Sea Prayer

photo credit National Geographic.

Sea Prayer is a beautiful children’s book by Khaled Hosseini who wrote the Kite Runner. I was too chicken to read that book, but this one is a poignant and sad reminder of the cost of war, power, pride and ego. I have heard tales from my friends from Venezuela of how quickly your life can head down the path to exile. I have read the history of the Jews during many points of persecution. They all wonder how quickly a nation can turn and your life can be thrown into utter chaos. I have lived in Uganda on the border of Rwanda and Congo where we heard stories of genocide and watched people at the refugee camps. In Uganda, they say, “you today, me tomorrow.” My friends taught me a deep empathy.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who is thoughtful about the current movement of people around the globe. Hosseini tells the tale of gentle times in Syria, and the watercolor pictures tell their own tale as the book progresses through the war and then the refugee migration. This is a way to honor that little boy, Alan Kurdi, who died in 2015 (the book is dedicated to him) and to remember that though the stable world has moved on, millions of others are in a camp somewhere wondering what just happened.

“Because all I can think tonight is how deep the sea, and how vast, how indifferent. How powerless I am to protect you from it. All I can do is pray.”

Dan Williams is the artist. Gifted man.

It would make a wonderful gift for someone, even yourself.