Tulip

The tulip, to many a symbol of dreaming and a declaration of love, grows wild over Asia Minor from Siberia through China. First cultivated and hybridized by the Turks, the tulip was historically regarded as an emblem of the Ottoman Empire; today it is the national flower of Turkey.
 
Turkey -- a land rimmed by an aquamarine sea on one side and brutal fighting on the other. Turkey -- host to 3.1 million people of concern -- largely refugees from neighbouring Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Turkey -- an area smaller than Northern Ontario, Canada; but filled with fruit and livestock and humanity and goodwill and striving.
 
What I saw there were people -- business owners and beggars, creating safe places to coexist and, at the end of the day, sharing what they had in surplus.
 
The tulip -- a common sight in gardens across my hometown, as second-generation locals honour the land from whence their parents came. Canada played a pivotal role in liberating the Netherlands from Nazi forces during World War II, but some had already escaped the conflict and begun a new life here.
We all need safety: the tulip, hiding deep to weather the cold, then sending out tender shoots in hopes of finding fertile ground, reminds me of this.
 
Proceeds from “Tulip” will benefit Welcome Project Syria in Goderich, which is currently sponsoring our second refugee family.