I heard in the news recently that a few thousand Afghan families, who are coming to the US as refugees, are likely to settle in Illinois. Another news confirmed the arrival of about 70 unaccompanied children who will be making Chicago their new home. These families and children, as we can suspect, are leaving Afghanistan with nothing except their own lives and in some cases their family members. We need to help them settle into this new environment, new place and new culture.

This week I thought I’d wander over to Wales with my linguistic rambling. Hiraeth is another word that’s tied into the national identity of the people that speak it, and another one with no single word that can accurately express it in English. It’s a kind of homesickness, but shaded with longing and grief. 

I've come up with a theme for each week's "Pip's Perspective," and I'm very excited to share it with you all. Each week I will pick a community organizing topic to discuss. Feel free to send me your perspectives or questions if you'd like!