When reality hits you in the face

There comes a time when what you knew in theory, what you’ ve heard appears just in front of you and hits you in the face. This day, something like that happened.

I was on the subway returning home from my university, when suddenly two girls at the age of 7-9 get into with their dad. 

They were refugees probably from Syria. The two girls had long hair, they were wearing dirty clothes, dirty shoes but they looked so happy…. Their father looked so happy watching them play,but you could see in his eyes the problems he was facing…

The girls were playing and I laughed spontaneously. They looked at me and when they saw I was smiling to them they smiled back at me. We kept looking each other until the time for them to get out came. The girls, looked at me again and this time said in my language ” gia sou koritsi ” which means “goodbye girl” and they waved at me. I smiled and waved back. Such a brief contact but something I’ll never forget.

I saw three happy faces, from three people that have every right to be sad, to grumble, but they don’t. They were wearing dirty clothes and shoes, they might didn’t have enough food or somewhere safe to stay, but they were smiling, they were laughing.

The questions filled my mind. Do they have a mom? Do they have enough food? Do they have a place to stay safe? DO THEY HAVE A CHANCE? A few minutes ago, before I met those girls I was thinking what shoes should I buy, how unlucky I am for not having enough money to do whatever I want. And then, reality slapped me in the face. I have a place to live, I have food, I have my family, I have peace and a future. Those two girls came to my country because they were in danger in Syria because of the war. They had nothing aprt from one another but they were smiling. How stupid I feel now for the times I grumbled!

I don’t care about religions, I don’t care about politics. I care about these souls. They are not numbers, they are not just statistics. They are human beings! HUMAN BEINGS ! 

I’ll always remember those faces. I’ll always remember those eyes. I’ll always remember not to grumble BECAUSE I DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO DO SO! I’ll always remember that two girls I won’t probably meet again smiled at me for just once. And I’ll always remember those smiles…….