As difficult as it is for refugees, as heart rending as it must be to change countries, to move away from all you know to escape either conflict or persecution, the world at large is a scary place, and the leaders of our countries are not making things any easier.
Governments are caught in a vice, between the will of the people and the limits of law and policy, but there are times when the will of the people needs to win out over the law and policy.
Yes we need to ensure that the people who enter our countries as refugees are indeed the persecuted and not the persecutors or fleeing from legitimate justice.
But.
We also need to open our doors to our new neighbours.
When the government of Iceland set the number of refugees at 50, which considering the size of the country is small, but not outlandish, the people expressed their will, and 5,000 stood up to welcome new neighbours.
That means to me, that the people of Iceland is shouting their collective choice at their government, and those citizens have just shown the rest of the world what it means to be a compassionate human.
Now it is our turn.
