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Hi there,

We took in a Ukrainian family yesterday: a mother, her 20-year-old daughter and her 8-year-old son. Their father is still in Ukraine, unable to leave.

It's uncanny for them to find themselves in a situation where they had to leave their beautiful home, and to have to depend on complete strangers like ourselves to help them find their feet again.

For me, hosting them is a learning journey on many levels, and it’s my intention to share bits and pieces with you here.

My first learning is about the amazing things people do for total strangers if you give them a clear ask.

It took only one Facebook post to have friends and neighbors showing up at our door with clothes, meals and toys, and offers for playdates and administrative support.

It reminds me of the saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’.

Yes, we are the ones hosting, and yes, that’s quite an adjustment for our family, but knowing that support is only one social media post or phone call away makes it so much easier.

Thank you to all who’ve shown up for us!

IF YOU’RE READING THIS, WANT TO DO SOMETHING AND DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START

I feel you, that’s how I felt only a week ago. What helped me is this wiki that Tanja Lau initiated. It has a focus on Switzerland, but also has a lot of international resources.

If you’re wondering what it would be like to host a refugee family, I would also invite you to read about her personal experience
here.

And of course I am happy to answer any questions you may have as well!

IF YOU’RE WONDERING WHY WE ARE SO OBSESSED WITH HELPING THE UKRAINIANS, AND SEEM TO HAVE FORGOTTEN ABOUT ARAB, ASIAN AND AFRICAN REFUGEES

Ouch, good and painful point.

Thanks to Tanja, I learned about the term ‘selective empathy’, one of the many biases in our brain. We took in a Ukrainian family and gave them our key on the first day, without knowing much about them.

Would we have done the same for a family from Yemen, Libya, Ethiopia, Palestine or Syria?

Apparently not, because there were plenty of opportunities to do so in the past years and it has never crossed our mind.

One way to overcome selective empathy is to notice when we think of people as “others” and to get curious about them.

Just like writing a book with 100 stories of homeless people in San Francisco helped me to rehumanize the homelessness crisis and empathize with the individuals on the streets, getting curious about the stories of refugees from non-European countries can help us to overcome our bias now that we’ve identified it.

Connecting with the unhoused people in San Francisco enriched my life incredibly, as I am sure my journey in connecting with refugees will too.

If you’re speaking German, one amazing way to break through your selective empathy is to join the German WOMEN’S HUB LOVE SESSION with Nahid Shahalimi on April 6th, about women in Afghanistan. Would love to see you there!

TO WRAP UP

When I started writing this biweekly newsletter, I imagined it would be light and fun, with an occasional 90’s hit song to entertain you😇 I guess that’s not where life is taking me these days, but I do want to share this 00’s song that randomly pops up in my head these days and makes it impossible for me to sit still.

Would love to hear your guilty pleasure songs 🎶

P.S. One thing that gives me a lot of joy these days is that the WOMEN’S HUB DAY on May 14th is slowly approaching, and for the first time in the history of the WOMEN’S HUB Zurich, the 🦠 doesn’t seem to throw a spanner in the works. Will you join us?

P. P.S. Are you reading this 2-minute treat in your browser? Sign up here if you want to receive it in your inbox.

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arjanna.com · Nidelbadstrasse 12a · Kilchberg Zh 8802 · Switzerland

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