By Barbara Edens
Eduardo from Ecuador arrived at the airport. He had not eaten, so I walked with him to the café in Terminal A and bought him a coffee and a hot dog.
There were a few small tables. I put his food on one of the tables and prepared to go back to Terminal B to help other immigrants, but he asked me to sit down and offered to buy me a cup of coffee. I thought about it for a minute, then said “okay” and sat down with him, knowing he did not want to be alone.
He talked about why he was fleeing his country; he lived in a small village with a beautiful river nearby. A mining company arrived and began to operate. As it grew in production, the river—their sole source of water—became polluted. Many of the young people, including him, began to protest what was happening. Then many of these villagers were murdered. Eduardo was forced to flee before they could kill him as well.
He was very sad to leave his home but thankful that he had relatives in the U.S. to help. I was very glad that I slowed down and took the time to listen.
