Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 203

(2/2) “I was an only child, but I had eleven children. I built...

(2/2) “I was an only child, but I had eleven children. I built a whole family. Every Friday I’d cook for them at my house. I’d spend the whole day in my kitchen, and all the grandchildren would come over, and the house would be filled with noise. The word ‘family’ is a painful word for me now. The war scattered my children all over the world. They are in Syria, Lebanon, Germany, and Jordan. I love all my children, but this one here is my soul. He’s always taken care of me. He’s even raised his children to take care of me. His daughters are always asking if I need anything– just like their father. Tomorrow he’s leaving for a place called Memphis, Tennessee. I don’t know what I will do without him. I hope they will let me come to Memphis too. Can you tell us anything about Memphis? Are there nice people there? I heard that it is a city of music. I love music.”

(Amman, Jordan)

(½) “I had to leave the home that I’d spent thirty years...

(½) “I had to leave the home that I’d spent thirty years building. One day I just had to close the doors, turn the key, and leave everything behind. I’m seventy-two. No one wants to leave home at my age. But I left because I have six sons, and I knew one day the soldiers would come for them. My sons weren’t political. They wanted nothing to do with killing, but that didn’t matter. Good people and bad people were all being treated the same way. I watched soldiers take away the neighbors’ boys with my own eyes. They were good boys. I’d known them their whole lives. But they were led away like sheep. They didn’t even speak up because if they opened their mouths they’d be shot. I knew it was only a matter of time before they came to our house. We left everything behind, but now my family is safe. So I am happy.”

(Amman, Jordan)

(3/3) “Ever since we had our first child, I stopped watching...

(3/3) “Ever since we had our first child, I stopped watching the TV. Everyday I used to watch the news and obsess over what was happening back in Syria. But once we had children, I had to realize that I couldn’t change anything, and the worrying wasn’t helping my family. We learned recently that we will be moving to a state called Michigan. I’m a pessimist, so I’m not going to believe it until we are on the plane. But my nephew is there and he says it’s like heaven. He says it’s very green and has nice nature. When we get to Michigan, I’m not going to turn on the television again. I’m done with religion and politics forever. I only want to worry about milk and diapers.”

(Amman, Jordan)

(2/3) “We met because of a wrong number. But we ended up...

(2/3) “We met because of a wrong number. But we ended up speaking for a few minutes, and at the end of our conversation, he asked if he could call again. Soon he was calling me every day. It never felt romantic. I never felt that he had bad intentions. It just felt like he needed someone to talk to. He would tell me every little detail about his day. We’d talk for hours. Those phone calls were the highlight of my days. I was a refugee too. I was also lonely. So I’d sit in my room and wait for the phone to ring. Eventually we met in person. But I’m seven years older than him. I never once expected him to mention marriage. But then one day he asked if he could come speak to my family.”

(Amman, Jordan)

(1/3) “I was studying Literature and French Philosophy when...

(1/3) “I was studying Literature and French Philosophy when the war came. I wanted to be an Arabic teacher. I didn’t want to be a soldier. I didn’t want to kill anyone. I had no interest in religion or politics. But all the young men were being forced to join the army, so when it came time to renew my papers, I ran. I only packed a small suitcase. I was planning to stay in Jordan for maybe a month until things calmed down. But when a month passed and the war hadn’t ended, I thought: ‘Maybe two months.’ Then: ‘Maybe three months.’ But after three months my mother told me that our house had been destroyed. She sent me a picture on the phone. Everything was rubble. There was nothing to go back to. But I had nothing in Jordan. I’d run out of money. I didn’t know anyone. I was homeless. I felt so alone that I wanted to kill myself. Then one day I tried to call a friend’s phone but a strange voice answered.”

(Amman, Jordan)

I’ve just returned from a trip to Jordan and Turkey, where I...

I’ve just returned from a trip to Jordan and Turkey, where I had the unique opportunity to interview twelve Syrian families that have been cleared for resettlement in America. These families have just reached the finish line of a multi-year screening process, and it was quite an emotional experience to meet with them at this juncture. The life of a refugee in America is by no means easy. But for these families, their resettlement has finally brought the possibility of an end to years of intense hardship. I’m very much looking forward to sharing their stories with you over the coming days.

(3/3) “This time of year always makes me sad because we met at...

(3/3) “This time of year always makes me sad because we met at Christmastime and fell in love that winter. He drove a yellow cab during the day, and if I ever called, he’d drop everything and drive to Westchester to see me. I have so many memories of his cab pulling up in a snowstorm. I haven’t changed anything in the apartment since he died. For the longest time I couldn’t even sleep in our bed. I laid a mat on the floor. I don’t cook the foods that he liked anymore. I try to avoid the streets that we walked down together. I used to write letters to him, but that made me too sad. So now I just light an incense on the piano every morning.”

(2/3) “He’d been married before and had three children. I...

(2/3) “He’d been married before and had three children. I think he doubted that he’d ever meet someone who’d look past his disadvantages. But I fell deeply in love with him and we married. We only had fifteen years together, but I feel like we loved deeper than a lot of people who were together for forty years. He died the most peaceful way possible. He was in California, visiting his daughter, and he was teaching his grandson to play the piano. And while he was playing he had a heart attack. The first thing he did when he felt his heart stopping was try to call me. When I answered the phone, all I heard was three breaths and the sound of the phone dropping.”

(1/3) “We both came to America as part of a performance...

(1/3) “We both came to America as part of a performance troupe. I was an actress and he was a musician. During the day he worked as a taxi driver, and I remember that he’d always bring pizza and share it with everyone at rehearsal. He was tall like an American. I was very curious about him. One of the other actresses told me that he’d been a famous jazz musician back in Seoul. I’d recently done a performance in Paris, so I was feeling pretty famous myself, and I got up the courage to approach him. We ended up going out for drinks and then to a jazz club. We spent all night talking. We didn’t even sleep. The next morning we drank some Korean hangover soup and went to church.”

“I’m different than other people. I’m never sad. I make my...

“I’m different than other people. I’m never sad. I make my life happy through discipline. I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, and I eat lots of fiber. Every day I take a walk in the park to think about my balance. I’ve been a chef, a fashion designer, a painter, and now I’m learning martial arts. I do Tai Chi in the park every morning. It helps give me energy for my painting. I have already learned forty-two moves. I’m ahead of everyone. I’m almost eighty years old, but all the women in my group think I’m in my fifties.”