Tag: Refugees

World Refugee Day

On By EstherIn In the news, Real life10 Comments

Today, June 20th, is World Refugee Day. I do volunteer work for refugees on Wednesday afternoons and in our chat group one of our team leaders posted a photo, inviting us and our refugee clients to have some cake…

I hope there will be some left when I get to the office on Wednesday.

I wish such a day to become something of the past, but alas humanity doesn’t seem to work that way. People continue to flee their countries for so many reasons, as explained so clearly by Cate Blanchett in a short video I saw yesterday.

From my viewpoint here in The Netherlands it feels like refugees from Ukraine are immediately absorbed into society where refugees from other countries such as Eritrea or Syria aren’t. I hope people can find it in their hearts to change that and see that refugees from everywhere need to be supported and helped. To illustrate the point, here are snippets about a few refugees I have been able to help a little bit in recent weeks:

  • The refugee from Afghanistan I helped get an appointment at city hall last week. He was a translator (to English) for the Dutch armed forces, he arrived three months ago and has to now make a safe life here with his young family.
  • The refugee from Syria (who came with his wife) who I helped a few weeks ago with an application to get special assistance because he is in a wheelchair, never able to walk again after being in Syrian prison for six (!!) years and mistreated there. He also told me that he in turn is the grandson of a refugee who fled from Palestine to Syria in 1948 when Israel was founded.
  • The 19 year old refugee from Eritrea fleeing unrest who is here all alone and wants nothing more than to go to vocational school to become a mechanic and feels like the Dutch classes that he needs to qualify aren’t moving along fast enough for him. He has now been contacting vocational schools to ask about his options.

I could go on but I think the message is clear enough: every refugee has a story of why they had to flee and a dream of a safe, happy and healthy life.

Yes, on this World Refugee Day, I stand with humanity and therefore I stand with refugees.

Mixed feelings

On By EstherIn Actors, In the news, Richard Armitage23 Comments

I completely subscribe to this…

As heartwarming as the outpouring of support for Ukranian refugees is, I wish (along with Khaled Hosseini) that all refugees could feel this welcome and I know not everyone is welcomed like this. My manager at the refugee organization I volunteer at was telling me yesterday that since the war in Ukraine started 11.000 people have applied as volunteers (the Dutch Council for Refugees works throughout The Netherlands). Wonderful, but will these people also want to help the mostly Syrian and Eritrean refugees (and some Afghan and Iranian refugees) we normally help?

Then there is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s message to the Russians yesterday about the war in Ukraine, which was even a whole section on our evening news. While it’s highly commendable that he’s trying this, I wonder is this something that will even reach the Russians? Will Putin fans not just see this as some more deluded Western anti-Russian propaganda? What makes him think that he can counter Russian propaganda where others have failed? He does sound heartfelt but I’m feeling a little cynical about it all. I guess it’s better than doing nothing, though.

Then there’s Richard’s selfie and tweet about his new project that he is filming…

The steaminess of this may be (a lot of) fun but does it have to be a love triangle story? Apparently it’s about a guy sleeping with his son’s fiancé. I so don’t like love triangle stories and this one sounds a little extra gory. I didn’t even like The English Patient at the time when everyone loved it. Sexy Richard is always something to behold but the story doesn’t attract me at all. Maybe it will be better than I fear?

Last but not least, let me end on a positive, non-mixed feelings thing: I did like these tweets by Richard…

It’s nice to know that LOROS appreciates the fundraising efforts so much and it’s really nice to put some faces to the care workers there.

The fun stuff

On By EstherIn Actors, History, Real life, Richard Armitage15 Comments

Fun item number one: I see Richard has updated his Twitter header…

I have written before about being very partial to nice priests in cassocks and that I’m looking forward to Richard playing one in The Man From Rome. I’ve not read the book yet (don’t know if I ever will) and I understand Father Quart does not wear a cassock but maybe he will at least wear a clerical collar just as in the image above? I’ll be happy with that too. By the way, I don’t think that’s Richard in that picture, do you? In any case, I’m glad the project really seems to be happening now.

Fun item number two: Julie Delpy shared this on her Instagram and I’m totally with her on that!

I’ve been volunteering at a Dutch centre for refugees, doing walk-in consultations where I help refuguees with paperwork and admin stuff (soooo much paperwork! Even confusing to me sometimes and I’m not a refugee, new to this country!). So far, the ones I’ve helped have been lovely. I can only do it for one afternoon a week and only recently have I been given my ”own” client from Eritrea who is a young adult, very independent and speaks Dutch well as he has been here for a few years. He doesn’t need much help, just occasional assistance, and he’s such a doll! I’m in awe of how well he is doing for one so young and how determined he is to make something of himself. I’d take 10.000 of him over any closed-minded, hard-hearted racist.

Fun item number three: I follow Mary Beard on Twitter. I quite like her, she’s a historian specializing on the Romans and makes programmes for the BBC. She shared this…

I love this idea! I know little about Boudica and I’m thinking of getting tickets to this online trial of Boudica event. It looks like a great way of making history more tangible.

Fun item number four: the final season of Lucifer is available on Netflix. Quite beautifully done, even had to wipe away a tear here or there, although I’m not sure I buy the Lucifer and Chloe plot thing that happens. I do love what happens with Amenadiel, though, and Ella is great in episodes 7 and 8 (episode 8 is nicely directed by D.B, Woodside, aka Amenadiel himself). Anyway, my absolute favourite on the show is the aforementioned D.B. Woodside as Amenadiel and he has been calling for fan art that he has been sharing on his Instagram stories and some on Twitter. And boy, are there some great talented artists out there! The ones I share here are some of my faves and all have Amenadiel in them…

Source

And also some screenshots I took off Instagram stories…

It’s a pity Lucifer is over now but it’s good that they ended it where they did. I just wonder what D.B. will be doing next, I want to see more of him!

Been writing this inbetween work today and have now decided that both work for the week and this post are done. Time for the weekend to begin, hope you all will have a good one!

As the summer ends…

On By EstherIn Real life17 Comments

… I hope I can continue to hold on to some of the positivity I have come to feel during this summer. Getting away for our summer holiday to France this year has really lifted my spirits. It has also helped put things a little bit in perspective for me. Yes, I hate my job, but I only work 32 hours (i.e. 4 days) a week and work really isn’t everything! Working from home for a year and half during lockdowns and restricted activities has started to make it feel like it is everything, probably due to lack of other distractions, but it really is not everything. Also, work allows me to pay for things I enjoy, like that holiday in France, and I have quite a good amount of days off as well. I have decided that I really shouldn’t let my work frustration colour my general mood so much. I hope I can hold on to that as I continue to search for work that will hopefully bring me more joy in the future.

I have much to be thankful for, I realize again as I sit here in our garden in what may be one of the last days of summer before it gets too chilly and wet to sit outside much…

On weekends this September I have enjoyed watching my kids play their sports. Junior tries to fit in handball whenever he can during his very busy work schedule at his hotel and also trying to finish off the last of school so that he can hopefully receive his diploma in a month or two.

And yes, he scored that goal after a breakout play. Mini me has also been loving getting back into football again after the summer, seen here (in red and black on the left) in a defensive action…

Mr Esther and I look at each other and wonder where our kids’ love of and talent for sports comes from, as neither he nor I have it. We’re both really glad they do enjoy it so much as it’s not only healthy and fun for them, it’s also great for their social lives.

I also love seeing our kids adore our cats…

…. and when I see videos like this one of Mandy Patinkin singing prayers to his dog…

… I just grin and nod in recognition as we too are always singing to our cats (well, not prayers and admittedly, it’s mostly me singing, but you get my point).

I am thankful that socializing is happening a little more now. Not too much, I love my alone time, but a little more than during lockdown is good. I am thankful my family is all still healthy (my older brother in Israel did contract Covid a few weeks ago but due to having been vaccinated he had no symptoms) and my friends are healthy too. I am also happy to be helping some refugees through the volunteer work I am able to do at a Council for Refugees office for one afternoon a week (on my ‘free’ Wednesdays). I always feel so helpless when switching on the news, most recently with all the news coming from Afghanistan, and doing this volunteer work makes me feel like I can contribute to make at least some things a little bit better. Like it says in that famous ‘serenity prayer’: Gant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. So, I try to change the things I can and I hope that at least will keep me positive.

I suffer from the winter blues and I think the last round lasted almost until the summer holidays so I really hope to not sink into that again. Extra vitamin D, making sure I get outside more during the winter months and reminding myself of this mood in this post will hopefully help me stay positive for a while. Fingers crossed.

The volunteering bug

On By EstherIn Real life, Richard Armitage6 Comments

Guylty has announced the amazing result of the Richard Armitage December fundraiser HERE – 1726,08 Euros, or 1552,82 Pounds Sterling, or 2090,27 US Dollars is an amazing result! The amount has already been transferred…

… and I couldn’t be more pleased with the result (!!) and having been able to play a small part in it as well by donating a few items crafted with Armitage photos. I hope everyone will receive their purchased/won items soon.

I guess I’ve been bitten by a volunteering bug where instead of photo-crafting for Armitage fans I’ll soon be donating my time for refugees by helping out at the Council for Refugees here in The Netherlands. In recent weeks I’ve already tagged along to get a taste of the work that I’d be doing (socially distanced with masks and plastic screens between workers and clients) and I’ve gone to a socially distanced introductory admin training morning at the office I’ll be working from. This afternoon there was a general introduction course via Zoom that I participated in…

I’m really looking forward to starting this work and I hope I’ll like it as much as I think I will. It feels good to take action, step out of my own world of family and work and try to help others who aren’t as lucky and privileged as I am. As I once mentioned here before, my day job doesn’t give me the satisfaction and enjoyment I crave, so maybe this can make me happier and maybe in time it can even open a few other doors as well if I like it? We’ll see. For now, volunteering as a social counselor for refugees is a great first step for me.