Families

Tomorrow, Bill and I are leaving early to go to New York for the weekend. While there we’ll have some good time with the daughters and the son-in-law. Maybe I’m a sentimentalist but I really value the time I get to spend with my kids, my sisters, and other family members… Perhaps the fact that we’re all so broadly scattered makes the times we do get to spend together even more special.
When we have good family time together, however, I’m always acutely aware of the terrible pain that travel restrictions and visa restrictions put on families not as lucky as ours… For Palestinian or Iraqi families right now– a high proportion of whom have family members scattered in different countries– weddings, funerals, and other events that rightly ought to be occasions for a big family get-together instead become reminders of loss and separation.
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about Faiza and her son Khalid. I’ve heard no news yet about whether Kahlid’s still in prison… Hope and prayers for both of you… and for political prisoners everywhere.