I am a follower of Jack Levine, head of the 4Generations Institute. Jack has been an advocate for children in the Florida legislature for almost 50 years. I read his recent publication and it inspired me to share much of what he wrote this week.
Like the super-majority of Americans, I’m directly related to a family of immigrants. As is true for so many millions of my fellow Americans, what motivated my grandparents to leave their native countries was a thirst for freedom and a hunger for a better life.
I am fortunate to know much of my family’s heritage and history because as a child, I listened to my Grandfather and Grandmother tell their stories of courage, sacrifice, faith and fortitude…the key ingredients for building their new lives in what they called the New World.
All of my ancestors had roots in the vast landscapes of rural Lebanon. I think about others who immigrated here from Russia and the Ukraine. Many of you have told me how your ancestors came through Ellis Island and struggled to survive. Many of our ancestors lived with the ravages of poverty every day.
Many who came to the U.S. resided in cities that had a policy of strict segregation that kept them from participating in the economic, educational and cultural lives of those in the upper class. In fact, in my family, three sisters of our family married three brothers of another family. My family had nothing and many of them, teenagers and young adults at the time, carried their meager belongings with aspirations to escape to the West and if possible, earn enough money to start a new life in America.
The glowing lantern held high by New York’s Statue of Liberty was the dream destination. When I would listen to my grandmother and grandfather, their eyes welled with tears and their voices quivered with gratitude.
As I recall these stories, I am drawn to the current invasion of Ukraine at the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. This war is the epitome of violent suppression of rights, forcing the innocent into submission. The news continues to reveal the military onslaught upon Ukrainian civilians, destroying lives and decimating property under a false pretense of ethnic brotherhood.
The Ukrainian people are courageously defending themselves with resolve, but they are obviously unable to withstand the onslaught without military resources provided by the United States and our NATO allies. War is ugly, costly and always a perilous alternative to negotiated peace. We who are fortunate to live in relative safety and security should be aware that our quality of life is neither free nor guaranteed. Please share your stories with us about how your family arrived in the US. We would love to hear it and please pray for our Ukrainian brothers and sisters.
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LMA Newsletter of 2-28-22
