Expat, lived in the UK for half my life.
So you might have seen in the news what's happening in Austria, but honestly, that's just a fraction of what's going on right now. At the railway station in Vienna, hundreds have turned up to welcome the refugees with applause. They are bringing food, medicines, clothes, and most importantly, skills - doctors, lawyers, translators. The police, the army, the national rail service - everybody has behaved impeccably. My Facebook is full of people actually doing stuff. The relief organisations are being inundated with offers to help and have to turn volunteers away.
We're a small country, with a population of less than that of Greater London. 6,5000 have arrived since last night, and we are expecting 10,000 people by the end of today. Many, many families with children. I realise that most of them will eventually travel on to Germany, but still - they are shown that they are welcome and treated with dignity.
Fingers crossed that it continues like this. All my life, I have felt a mixture of shame and embarrassment for my country. Today, for the first time, I feel pride that I can't put into words.
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68 replies
bestcatintheworld · 05/09/2015 12:08
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