When neighbors suffer, Newtown has a history of stepping up to help; where we have been the recipients of generosity beyond imagining, we have worked to pay it forward. The world now presents us, blessed to live in relative safety, an opportunity to reach out far beyond our borders.

Worldwide today, 19 million people are refugees, escaping the ravages of war and poverty. Syria, in particular, has seen the displacement of half of its population, four million of whom have fled the country.

According to savethechildren.org, more than one million children and youth from Syria are among the refugees in need of assistance. They have traveled to neighboring countries in hopes of finding a safe haven. As thousands more continue to surge northward to reach more (hopefully) hospitable shores, they are increasingly being seen as a burden not evenly shouldered by countries of the European Union — or the rest of the world. Amnesty International notes that 95 percent of Syrian refugees are hosted in just five countries: Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, and Egypt.

The economic impact on countries that for a time welcomed these refugees has caused them to flinch. Fears — real or imagined — by those country’s citizens are of terrorism; a fear that a large influx of refugees to any region will change the culture; a fear that refugees will take jobs.

The United States has capped resettlement of refugees from all over the world at 70,000 for 2015. According to the Associated Press, 51,000 had been resettled here as of July. Of those, only 1,000 were Syrian refugees. Recently, the Obama Administration announced that for fiscal year 2017, the number of refugees accepted to the United States will be increased to 100,000. Senator Richard Blumenthal issued a statement in response, September 21, stating, “This expansion of refugee resettlement is an admission that the scope and scale of our response to the Syrian crisis remains inadequate, both in welcoming displaced families fleeing the brutal conflict and in working toward a regional response to end it,” and urging a response to swiftly screen and resettle refugees as those numbers increase.

Pope Francis, in his recent visit to the United States, urged a compassionate response to refugees.

Newtown Congregational Church has directed its congregants to the Global Ministries website, providing assistance to displaced Syrians. “The second way [to help] is to encourage our government to accept more refugees,” said NCC Senior Pastor Matthew Crebbin. “Refugee placement is a very complicated process requiring refugee agencies who are familiar with local communities — as well as the particular needs and support structures required to ensure that refugees can successfully settle and transition into life in a particular region. I do not currently know which of the many agencies would handle such placement and if the wider Danbury area would be a good fit — but suspect that we just could be,” he said.

Trinity Episcopal Church is also responding to the refugee crisis, said Pastor Kathleen E. Adams-Shepherd. Mission and Outreach at Trinity has put together a list of organizations and ministries that are reaching out “to provide much-needed food, water, shelter, and clothing during this time of crisis for individuals and families, especially from Syria, seeking refuge in other countries in Europe and beyond,” she said.

In August 1940, as the war in Europe ramped up, residents here sent support overseas in the form of food, clothing, and money. That same month, the Newtown Committee for Child Refugees received permission from the US Committee for the Care of European Children to allow residents of Newtown to adopt a child from Europe, for the duration of the war. The Newtown Committee was one of the first in the nation, according to an article in the August 30, 1940, Newtown Bee, “to respond to the plight of children in war-torn Europe.”

Residents did respond, sheltering refugee children for the duration of World War II. We might never be asked to shelter refugees from today’s wars — or we might. But as recipients of global generosity, and as citizens of the world, we can send aide to help those in need.

Perhaps no longer headline news, this crisis continues. Will Newtowners choose to respond? Will we choose love?