressing over Syrian immigrants like him.
So when floods again ripped through here in May, killing a Maryland National Guardsman, closing businesses up and down its historic district and producing images of destruction recalling the floods of 2016, he vowed to do anything he could to help a community that had become his own.
The result of that vow came to fruition Saturday at Syriana, where he presented the city with a check for $10,000, which he had raised from Syrian Americans from all over the country who had seen the destruction and wanted to show their gratitude not just to Ellicott, but also to the United States for accepting them.
More at by Terrence McCoy of the Washington Post at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/this-small-town-devastated-by-floods-welcomed-syrian-immigrants-theyre-now-paying-it-back/2018/09/22/5914d12e-be94-11e8-8792-78719177250f_story.html?utm_term=.9f8566d35928&wpisrc=nl_optimist&wpmm=1
9 replies
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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/syrian-refugees-in-canada-by-the-numbers/article33120934/
And the gratitude would be what you would expect from the sheer relief of a temporary respite from the daily horror and terror of Syria where death and dismemberment to your children could come at a moments notice.
America, your loss!
And in America, land of the free...to be hypocritical...
?1457724026
And the gratitude would be what you would expect from the sheer relief of a temporary respite from the daily horror and terror of Syria where death and dismemberment to your children could come at a moments notice.
America, your loss!
And in America, land of the free...to be hypocritical...
?1457724026
