Comment replies from Gabriel

Gabriel’s Responses to Day 2 Comments from Gina, Daniel, Rachel, Mimi, Katie-Jay, Tere, his mom, Duxiangjun, Gayle, MaryAnn, Sylvia and Zaharita. :)

Aloha, Gina!

Brandon will enjoy seeing some of the children out here. He’d have a blast playing with them. They are very creative, making toys from mud and sticks. Big hug to both of you—Gabriel

Hello Daniel:
I share your feelings. It’s exciting to be out here, but it’s sad that we have to come back to report on this population that is forced to live in camps. The agencies do an incredible job to give them a place to live, but they want to go home, as any of us would want to.–Gabriel

Hi Rachel:
I also agree with Ann, about refugees having the right to smile and have happy moments. There’s little that’s so simple of a therapy as laughing.–Gabriel

Hola Mimi:
How’s everything back home? Are you and Gabo going out to the beach now and then? I miss you a lot. I will to bring you to Africa soon. I have only been in this area, so there is a lot for us to explore. Talk to you soon!—Papi

Hey Katie-Jay!
Thank you for ALL THE WORK you’ve been doing!

Yes, that travel advisory does describe the instability that we see in this area. N’Djamena is clearly in a state of emergency, and Eastern Chad is completely unpredictable. Ann (from UNHCR) told us, ‘there is no rule of law.” It is so strange for us, coming from our very easy life in California, to be in the middle of this. We get to go home, though. What does this kind of daily stress do to the aid workers, and what does it do to the children, the men and women, that have no place to go?–G

Hi Tere:
The situation in Chad, as KTJ mentioned from the report, has deteriorated so much since my first visit. Yes, the number of Chadian people that have had to flee their home has tripled in the last few months. It used to be that it was relatively safe on this side of the border, but now the border is even more imaginary. I’m glad to hear about the Save Darfur add on CNN. I read their e-mail. They are right on in saying that the Government of Sudan makes promise after promise, only to break them. The world cannot continue to play this game. The children you’ll see in the next few days deserve so much more.—G

Hola Mom:
Nos estamos cuidando mucho. Comemos bien y tomamos much agua. Me gusta mucho leer tus notas; me hace sentirme mas “en casa.” Un abrazo, Mom, y pronto platicamos mas.—G

Hello Duxiangjun:
I completely agree with your wise friend, our hearts can do a great job at listening. It is so easy to find reasons why nothing can be done, but if we become quiet for a while and allow ourselves to share in the passion of other (compassion), it becomes simple the why we have to act. Namaste, and please stay with us on our journey.—G

Gayle! :)
There’s many more “chinks on the armor” than just the red bull dependency! I try to keep them hidden :) hug–G

Hi MaryAnn and Sylvia:
I really do believe that building relationships is so important. It is not easy to get people to become involved with numbers. I hope that the faces that you’ll see in the next few days will move more people to act.—G

Hola Zaharita:
Como estan? Perdon que no he hablado, pero hemos estado echandole duro. Pienso mucho en ustedes. Dale un abrazo a Gabo y pregunale “quien the quiere?” Un beso mi Zahas.–G