I woke up this morning with several messages waiting for me. The one that most affected me was from a Refugee student who asked me, “Do I still dare to Dream?” In that single sentence, my heart broke. It lay like pieces on the floor amid the hopes of so many refugees.
I choked. What could I say? Then another message came in, “Why so many people like him?”. “I don’t know”, I had to say. “Why is that people like people who hate others?” I don’t know the answer to that either.
Then another message from a Refugee student, a graduate of our program, now at a local college. “Help me go to law school”, she said, “I know it will be hard but I want to make a difference.”
I did not feel like teaching this morning, but knowing that students would be anxious and apprehensive, I had to teach. I had to listen to the concerns and fears from students that have made my life more meaningful. In their pain, suffering, strength and fortitude, I see a better America. I see an America in which we all can still dream and no one can stop that.
Dr. Harden