Syrian Crisis Generates Need for Relief Kits

Syrian Refugees, (c) Reuters, courtesy Gulf News, Dubai.

 ne Help; Een Flijchtlinkj

  The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) has responded to Syrian refugees fleeing the violence into Jordan.  One of the supplies that MCC requires is personal hygiene kits for the refugees known as "relief kits".

  According to the United Nations (UN), at least 12,500 registered refugees from Syria have entered Jordan.  Other reports indicate that Syrian refugees number in the tens of thousands (as many as 80,000).   While Jordan has traditionally been known for its history of openness and hospitality towards various refugee groups in the Middle East, but it is not a wealthy nation and has already admitted to the UN that money is low for providing for the latest arrivals.

    Putting together one or more relief kits is an excellent way that religious and non-religious ethnic Mennonites can help to build ties of peace and compassion between their culture and others who are experiencing need.  The relief kits are a basic aid component and do not carry any specific religious or political overtones -- just an expression of compassion and concern from the Mennonite diaspora to the recipient.

Preserving the Diaspora

Jewish Expulsion by Titus 70 C

     I have to admit a fair amount of annoyance with the definition creep of the term diaspora to include every single instance of international ethnic community or multinational identity.  Mainly, my sense of annoyance comes from the lack of a replacement term that refers to the traditional (pre-2004) use of the term when it was seemingly expanded to refer to any international ethnic group that transcends international boundaries such as a migratory, refugee or international immigrant communities.  Disturbingly, the definition is seemingly again being modified further to refer to these international immigrant communities who retain their relations to an established, existing “homeland” or country of origin – completely redefining the most historic usage of the term.