A Day to Celebrate San Antonio’s Refugee Communities

by Sister Martha Ann Kirk

"Each culture is like a unique colorful thread,” said Narjis Pierre, the program organizer for San Antonio’s Sixth Annual World Refugee Day celebration held Saturday. She hoped the hospitality provided by local citizens will help to weave the threads into the beautiful tapestry of our city.About 50 million refugees in the world are fleeing political violence, cultural or religious persecution, natural disasters, and other hardships.  That’s every single person in Texas times two, give or take a few million.  Pierre had invited refugees to open the celebration sharing these words in some of their languages, which included Nepali, Farsi, Spanish, Arabic, and French.  Dana Clark, a popular local composer and songwriter, shared an original musical version of this poem:

“May peace prevail on earth. And love replace war.
May nostalgia of leaving our homeland
be surpassed by the joys of creating
our new home in San Antonio.
May our paths be filled with friends
celebrating the possibilities  ahead of us.
In peace and hope we pray
for our loved ones back home and our loved ones in our new home.”