Living in Silicon Valley as a young professional, my bet is that a majority of us have taken part of multiple conversations during fine dinners where the conversation turns to current and ongoing humanitarian crises. We are up-to-date on all the facts and share in the pain, verbally express that we wish we knew how we could help, when inevitably the conversation abruptly stops and someone says, “Well...that was depressing. Anyway!” And then we uncomfortably move on to another topic.

This is not out of ignorance or indifference - we transition to a new conversation because in that moment, as a group, we faced the lack of an immediate action or understanding of possible ways to help. Just like that, our compassion is put on hold.

For over a year after the death of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, my compassion was put on hold. I made the token reactions- I shared and reshared news with my friends and family, and we despaired together the reality that our world faced 21.3 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of 18. But the next morning, I would order a coffee and go to work, then grab dinner with friends, and get ready for the next day. Rinse, wash, and repeat.

One evening, I was googling local events when I came across Food Stories: From Burma to the Bay. I became excited as I learned about the event, and about IRC and GenR Bay Area, a group of compassionate young professionals who not only wanted to organize together to make an impact on our ongoing refugee crisis, but directly contributed time to refugees resettling in Northern California!  

This lit me up- not only was there a way for me to contribute to the people who had already dedicated their lives to refugee crisis relief, but there was a way for me to devote my own time and energy on a local level- and most importantly, show up to welcome recently resettled refugees. As a child of immigrant parents, I had witnessed and felt the importance of people who had shown up for my parents just this way.

So, I gathered my friends to join GenR’s Burma to the Bay event, and it was absolutely wonderful. The energy was warm, inviting, and thick with compassion- the attendees were hungry to help (and physically hungry, too!). We viewed a special exhibit put together by GenR members who had personally interviewed families. We listened to interviews of the children and their family members while viewing their photographs. Families from Syria, Afghanistan, and Burma were all represented.

Through the exhibit, we learned about a Burmese family who had left Burma due to one of the world’s longest civil wars - the Burma/Karen conflict. We learned about resettled refugees who had to leave their family behind. We learned about refugees who were forced to serve in the army as supply carriers and human shields for soldiers. We learned about the parents’ new hopes and dreams- many were optimistic that their children would get to restart their lives in a place with more freedom and opportunities to study.

After the exhibit, we were free to roam and try food from different locations where refugees had come from, and engaged in an exciting auction where attendees gave what they can- and some more than they comfortably could.

“I felt like I was surrounded by the goodness of people, everyone giving a little bit of what they could, and that kind of goodness is what makes the world go round.”

“I was grateful for the opportunity to help and offer the little I could to have an impact in someone's life and help with their resettlement. I was also so grateful  that we were able to hear stories from the refugees - although Muhammad Ali [young Syrian boy featured in an IRC video played at the event] almost made me cry.”

After attending Food Stories: From Burma to the Bay, I am tied to real and potential impact of IRC and GenR and its focus on global community as a power of healing.

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As I write this now, the explicit threat to multiculturalism, international relations, and the normalization of xenophobic rhetoric highlights the importance of organizations like IRC more than ever before.

As young professionals who have the capacity to mobilize our friends, families, and peer networks, GenR is our call to action-  the best way that we can show not through a raise of Facebook hands and reactions that we care, but by also taking the time and heart to show up in person. I hope you will take the compassion that you may have on hold, and come show up with us!

For more information about GenR and other ways to support the IRC in Northern California, please contact Maggie Hicks, Development Manager, at [email protected].