Despair and devastation ring loud in headlines defined by the hopelessness and loss felt by millions everywhere. The weight of those words is heavy, and the futures of many communities seem uncertain at best. But brave individuals are rewriting their story. Theirs is not a story of hopelessness and loss, but one of optimism and strength. Utkarsh Ambudkar, actor, musician and writer; Samer Saliba, urban advisor for the International Rescue Committee; Amal Kassir, Syrian-American poet; and Amaani Yahya, Yemeni rapper, rip words directly from these headlines and use them to reframe the narrative.
"Displaced
Disordered
Dislodged
Erased
80 million sets of footsteps
Fleeing through unforgiving soil
Sirens blare, bombs explode Family homes reduced
To piles of ash and clouds of smoke
And with them, any sense of stability Parents yearning for the ability
To hold their child and say, 'We are safe, we are home.'
Displaced by war, conflict, and calamity
Famine advances rapidly
Disease devastates communities
Millions striving to survive
And more headlines blur by
Just more blips on a smartphone
Graphics on a news scroll
Segments as the news drones
On and on
Millions of stories untold
Millions of futures on hold
They vanish as the noise grows
But displaced is not disheartened
Displaced is not forgotten
Displaced is not an ending
For these millions carry on
With an unstoppable will
A drive to rebuild
For their
Family
Community
Humanity
And with Rescue by their side,
They’re rewriting their own stories
Stories of a safe place to lay one’s head
Free from violence in a new land
Where a warm welcome and a kind hand
Can stop someone’s world from shaking
Fleeing families reunited, stops the heart from aching
New home, new hope
Stories of education
That is building a foundation
For millions of children
School provides the lessons
Inspires imagination
Preparation for the world they’ll inherit
So they can make it their own
Stories of clean water,
Health care and good doctors
Supplies and mental health providers
Turn patient to survivor
Stories of establishing economic stability
Dollars in the billfold
Jobs beyond the war zone
Training and career paths
A new life to build toward
Stories of empowerment
For those whose futures were in jeopardy
Making women and girls
The drivers of their own destiny
And that of their community
And this is only the beginning
Another headline scrolls by
The story is soon to be rewritten
By those we serve
They turn headlines to hope
And give the words new meaning"
