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| From Edward Norton: “I saw this story on one of my favorite sites, Humans of New York, and it moved me to tears. This man has suffered profound loss that would crush the spirit of many people and yet he still passionately wants a chance to contribute positively to the world. If we don’t welcome people like this into our communities and empower his dream of making an impact with his life, then we’re not the country we tell ourselves we are. Let’s reject the 'anti-human’ voices that tell us to fear refugees and show this man and his family what Americans are really made of. Let’s show that a country built by the energy and dreams of immigrants still believes in brave people who come here with hope for better life. Everything we raise here will go to help this family so that the father can get the medical treatment he needs to live and pursue his work, and his family can build a new stable life after their tragedy, and…as the Scientist beautifully expresses…to support his dream of contributing to the world. Thanks to Humans of New York for sharing these stories. Thanks to the team at CrowdRise for putting this together and figuring out how to get even the credit card transaction fees covered so we can get the maximum to the family. Thanks to everyone who rallies together to create the power of the crowd. If enough of us kick in the price of two frappucinos, we can probably transform the experience of this family and show them that life can deliver healing and kindness, not just heartbreak. Thanks to Benevolent, all donations are tax-deductible. We will work with Benevolent to use all donated funds to help this family and will seek to use any excess or unused funds to help the other 11 profiled in the HONY ‘Syrian American’ series." |
you want to slam your car right into the punk swerving
over two expressway lanes as he sends a text on his phone;
you want to drink until everybody in the whole world
disappears; you want to look your boss in the eye,
quit, & then spit in her face; you want to come home
to find steaks on the grill, a cooler of beer & a beautiful girl
waiting for you in a bikini with open arms; you want to stand
at the top of Mt. Everest & see God’s face.
and some days, you want all the pain & sorrow, hunger & disease,
the wars & bombs to melt away so those of us left can sigh & hold hands.
David James’s third book, My Torn Dance Card, was published in 2015 by FCNI Press. His second book, She Dances Like Mussolini, won the 2010 Next Generation Indie book award.