“The government can pause,” Taryn said. “Laws can pause. But God’s people should always be looking for what God has for us to do.”
As for Ava, she said the situation weighs heavily on her family. She’s heard rumors of Trump instituting a new version of the travel ban he enacted via executive order during his first administration — which barred people from Iran and other, mostly Muslim-majority countries from entering the country, including as refugees. She frets over her son’s ability to work, as well as his mental health. The often traumatic experience of persecution and isolation experienced by refugees, she said, combined with the often yearslong process of resettling them, can take a toll.
“The process is very long. They work very slowly. Many people just …” Ava said, pausing to find the correct word in English. She then repeated the same word several times, making sure to enunciate clearly: “Suicide.”
“They cannot go back to their country, and they don’t move forward, so they just decide to kill themselves,” she said.
“In Iran,” Ava said, her voice rising, “they cannot choose their God. They cannot choose to read anything other than an Islamic book.”
“They are not free.”
This article originally appeared here.
