Through Sam's eyes

I knew that refugees had to travel a long way to get to Austria... from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Kosovo, Nigeria, Somalia - just to name a few, but when they get to Austria I hoped they would be ok. What I learned this week is that sometimes traveling to Austria is hard for the refugees, but their time here in Austria can also be just as hard! 


I met a man name G, and he has been here for a couple of years but in the next month he is being forced to leave the pension that he has been living at. The government said they are at their limit of how many people can be in Austria from his country. How can a government pick a number like that, and if G has been here already for years why can't he just stay???


I also met a mom with two young girls... they made it here and now they are already being transferred out of the camp. Why can't the mom and kids just stay here? The mom has been to the Oasis a couple of times and is really trying to learn more about God. She even came Thursday night really early just so she could watch the Jesus film... so why can't God let her just stay here so she can still learn more about God through the Oasis team.


I know I am just a kid, but why can't the refugees that make it here just stay here? They want to work, why can't you just let them work? They don't want to be a burden on the government, they just want to live here and be a part of the town... is there not a way that the refugees can live just like we do? 


I don't think a refugee should be treated any different than I am being treated... that is what I have learned this week, that I will make sure I don't treat others different because of who they are or where they come from. We are all God's family and we should all be treated the same.


God Bless,
Sam