My father, Adam, was from Warsaw, Poland. My mother, Claire was from Mizoch, Ukraine, formerly Poland. Both my parents are Holocaust survivors. My dad’s entire immediate family and much of his extended family was murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. My mother’s father was betrayed by someone in their town and killed but my mom and her mother escaped. My father came here as a teenager, an orphan, and partly taught himself English , he already knew at least four languages, by reading Call of the Wild, his favorite book which he had read over and over in Poland. My mother lived in a Displaced Persons camp in Germany for 3 years with her mother, who remarried, and her new sister. Then they came to the US. My parents met in NYC. They were fixed up on a blind date. America has been so good to us. My family lived the American dream. My father never got to finish high school but he built a small manufacturing business in NJ that employed about 80 people and he often hired immigrants. Even from Poland. He wrote and published a memoir. He was a leader in our community. My mother went back to grad school in her 40s and became a social worker and therapist. She is also a leader in our community. She’s an artist as well and started showing her work in a NY gallery when she was in her 70s. I’m a writer and museum professional. My brother is an artist. The current US policies on refugees and immigrants breaks my heart. Enrages me. America was a haven for my family and it should continue to be one.