Melissa’s Fandango Flash Fiction Challenge #378
FFFC #374 – Refugees Welcome
The words were sprayed in pink.
Not carefully. Not perfectly.
Just boldly enough that anyone passing by would notice.
REFUGEES WELCOME
Some people would walk past without a second glance.
Others would stop and argue.
But I stopped and thought about the three figures running beneath the words.
A man.
A woman.
A child.
At least, that’s who I imagined them to be.
Not statistics.
Not headlines.
Not political debates.
People.
People who once had a home, a favourite chair, neighbours, family photographs, and ordinary mornings. People who never expected to leave everything behind.
No one abandons their life because it is easy.
No one carries a child across borders because it sounds adventurous.
People run because staying has become impossible.
The stencil on the concrete pillar will eventually fade. Rain will wash over it. New posters will cover it. Time will erase the bright pink letters.
But I hope the message remains.
Not because every problem has a simple solution.
Not because borders and nations are easy questions.
But because kindness should never go out of fashion.
A welcome does not solve every hardship.
Yet sometimes it is the first thing a frightened person needs to hear.
“You are safe now.”
“You belong.”
“You are still human.”
And perhaps that is what those bright pink words were trying to say all along.
Refugees welcome.
Not as a slogan.
As a reminder of our shared humanity.
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
If you want a reading, send me an email:
Leave a comment