Simply overwhelming statistics. It is year 2017 and there are estimated 65 million people forcibly displaced from their homes, including 21 million refugees worldwide. According to UNHCR, the top three nations where refugees come from are Syria (5,5 million), Afghanistan (2,5 million) and South Sudan (1,4 million). People are driven out of their homes by…Read more A few thoughts on World Refugee Day
Syria
No hiding from horror
My eyes see it and my mind and heart chokes. How many more dead, injured, crippled, orphaned, traumatized and scared children are we going to see in our news? A report after a report, a story after a story. I know this is not new or isolated tragedy and many atrocities are happening in other…Read more No hiding from horror
I am so sorry, Aleppo
This is about Syria and it is not about Syria; this is about politics and it is not about politics; this is about global challenges and it is not about global challenges; this is about the world's reaction but it is not about the world. This is about my own feelings in regards to what…Read more I am so sorry, Aleppo
Lest we forget…
"Those who don't know history are doomed to repeat it." (Edmund Burke) Beautiful October day and I am enjoying my morning coffee. Checking the news, Facebook, e-mails... thinking about something fun to do later in the day. I was planning to write my weekly blog about something fun, too. I thought to myself - enough…Read more Lest we forget…
My friends from Syria help me to be a better Latvian
Aleppo, gold, Riga, silver, amber - what do these have in common? My husband and I have dear friends who came to Latvia under most difficult circumstances. They are a wonderful family of four and their home used to be in Aleppo, Syria. It used to be a beautiful city before the war. Rich cultural…Read more My friends from Syria help me to be a better Latvian