KIND: 31 days of 5-minute free writes

I read a story today for work that mentioned the word “kindness,” and it seems worthy of today’s prompt, “kind.”

The story was about an organization in Pittsburgh (Hello Neighbor) that is helping 250 refugees get settled. (Here’s the story.) They are from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Democratic Republic of Congo.

As the final line, the coordinator of the project said that people interacting with the refugees should take care to “express kindness to our new neighbors.”

It’s so easy, even with good intentions, to be stingy with the amount of kindness we exude to someone who doesn’t fit conveniently into our lives — whose name may be difficult to pronounce, who may not speak our language, who may be longing for food that meets their dietary needs.

This article was a good reminder that we should all take the time.

I’ve read quite a few books about people who came to the US as refugees and met people who have come here as refugees. I can only imagine the overwhelm they experience. I know kids are resilient, but imagine being dropped into a school where you don’t speak the language, much less understand the customs.

For their parents, think of the professions they may have had to leave behind — a doctor who can’t possibly get licensed here. Maybe there’s a mom who, even though she wasn’t a working professional at home, had enough seniority in her community that she was looked to as an authority.

If the tables were turned, we’d be craving kindness too.

The 31-day writing challenge is a series of 5-minute free writes throughout the month of October. Please forgive any spelling/grammatical errors. I’m trying to (for once) be true to the challenge’s purest form.