Marsh letter: Refugees
The suggestion that individuals wear a safety pin to show their solidarity with and support for refugees and immigrants started in Great Britain.
As a veteran, I wore a lapel flag after 9/11 and worried like other Americans about the unleashed terror. Now a safety pin symbolizes support for refugees and immigrants.
I’ve climbed to the crown of the Statue of Liberty, reciting the words:
“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
A safety pin is a visual reminder the United States is a safe place for the huddled masses trapped in relocation camps, far from their own home. The safety pin on my coat is one voice welcoming those in need to their new home in America, a nation of immigrants.
Merilee Marsh, Boise
This story was originally published February 14, 2017 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Marsh letter: Refugees."