Feeling safe at home?

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

Other than my occasional irrational reactions to odd noises that go “bump” in the night, I pretty much feel safe in my home. As a matter of fact, it is a sanctuary for me where I can relax, be myself and get away from the everyday pressures of finding a way to make it in this world. There is a reason why, when we have company, the most welcoming thing we can say is “Relax and make yourself at home.”

Because I treasure the sanctuary that “home” is for me, there are two stories that I have come across in the last few days that have haunted me a bit. They have no real relationship to each other besides the fact that they involve a violation of the sanctity of “home.”

The first is a story from Sadr City, Iraq.

Iraqi security forces, after more than of 40 days of intense fighting, on Thursday told residents to evacuate their homes in the northeast Shiite slum of Sadr City and to move to temporary shelters on two soccer fields.

…

Sadr City has been a battleground since late March, enduring U.S. airstrikes, militia snipers and gunbattles between U.S. and Iraqi forces and the Mahdi Army, the militia loyal to Sadr.

Already some 8,500 people have been displaced from the sprawling slum of some 2.5 million people, according to the Iraqi Red Crescent. For weeks, food, water and medical shortages have affected about 150,000 people, aid agencies said.

Two soccer fields in east and northeast Baghdad are expected to receive some 16,000 evacuees from the southeast portion of the city where the fighting has been most intense.

…

Right now the fields are empty, and families have not come.

Um Mohammed, 48, ignored the Iraqi soldiers calling over loudspeakers for residents to leave their homes on Thursday. Earlier this week the Iraqi army dropped fliers around her home that asked residents to turn over Mahdi Army militiamen and cooperate with the government.

“The residents here are laughing at the government,” she said. “Their demands are very strange. Either hand over our sons or leave our houses to live in small tents.”

Um Mohammed will stay in her home, she said, even though her neighborhood is beset by gunbattles and sporadic airstrikes.

“We refuse to leave,” she said. “Our death will be inside our homes.”

Iraqi military orders Sadr City residents to evacuate

The other story is one of undocumented immigrants and the special fear that haunts their lives, even in what should be the sanctuary of their homes.

So tonight, when I lay my head on my pillow to relax and get a good night’s sleep, I will remember the words of my dear but long departed Aunt Ruth. At these moments, she would always remind me to be grateful for a warm safe bed to sleep in. And I’ll count my blessings and pray for those who are not so fortunate.