Luma Mufleh: How You Become a Refugee, Part Two
It's hard in the U.S. to imagine life as a refugee. Allow me to do it for you.
By Luma Mufleh
Continued from part one of “How You Become a Refugee.”
After fleeing your home in Ohio on foot with your three children, you use your body to cover your belongings; the four of you cuddle together under the two sleeping bags you have left after having decided to jettison the other two along the way. The kids shiver. They don’t complain. You layer them in their clothes.
Too tense to sleep, you text your partner. No response. You text your mom. No response. You text your sister. No response. Are the texts even going through? You check the news. The army is ransacking each town it comes to. Killing people indiscriminately. Kids are being taken away from their parents. Pennsylvania has sealed its border. Kentucky is being inundated. There is a site with a list of names of those who have been taken in by the Ohio government for questioning. You scour the list to search for your partner, for your…
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