“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. ” Marcel Proust

Post date: Apr 18, 2017 8:44:50 PM

Written by Dana Tohme at Thursday, April 6, 2017 12:23:26 AM

Last Edited:Thursday, April 6, 2017 10:48:13 AM

From my bedroom window in Lebanon, I have a view of the Mediterranean Sea that, over the centuries, has carried countless Lebanese fleeing wars, famine, and oppressive regimes. Today it tells the story of the uprooted lives of Syrian refugees searching for safety in far-away lands.

Over the past five years, I have watched helplessly Syria’s descent into hell as anti-government protests escalated into a civil war that has torn the country and its population apart. Lebanon has been inevitably drawn into the conflict and I have witnessed first-hand, on the streets of Beirut and through my volunteer work, the direct effects of the armed conflict on the Syrian population that has suffered massacres, kidnappings, war-induced famine and poverty.

Meeting Syrian refugees through various NGOs, learning about their stories, and seeing the pain in their eyes even when they were laughing and playing, made me realize how lucky I am to have my family safe, a roof over my head, food on the table, a solid education, and what I used to take for granted: living in hygienic and comfortable conditions. I also realized how lucky I am not to have to struggle to find my place, to face rejection. In my country where the 1.5 million Syrian refugees constitute a quarter of the population, there is tangible resentment among many about the strain that this number is putting on the fabric of our society and fragile economy. Empathy is in short supply when people are competing for scarce resources.

As I prepared to leave my home and go to college in the United States, I realized that it was my turn to be the alien in a foreign land. I was afraid of facing similar struggles to find my place and be accepted. I was worried about the racism I might encounter, that to my peers I would embody the Arab stereotype of the Muslim terrorist living in the desert, riding a camel, of the Arab woman deprived of all rights. These labels unsurprisingly push some Americans to perceive Arabs arrogantly, as Maria Lugones would say, and to look down on them with a sense of superiority. Moreover, this lack of identification and understanding creates fake love. Luckily this has never been my reality at Skidmore. From the start, I felt appreciated as a valued member of its community, as do all the international students on our inclusive campus.

I was so grateful that my peers were open to “world traveling” and were able to relate to and identify with me. I decided that in turn I would help Syrian refugees feel welcome in the United States, especially after Donald Trump’s presidential campaign that incited so much hatred, Islamophobia and Arabophobia. I wanted to be a bridge between them and their host country and so recently applied to volunteer to teach English at “The United States Committee for Refugees and Immigrants” in Albany, an organization which aims at easing their transition in a foreign environment.

The power to communicate is the best skill I can give this "lost generation." If I could transmit any skill to the hosting community, as well as to my compatriots, it would be that of empathy, the ability to to allow your heart and mind to travel in their world. Empathetic people have the power to transform societies and forge peaceful solutions to conflict. For to paraphrase Ghandi's prayer, when you can see the other's beauty, hear their need, feel their feelings, then you can offer them love and friendship. You can offer them peace.