More than 100,000 refugees have journeyed into Sicily in 2017. The UN Refugee Agency notes that in the first week of October, 1,4000 people entered various island ports of this Italian province.

To put this into perspective, our local city of Noblesville has a reported population of 60,000 people. It’s neighboring city of Westfield claims 37,000 residents. Imagine if every man, woman and child of those two towns packed a small bag and walked away from their homes. They simply left them empty. Now imagine, these 100,000 people, in small groups, or as individuals made their way across the country to San Francisco (roughly the same distance as anyone in Somalia might walk to get to Libya’s coast). Imagine this throng as they approach the city, ready to find safety, ready to receive sanctuary. And then imagine what would happen if that scenario repeated itself, year after year after year. That is what is happening across Africa. That is what is happening in Sicily.  Continue reading →