My Warrior Path (Book 6)

Political Refugee

Look at that photo
What do you see?
A young girl
Who is she?
Why isn't she smiling?
How long ago was this?

She was a
Political refugee
Aged 6
Escaping from a Socialist regime
That hated Jews
29 years ago

She left everything behind
Except the most important
Her parents and grandparents
Ran with her

When they said they wanted to leave
They were kicked out
Stripped of their citizenship
Never to return

Yet each country they entered
They did so
Legally
With papers

Though their trip wasn't
Without peril
Jumping on and off moving trains
With luggage
A child
And two elderly people

They made their way across
Half a continent
Starting in Eastern Europe
Living for 3 weeks
In the middle of nowhere
Austria

And then 4 months
In Santa Marinella, Italy
The boot became a safe haven
For thousands of families
Fleeing the USSR

That girl in the picture
Had a doll with her
She brought only 3 or 4 others
But they were packed in a
Wooden cargo container and
She couldn't see them until
They found a permanent home

They were citizens of the world, you see.
Their choices slim
They couldn't march up into
A country and demand to be taken

They weren't dragging kids in diapers
Across thousands of miles
In the cold of winter
Each country gave them places to live
Because they were legal immigrants

Israel took some
The US took others
The little girl and family
Were brought to Connecticut
After her first ever flight on a plane
Delta airlines

From Rome to New York - JFK
No fences
No violence
No threats
Visas were given

Her parents never spent
An hour on welfare
The little girl went into 1st grade
They assimilated
Learned English
Didn't demand that Russian
Be made into an official language to learn
In America

She got her 4 dolls
And an extra 14 Barbies as a gift
4 short years after arrival
The quintet became US citizens
No moaning, making excuses
Tests taken and passed

This little, 6 year old, serious girl
Is now a tall, proud, 35 year old woman
Working on her PhD
She is me

I am writing this because
I am sick and tired of the invasion
By the migrant rebels being looked upon
As someone we should just let in
Without vetting

Go back to your countries
Or stay in Mexico as you've been offered
And if you're real refugees, like we were
Have the capacity to come here legally
Wait your turn, like we did
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean

Freebies don't happen and shouldn't
I refuse to pay for lazy moochers
If people are so sad about their plight
Open your own wallets
Your homes
Your lives to these unknowns

Go volunteer at the border
Do something other then bitch
Whine, moan, and complain

Legal immigration is the way
It should be done
Not just here
But everywhere
Borders must be protected

We are a land of immigrants
But we are a land of law and order
We came here for the American Dream
Not a socialism nightmare
We left that

I am a proud American citizen
My parents worked their butts off
For all we have
Never taking any help from the government

One thing that will never change
I will always love my country
This country that took my family
And were given opportunities to grow
The greatest one on earth
The United States of America