The Open House is a powerful and transformative experience for me this year, many of you have noticed this and messaged me about it. You saw it, of course, before I did, sometimes we can just be too close.
I’m no longer sure who adopted who. Did Bedlam Farm adopt them?
Did they adopt me, and us? Months ago, deeply upset by the sudden war on immigrants and refugees, I set out to find some immigrants and refugees I could write about. I wished to explain that these are ordinary people, just like us, and they are part of our heart and soul, not alien beings and terrorists and enemies.
Somehow, the fates intervened and some good people led me to RISSE, the refugee and immigrant support center in Albany, N.Y. There I met a man who has changed my life, they call him Ali, his name is Amjad Abdullah Mohammed, he was born in the United States, was raised in the Sudan and Egypt, and returned here when he was 17.
He is a teacher, driver, coach and father to the refugee children, their love and warmth and courage shine through the awful trauma, dislocation and tragedy they have suffered. Ali has become my close friend and brother, we talk every day, and I am overwhelmed by his love, good heart and dedication to these children.
They adore him and trust him, he is their guide and Angel on their difficult journey.
We are working to help these children in every possible way. Their refugee center was burned down by arsonists last year. We are showing them a different America.
In this work, I have been joined by the Army of Good, we are sending them to an amusement park, buying new soccer uniforms, giving them a retreat weekend at Pompanuck Farms, helping them organize a band, supporting the Saturday excursions and birthday parties that keep them off the streets and give them activities all throughout the summer.
They are in need of every single thing. They do not complain, show no bitterness, accept Ali’s assurance that what is happening in our country right now is not the “real America.” The real America was here at Bedlam Farm yesterday and returning today.
Ali is my guide and better angel, we plot every day how to support these children and show them the generous spirit and openness of our country. To my complete surprise and discomfort, they have named their soccer team the Bedlam Farm Warriors, and they have chosen to put an image of Red, who they love, on their jerseys. After I gave them a digital piano keyboard, the decided to name their band the Bedlam Farm Musical Band.
I have come to love and admire Ali, we are, in fact, blood brothers in almost every possible way. We knew one another from the beginning, and he sees directly into my soul. He calls me a miracle, I call him the same thing. He is the Prince of Empathy, a centerpiece of humanity.
To those who are asking, I offer some of my own money, but the vast bulk of support has come from you, and I thank you, and they thank you. You are the reason they wish to put “Bedlam Farm” on their jerseys.
Yesterday, after the Open House and their song, I took them all the new Round House Cafe for soup and sandwiches, and sitting with them, bringing them water and silverware, answering their many questions about me and the farm, I felt blessed, in every possible way.
They are helping me to love myself as well as them. They are helping me to see the path forward: to do good rather than argue about doing good, and to do it every day.
I felt the same way about the Mansion residents who struggled to come here yesterday and share in the day.
I will stand with them all the way, and am lucky to know them. I admit to loving them more and more, this is all a gift to me, and also to Maria. My struggle is not with the left or the right, I have little interest in people who label themselves in that way, I seek a caring world, where people and governments reject selfishness and hatred and accept the sacred responsibility of caring for everyone, not just the rich and powerful.
In one sense, that was what yesterday was about, and hopefully, today as well.
The turmoil roiling the country has been a gift to me, it has brought me into contact with some of the most wonderful people, it has helped me understand and define myself – who I am, where I come from – and what I believe.
I will stand apart from the hatred and fear that is tearing our fabric and work hard for a more caring world. We have the right to demand that our government hears our cries and works to help the many, not just the few.
The soccer team is a part of that, and yesterday, the Bedlam Farm idea of creativity and encouragement and the refugee idea of freedom and community and safety came together, and seemed to form one thing. There were a lot of tears flowing as these children sang Michael Jackson’s “We Are The World” yesterday at the farm.
This was by far the most powerful and affirming Open House for me.
I miss these kids when they are gone, and I miss Ali. This was a profound day for Mara and me, and for our lives together and for the idea of the Open House, a sharing of our lives and values. Thanks to you who came – a record crowd – and to those of you who are watching and contributing.
Many people warned us not to open our lives up to so many people in this way. We were wrong. The Open Houses were one of the best ideas we ever had.