by Valerie Jean-Baptiste

The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields will host renowned Philadelphia Inquirer international columnist Trudy Rubin for a talk on the current Syrian crisis, at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19. The lecture will be a fundraiser for St. Martin’s ongoing refugee sponsorship, the Refugee Resettlement Ministry of six Syrian refugees.

Launched in 2016, the Refugee Resettlement Ministry at St. Martin’s was created out of concern by several members of the parish about the global refugee crisis, particularly coming out of Syria. St. Martin’s Refugee Resettlement works to resettle refugees in a safe, secure, and welcoming environment.

The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel, rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, learned through the Refugee Resettlement Ministry that refugees that are starting a new life in America are coming in with nothing but the clothes on their back.

“We have to start from zero, furniture, housing, clothing,” Kerbel said. “It’s bottom up building a life, and it’s a very disorienting experience for the refugees to suddenly be in Philadelphia after going through refugee camps, warfare and trauma.”

Marnie Kerr, who oversees the Refugee Resettlement Ministry, talked about how the ministry helped transition refugees, such as the Dahan family, into American life and culture.

“We provided them with all the furniture to their apartment, found them a job, helped them put their child Ayman, who’s 9, into school, taking part in a few home-school conferences to help with that transition,” Kerr said. “We also gave driving lessons to Sameer and Majidah, so that eventually when they have enough money they can buy a car and be able to get around much more easily.”

While the Dahan family is slowly but surely transitioning smoothly into American life, culture, and expectations, there is still a long way to go.

“What’s interesting is, they find Philadelphia very difficult because they lived in a place where the doctor was around the corner, the drug store was around the corner, all of their friends and family were right there, and now there all alone,” Kerr said.

Syrian refugees, however, are currently not accepted within the U.S. Although they are not banned indefinitely, the situation remains desperate with tension.

“We want to continue working with the families we’re working with and make sure they’re fully stable and fully capable of leading their lives with independence and comfort, and that their kids are well on their way to fully engaging with life in Philadelphia.” Kerbel said. “It’s cruel and heartless in terms of these poor people who have been driven out of their countries because of warfare and violence and danger. They need a place to live safely and we have so many resources to share here. We’re losing something essential about America which is the welcoming of refugees and immigrants.”

When asked about what the refugee ministry hopes to accomplish, Kerr said her focus is on the present.

“Our first goal is to help the Dahans become independent in all ways,” she said. “At the moment we’re helping them with rent, and we are driving them to places they need to go, but at some point, we want them to be independent. And that would allow us to help more refugees.”

Rubin’s visit will help people understand why the St. Martin’s refugee work is so important.

“Trudy Rubin is an amazing expert on Syria, a real treasure of Philadelphia,” Kerr said. “I think it’s a great and important time to be well-informed about the situation in Syria. It’s very complicated, it’s very nuanced, and I think she can enlighten us about why the situation is and get us up to speed on the crisis.”

The Trudy Rubin talk, entitled “7 Years, 4 Months, and Counting: The Syrian Civil War” is open to the public and will be held at the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields, 8000 St. Martin’s Lane in Chestnut Hill. Tickets for the event are $15 ($10 for seniors and students) and are available here.