This former refugee’s story is going viral for all the right reasons
Twitter has been absolutely bursting with opinions about the refugee ban lately, and, like, can you blame ’em? There’s a lot to be said. But one tweet in particular stood out because it wasn’t just an opinion — it was a story. And this refugee’s story has gone viral because kindness, truth, and hope still matter. It’s one of the first uplifting things we’ve read in a while, and it’s a reminder that, yes, there is still work to be done, but the fight is beyond worth it.
People on Twitter dug up this old Tweet from Trump Hotels where they asked about a travel memory.
Naturally, it was taken over by people who wanted to talk about more important issues than traveling for fun.
Tell us your favorite travel memory – was it a picture, a souvenir, a sunset? We'd love to hear it!
— Trump Hotels (@TrumpHotels) October 11, 2011
One such response by Laslo Bock went viral, and we can definitely see why.
It’s so much more than a tweet. This refugee’s story really resonated with many, and it’s having an impact.
That time I fled Communist Romania to a refugee camp in Austria, came to America, & years later became an exec @Google creating 10ks of jobs https://t.co/iaerM5gLHc
— Laszlo Bock (@LaszloBock) January 29, 2017
Like, wow. We absolutely don’t think that immigrants should have to be superb, genius humans to be welcomed with open arms into the U.S. After all, if that were the case, where would *we* be?! But it’s hard to deny how amazing this story is. Also, it helps humanize the refugees, which is especially important considering the horribly pervasive negative stereotypes clouding people’s judgement.
Laszlo expanded on his story to Fast Company, explaining to them that he opened up about his own past experience with immigration because he felt it was the right thing to do.
"It's important to speak against the kind of trend in our culture to disregard the rights of people who are just as human as any of us. As somebody who worked hard and has been fortunate to end up in a position of some authority, status, and power, it's particularly important that I and people like me use our voices. I feel I have a responsibility to say something if something is wrong. You can't stand by and watch that happen."
And we couldn’t agree more. We applaud his bravery, and hope you’ll continue to support social justice organizations helping to provide justice to marginalized people all over.
