Sincere thanks to the Concord City Council for their recent approval of a resolution affirming the value of immigrants and refugees as members of our Concord community.
As friends, parents, students, workers, owners of local businesses and taxpayers, these newcomers enrich our neighborhoods, our schools, our local economy and our world view.
While immigration has been an essential element of Concord’s story for hundreds of years, this simple message of welcome is as important now as it has ever been. To say “welcome” now, in the midst of a catastrophic refugee crisis throughout the world, and dehumanizing slogans at home, is a powerful act of resistance to violence and indifference.
Saying “welcome” helps us to remember who we are, and how much we owe our own safety and well-being to our collective capacity to care for each other.
Saying “welcome” dignifies the host as much as it does the newcomer.
These are difficult times to be sure, but our acts of kindness and hospitality can transform our mind-set, as well as our world. Concord people have shown many times how committed they are to compassion and inclusion. May we continue to extend ourselves in this direction.
MAGGIE FOGARTY
Concord
(The writer is co-director of the New Hampshire program, American Friends Service Committee.)