Table Of ContentOne Love One Tribe
–
Face behind the Refugee
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Colophon
Second edition, January 2018:
'One Love - One Tribe' - Face behind the Refugee
- ISBN 978-94-92883-20-9
Dutch second edition, January 2018
‘Volk van mijn VOLK’ – Gezicht achter de Vluchteling
- ISBN 978-94-92883-19-3
© Publisher Paris Books
Cover, image-editing and design:
Finn Hensens
Source images:
- cesardezfuli.com
- gettyimages.com
- istockphoto.com
- panos.co.uk
- pixabay.com
- unsplash.com
- Everything in this book may be used for all purposes
after permission from the publisher.
- Because of the protection of the refugee,
we changed their names.
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One Love One Tribe
–
Face behind the Refugee
Yasmin Verschure
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Dedication
Dear YOU
I dedicate this book to you
Because you
are on the run
are an outcast
are abnormal
do not belong to an average
are carrying a heavy load
are lonely
are normal
are a human being
are unique
Because you are a part of me
Because you are looking for love, just like every human being...
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- M o h a m m a d A t t a r -
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Preface
‘There is no difference between you and me. Today Pure spirit, always on the road. Always open and
you are on the run, tomorrow I may be the one…’ sincere. Curious as a child.
The world is on fire. It is not just the refugees. We live Unfortunately, we do not want to know
on an atomic bomb. The sea is full of plastic. The air
polluted. Our food poisoned. Natural healing prohi- We bury our heads in the sand because we do not
bited. At any moment we could fly into the air. dare to live in a society that can collapse at any
moment.
We know
Everything visible is temporary. Everything constantly
Peace on earth is an illusion. The only place we find appears and disappears. What remains is love...
peace is inside ourselves. If we are in peace with
ourselves, we will see the world differently. Here on earth we are all refugees. We need each
other. The refugee need our open arms and we need
More than anyone else, I realize that life is suffering. their spirit. Of course, there is chaff amongst the
By embracing my experiences and not excluding wheat. If we do not want the chaff, we will miss the
anything, I am no longer attached to it. No longer am corn.
I searching for happiness. How can I turn the sun into
the moon? The higher the walls we build, the more they will
succeed to find the holes. Even with all the money in
One cannot exist without another. The more we the world, we cannot stop this flow. Why should we,
pursue happiness, the more we suffer. it is a great opportunity for transformation and new
life.
How on earth can we learn our lessons if we do not
meet challenges on our path. How can we free We evolve through experience. Living in a safe and
ourselves from our belief-system and conditions that stable world is just a fantasy. By accepting that life
keep us from being what we are in essence: pure is constantly changing, we become the drivers of our
vibrating divinity, which by light and dark - pain and lives.
suffering - remains unshakably divine.
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When we can surrender ourselves in every moment,
without fear for tomorrow, we can feel safe in every
situation. Wherever we are, whatever we are going to
face.
And yes, it is true. People discriminate. We all do. The
‘normal people’ and the refugees. The blacks and the
whites. Just look at it and continue breathing.
People remain people. We cannot change the world,
we can only change the way we look at the world.
When we love and respect ourselves, we can emb-
race every ‘stranger’ without losing our own identity.
This requires an open mind. Often aid workers, with
good intentions, make clients and refugees depen-
dent. That gives us a good feeling and makes us
indispensable. That attitude has to change. Stop
thinking that they need us. We need each other.
Camp Moria on Lesvos is the forerunner of a
world that willingly or unwillingly, will mingle. Moria is
a place where people transform. There are no
grades, no caste, and no class system. In times of
war, in situations where people have to look death
into the eyes, people transform rapidly or they sink
even deeper into their experience of human
suffering...
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Introduction
How it started We meet people from more than seventy countries
I was watching the documentary: ‘Witnesses of and cultures. Apathetic people, sad people, happy
Piraeus’, about refugees in the port of Greece. The people, wonderful people and above all, brave
testimony of Petra Hubbeling from the Zen- Peace- people. Being together with people from so many
makers touches me. She starts her journey with different cultures and listening to their stories, has
empty hands. I feel this is the right way to go... enriched my life enormously.
We Westerners are so eager to do something. We like Everyone, whose eyes I looked into is forever
to know in advance, what others need. We are afraid in my heart…
to be empty handed. Being with empty hands means
that we are open to all that is. To meet the chaos, the
suffering, the pain and the joy, without having the
need to change anything. That is the most difficult
and the most beautiful way that there is. From that
attitude, anything can arise and grow. It requires not
only an open mind; it means that you dare to be
touched deeply inside your soul.
In July 2016, Giri and I flew to Pireaus. After they
closed the Refugee camp at the Harbor of Athens,
we decide to go to Lesvos. In October, we went
back. This time by car and for almost half a year…
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