Host Families

[RiverNotch]

The thing I posted April 5 for NaPM is based on a true story. I was talking to someone living in Germany, and he and his partner decided to be the host to someone....Being so far away from all the action/horror, and being so young/naïve, I can't help but feel a little disappointed that we can't really be the host to anyone from such conflicts. Are any of you currently hosting refugees, or know anyone who is doing so? And do you have any experiences you'd like to share about it?

[busker]

I know enough people who’ve hosted students, or had au pairs, but not refugees
Ukraine is finished, unless America or Germany pay to repair it. But it won't make sense to do it if Putin can roll in again. So it's finished.
I don't think Ukrainian refugees will feel welcome in their host countries once the initial outrage has subsided.
Zelensky should have just folded on Day 1.

[RiverNotch]

That take is so awful across every inch of the political spectrum other than far right and far left supporters of Putin and his actions that I'm not gonna respond to it other than this post.

[busker]

I’m not saying it’s nice. Just realistic.
Russia has 6,000 nukes, so directly taking them on is out of the question
The west has zero capacity to withstand hardship. And woke politics in Europe has ensured that it has zero self sufficiency in energy. No fracking, no coal. Nuclear closing.
Just like Iraq paid a price for not giving in to the US on day 1, Ukraine is paying and will continue to pay a price for not giving in to Putin.
The only thing that can alter the situation in the long term is if Germany burns Angela Merkel’s moronic legacy and builds back its military might. Though whether that would be an improvement is a question.

[TranquillityBase]

I found an article that implied Americans were unlikely to be able to host a refugee family without giving specific reasons.  Strange.  It gives reasons that Ukainians couldn't come here/wouldn't want to come here.

Busker's (in my very unexpert opinion) comment I would reject as well, but I don't think it's really that far off the spectrum.  I'd say he's channeling Henry Kissinger (Is he still alive?) or some other Realpolitik philosopher.

Putin is not going to live forever.  So he's not always going to be around to "roll in".  Thus, why can't we rebuild Ukraine?  The Russians can try building another wall and see how that works for them a second time around.

I'd like to address one thing about your poem, if I may.  The mixture of pronouns made it difficult to follow, but it's a fine poem.

[Mark A Becker]

Mine is a refugee/immigrant story in reverse:

My dad was born in Austria in 1911, went to school at Ohio State in the USA, became a US citizen, and served in the US Army during  WWII.

My mom was born in Germany in 1923, but grew up in San Antonio TX, and returned to Berlin with her family in 1935 (bad timing). She was attending university when she met her Austrian husband, who was conscripted by the German army, and stationed in Berlin. 

My oldest brother was born in 1944, and "stashed" in a mountainous area of Austria with his grandmother, away from the war.  His father was killed in battle in France, and my mom got stranded in Berlin, bombed every night by the Americans. My dad's brother, also drafted into the German Army, was also killed in France.  My dad's Army unit passed within 30-50 miles of where his brother, and my oldest brother's father were killed (different dates/different battles). 

Since my parents spoke German and English, they were valued interpreters toward the end of the war. My mom met my dad and became a "war bride".  Since my dad was a dual national, Austria-US, he was able to retrieve my brother from Austria in 1946.

Once they settled in the US, my sister, and six more boys were born, including yours truly.

Although my dad was a US Army combat veteran, kids in my early days at school thought that my family were Nazis (my parents had unmistakable German accents). My folks thought it was in our best interest that we never learn German. 

War ruins lives in all directions, yet people do find a way to survive.  My parents very rarely spoke of that war, yet my mom was adamant that we never glorify war.  She'd only say, "you don't know what war really is, and you don't want to find out."  Though we were raised Catholic, she always prepared a menorah during Hanukkah, in memory of the Jewish friends she lost in that war.

There is a whole lot more to the story, but that's the gist of it.

[busker]

My folks thought it was in our best interest that we never learn German. 

I find that to be a characteristic feature of American life of that time, or at least that's what authors have written about.
An idyllic, Smallsville-type, blissfully ignorant of the outside world, white bread and orange cheese, milk-and-crackers antiseptic society.

Yet, it made room for the right kind of immigrants, mainly because it still had a relatively small population, with enough room for suburban sprawl to grow.

But now, all of these erstwhile vast, thinly populated countries, have too many people to absorb large amounts of refugees, even those that look like them.

Fascinating story, yours.