By Steve Ahlquist in Rhode Island’s Future
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| These are the people Charlestown curmugeon Jim Mageau and state Senator Elaine Morgan are afraid of. |
A family of five
Syrian refugees, a mother, father and three children ages 6, 7 and 8 arrived in
Rhode Island early Thursday evening.
About 30 people from the Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island, the Refugee Dream Center and the RI State Council of Churches were waiting for them
with welcoming signs, gift baskets, warm smiles and hugs.
After being warmly
greeted, the family was taken to their new home where a large home cooked meal
and basic food necessities awaited them.
Rhode Island has a
long history of welcoming refugees and immigrants.
As I waited at the arrivals
escalator with the reverend Don Anderson, he told me that he was due to be a
speaker at an event in East Greenwich entitled, “What Would Roger Williams Do?”
When he heard about the arrival of the refugees, he was first worried that
coming to greet them might make him late for his event.
“And then I realized,”
said Anderson, “That Roger Williams would be here to greet the refugees.”
Steve Ahlquist is an award-winning journalist,
writer, artist and founding member of the Humanists of Rhode Island, a
non-profit group dedicated to reason, compassion, optimism, courage and action.
The views expressed are his own and not necessarily those of any organization
of which he is a member. atomicsteve@gmail.com
and Twitter: @SteveAhlquist