A fiery armada of Lovely robin flutters above the sky of this world, transforming this dark place into a concert of love and humanity with their handsomest of hues. This is how Sandy Williams imagines the end of the atrocious injustice in David Lynch’s film ‘Blue Velvet‘: a triumph of empathy over egotism and greed.
WHAT
Be A Robin – we live in excess and consumer madness, we’re doing well, we have little to be scared of and never go hungry. That’s great and should stay that way, but it’s not only people like us who deserve this claim to a carefree life. With Be A Robin we want to help refugees to be able to strive for happiness and freedom with dignity. Countless well-organised NGOs are doing some fantastic work and helping out with toiletries, blankets, clothes, medicine, tents, and daily bread. Everything is lacking. With the donations that we gather we want to help in our own way. We utilise the money for projects that are meant to feed the souls and intellects of the refugees. By organising recreational and educational activities our participants are drawn out, if only for a few hours a day, of their monotonous everyday lives, in which ‘Waiting‘ is their only calling. Since the end of 2015 some of our Robins were flying over the Calais Jungle, and were working there together with NGOs and refugees until the eviction of the camp in October. In 2017 our field of operation has enlarged and the focus now centres on the realisation of projects in Zurich and Thessaloniki. There is no shortage of people in need. Be A Robin gives direct support on a small scale to individuals or groups of people who are less lucky than we are. To transmit a little bit of his/her time or happiness should become the philosophy of every single Robin – always – even in day-to-day life. In this way we hope to create a pool of Robins where each Robin is able to decide for him/herself in what way and with what level of commitment he or she wishes to help.
WHY
We can’t fly and our singing would do better to remain in the shower, but we love life and freedom – but was is freedom when it can’t be shared? Almost 70 million people across the world have been displaced and are on the move or in a refugee-camp without knowing when or whether better times are coming. Children, men, women, families. People full of the will to live, driven by a boundless desire for freedom, terrified of the cruel fear of war, of the abyss of hunger, of everyday torture. These people want to sing with the freedom we take for granted, that is as natural for us as it should be for one and all. We aren’t able to wait for the fairytale arrival of the Robin, the arrival being too uncertain, the need too pressing. We are friends from here, there and everywhere, who want to prevent people from descending into lethargic despair. We want to clean the wings of these muddied, abandoned birds and help these robin from all over the world to fly and enable them to seize their share of freedom.
Inspiration
HOW
Be A Robin is an association founded in a small flat in Zurich by a few people who came together to join in helping and in motivating others to do likewise. The core team handles all administrative work, and organises and coordinates campaigns. Good organisation is important and is intended to simplify processes. We want to optimise proceedings and work efficiently without, on the other hand, being ignorant or overhasty. We therefore minimise bureaucracy in our operations, always communicate on par without hierarchical power-games, and hope to thus gather our powers in harmony.
DONATIONS
By donating you help us to restore dignity and self-sufficiency step by step to the lives of refugees. You contribute actively to enabling us to implement our projects successfully – we thank you for this with all our hearts! You can choose to what extent and how regularly you want to donate. We will of course keep you continually informed on how we are utilising the donations and keep the accounts. If desired it is possible to view our expenses.
Our projects are supposed to help people who have been stuck in camps for months to clear their heads. Distraction is incredibly important; laughing, dancing, singing and keeping the memory active. Nobody should be allowed to sink from boredom to depression; not only our projects but also our Robins may be financially supported by our Donations-Account.