I am very sad to report that it appears that the three refugee families I was going to meet are too terrified to be photographed or interviewed, or perhaps, even to meet with me. I can hardly blame them.

We will continue to look for others, and I am confident we will find some people to meet. Since January 20, the day of the Executive Orders On Immigration, this community has been gripped in a wave of terror. All else aside, this unimaginably and unacceptably cruel.

It does not speak to America, or American beliefs and values. The Refugees are terrified they will be sent home, or exiled if they speak, or fired from their jobs, or evicted from their homes and apartments. Almost all of them have family still in their home countries, many with visas granting permission to come to the United States, yet they are barred from coming.

If they have been heartened by anything, it has been your astonishing generosity and support this week.

Refugee organizations report that more than 100,000 people from selected mostly Muslim countries have had their visas cancelled or rejected, a figure vastly greater than the government has admitted to. This has caused catastrophic suffering among these families, some of whom have been separated from their loved ones for years. Fathers separated from wives and children, mothers, sisters, grandmothers cut off from their families for no reason and with no kind of due process.

We are in danger of becoming a selfish, lazy and ignorant nation, adrift from our own beliefs and heritage. Some people and groups in America have experienced this terror, but the country has always tried to rise above it and move past it. It has never been the official policy of our government, certainly not since slavery was banned.

I feel sometimes lately that I am living in different country. Hearing and feeling and seeing this awful terror brings me back to the worst parts of the human story. Inflicting this kind of pain is not what we are about. It didn’t have to happen this way, if it had to happen at all. We have always stood for humanity and justice, not cruelty and ignorance and selfishness.

I will continue to work to support these refugees, and hopefully, mentor them and assist them, as we have been doing these past two weeks. I do not believe this grotesque injustice will stand, and I will work as hard as I can to overturn it. I will continue to look for refugee families who will talk to me about their lives, if they feel safe doing so.

I believe the real America will rise up peacefully and take back our country.

I might be sad today, but I am very determined and I will keep on looking. I believe it is meant to happen.

In the meantime, I hope you will continue to support the refugee families who are here, and who need help and reassurance. If so, you can go to the Amazon Refugee Gift Page to see a list of what is needed and what you can contribute for very little money and great effect. Don’t argue. Fight back by feeling good and doing good. The refugees who are here are much buoyed by your generosity and compassion.