This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf.  Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon (Les AuCoin), as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist.  This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.  I could have called this blog “Middle Ground,” for that is what I long for in both politics and golf.  The middle ground is often where the best public policy decisions lie.  And it is where you want to be on a golf course.

One test of our humanity as Americans is how we treat refugees, including those from Afghanistan.

Surely, the U.S. exit from that country was mis-handled several months ago, but, still, many refugees from that country are arriving in America every week.  And Americans are stepping up to care for them.

So much so that the Wall Street Journal carried a piece on the issue written by Danielle Pletka, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

I repeat excerpts here, while also noting that the City of Salem has developed a solid humanitarian record when it comes to Afghan refugees.  More about that later in this blog; first quotes from Pletka.

“For months after the painful U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, I tried to find some substantive way to aid Afghan refugee families in the United States — particularly in Northern Virginia, where I live.  

“A couple of weeks ago, a friend introduced me to the Immigrant and Refugee Outreach Center (IROC) in McLean.  IROC, in turn, introduced me to a newly arrived family of seven — siblings and in-laws, aged 14 to 30, the proud owners of five chairs and three beds.  Almost no English.

“An apartment was rented by a family acquaintance, they told me, but there was no lease in evidence.  No phones, no computers, no blankets, no coats, no boots, no sneakers, and no pots, pans, or food (friends were bringing them meals).”

This family, Pletka writes, is in no way unique. 

“The children’s father stayed in Afghanistan to look after his ailing father.  Their mother stayed with him.  The children spent a few months on a military base and left in search of a forever home.  They have three months’ rent from the federal government, possibly an additional stipend, and need to get into schools and find jobs.  They have a small group of friends, mostly an extended circle of Afghans who have been here a little longer.

“There are hundreds, probably thousands, of Americans helping such refugees — inviting them in, feeding them, helping them orient, driving them, doing what they can.

“Here’s my story:  After spending a bunch of cash online, I realized this family was going to need more help.  I’m not much of a neighborhood association type, but I used our local e-mail group to reach out to my wider community.  I explained the situation and the family‘s needs, and I asked people to pitch in what they could.

“It took only moments, literally.  E-mails flooded in.  Sheets, blankets, pots, pans, mirrors, rice, a bike, mattresses, couches, clothes, shoes — you name it, the offers piled into my inbox.  My front door was overflowing with generous drop-offs, new and sometimes lightly used.  A few neighbors went out and shopped, texting from Walmart to ask about sizes.  Others ordered on-line and sent things to my home addressed to ‘Afghan Family.’  My husband and kids joined me in making deliveries.”

Stories such as this also occur in Salem every day.

It all started when the church my wife and I attend in Salem, Salem Alliance, agreed to start a refugee-helping program that came to be called “Salem For Refugees.” 

Here is a summary of Salem For Refugees’ mission and vision:

• To bring people and resources together to empower refugees to thrive.
• To see all refugees in Salem as valued, thriving, contributing members of our community.
• We believe that the relationships between refugees who resettle in Salem and the volunteers and community members who welcome them are transformative for all parties.
• We believe that the role of Salem For Refugees is to help our new neighbors discover the tools and resources they need to become confident in making their own decisions and achieving their own goals as they re-settle in Salem.
• We believe our community is made stronger as people of faith and people of goodwill work together towards a common mission of welcoming our new neighbors.

Refugee re-settlement has been taking place in the state of Oregon since 1975.  Initially, the Salem community helped to welcome many refugees, particularly from Vietnam and Cambodia.  But, for the past 30 years, all refugees who were chosen for re-settlement in the state of Oregon, were re-settled in the Portland metro area. 

Due to the rising costs of housing in Portland, the Re-Settlement Agency, Catholic Charities, expanded the scope to include the City of Salem.

In October 2016, Salem Leadership Foundation (SLF), in partnership with Catholic Charities and Salem Alliance Church, hosted a series of lunch meetings called “Welcoming Our New Neighbors.”  The purpose of these meetings was to bring together the various groups and organizations that were seeking to care for refugees and explore how the efforts could be coordinated.

The good news is that Salem Alliance caught the vision from the beginning and provided significant start-up funding, office space, facility use, vehicles, volunteers, and more.  SLF stepped up to be the fiscal sponsor of Salem For Refugees, providing bookkeeping, accounting, organizational coaching, and invaluable community connections.

​Salem For Refugees has welcomed hundreds of refugees, asylees, and asylum seekers from a variety of countries including Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Sudan, South Sudan, Ukraine, and Venezuela.

And, speaking of the vision, my wife, Nancy, caught i, especially in regard recently to Afghan refugees coming to America – and Salem – for a new start on life.

Nancy has made it a recent practice to buy and donate food, furniture, clothes, and other household goods for Afghan families.  Part of the task – a good part – was to recognize the cultural differences between Afghans and their new neighbors…cultural differences that could be recognized in the donations of food, clothing, and furniture.   

By extension, it makes me feel good to see Nancy’s dedication and to note the good work Salem For Refugees has done for all kinds of refugees, including Afghans.

It’s a good news story of putting feet to faith on the ground in Salem, Oregon.