Oakland A’s Player, Chicago Mayor Host Thanksgiving for Syrian Refugees

Oakland Athletics’s pitcher Sean Doolittle hosted an atypical Thanksgiving dinner with his girlfriend Thursday, inviting 17 Syrian refugee families to join the festivities.

“Chicago is so lucky to have 17 Syrian refugee families now officially calling it home. We thought we’d officially welcome them with one of our greatest American traditions, Thanksgiving,” Doolittle’s girlfriend Eireann Dolan posted on Instagram.

Chicago is so lucky to have 17 Syrian refugee families now officially calling it home. We thought we’d officially welcome them with one of our greatest American traditions, Thanksgiving. Thank you to Mayor Emanuel and Alderman Burke for joining the party! If you’d like to sponsor a refugee family in Chicago, link is in my bio #refugeeswelcome

A photo posted by Eireann Michael Dolan (@eireanndolan) on Nov 25, 2015 at 7:48pm PST

Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Alderman Edward Burke also attended the dinner, organized by the Syrian Community Network. The Chicago feast comes as Illinois lawmakers voted to temporarily halt the relocation of refugees in the state.

We are grateful to our great city #Chicago for welcoming #SyrianRefugees pic.twitter.com/trWRH0gqAY — SyrianCommNetwork (@SCN_Network) November 26, 2015

.@MayorEmanuel, Ald Ed Burke, Danny Solis, Harry Osterman, Carlos Rameriz-Rosa #ThankU #refugeeswelcome #Chicago pic.twitter.com/jpCDplS2fp

— SyrianCommNetwork (@SCN_Network) November 26, 2015

In a blog post, Dolan explained that her grandfather immigrated to the United States from “poor and war-torn Ireland,” noting “it would have been very easy for them to be mistaken for those who would wish to commit terrorist activities when all they really wanted to do was to give their children a better life free from war and poverty.” Dolan continued:

We see on the news that we should fear these refugees, half of whom are children. That there’s a chance they could “radicalize” once they get here. I in no way want to even lend credence to this fear, but wouldn’t you say that the single best way to prevent radicalization is through one-on-one ambassadorship?

Like it or not, you are an ambassador for this country. Everything you do has the propensity to be perceived as our culture to those who are new here. Don’t waste your ambassadorship. Our culture is our greatest asset.

During his Thanksgiving address Thursday, President Barack Obama called for the United States to welcome refugees, telling Americans “so much of our greatness comes from our generosity.”

“We turn Lady Liberty’s light to the world, and widen our circle of concern to say that all God’s children are worthy of our compassion and care,” Obama said. “That’s part of what makes this the greatest country on Earth.”

[Image via Wikimedia Commons]

[Featured image via screengrab]

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