A part time labourer from Edinburgh harnessed the power of social media to entirely furnish a refugee family’s flat on Wednesday. It’s a moment of humanity he won’t soon forget.
Guy Grieve said he was loading scrap wood into a skip on Wednesday morning when a woman and her two young children approached him for help. “Never thought loading a skip could be so emotional,” Guy posted on Twitter.
“A Syrian immigrant mother came over with her kids to ask for some wood. Her eldest son translated: their sofa was broken. I went inside and my heart broke. Nothing but a broken sofa. They're from Aleppo. Can anyone help me refurnish?”
The post received more than 200 comments of support and offers of aid.
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Grieve’s boss at TT Construction loaned him a truck after hours, then he arranged to meet eager local samaritans in Granton at 5pm to load furniture and necessities onto the truck, and shortly after, the goods were delivered to the family’s home.
“Great to see the sense of 'So we're not alone' appear on faces. The eldest son was grinning from ear to ear,” Guy said in an update.
“At some point it became about more than the family. The whole thing proved something I’ve always known and believed: people are basically good. The vast majority of people are generous and caring, and it is so easy to get the best out of people.”
The family was given a box of toys, chairs, a sofa and coffee tables. He has also arranged for a letter to arrive in Arabic which they can respond to with dignity to connect them to further help and assistance.
Guy said it was obvious that the family were in a difficult situation, and he wanted to do anything he could to help.
“These people are in a state of shock. They’ve been less than a year out of Aleppo after losing their homes. They needed the wood to place over the springs in the sofa. Their chairs had no backs. I won’t describe anything else. These people had full proud lives in their proud city. Now the only thing left to them while they rebuild is their dignity. I just wanted them to know people care enough to help them here in Edinburgh,” he said.
Guy said the mother is caring for two small children under the age of five as well as two teenage boys while the father is in hospital.
“This dignified mother is holding a lot together. It's a critical time. If they can be welcomed & really engaged with, especially the older boys, things could go well.”
Grieve described the butterfly effect of events on Wednesday as serendipitous. “It’s funny where some things start in life,” Guy said.
“Yesterday, my journey started at a skip. We live in a wonderful country full of wonderful, generous people. And I’m so glad that I work for a beautiful family run construction business. TT Construction immediately leant me a truck to help out with no hesitation.”
Grieve said the lucky string of events perfectly demonstrates the power of social media to connect and inspire humanity, and it proves the innate goodness of people.
“It was very moving to see everyone come together for a good cause. I received so much feedback and so many people wanted to help,” he said.
“I’ve moved around a lot in my life, and it’s true that the world is one country and we’re all its citizens. It’s so easy to get the best out of people, and I hope people realise the power of Twitter and social media to connect us. We’re all going to need to help each other out plenty in the days to come because I think it will be a hard winter for a lot of people.”
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