RISE UP AND SPEAK

The world is at times harsh and uninviting. It is imperative and wise to find a source of comfort in the genuine connection we cultivate with one another by the telling of our stories. Stories like “600 Days in Hiding” ground us in the present by connecting us to the past and to each other. 

I met Andreas Algava as if guided by a timely Force, and I quickly became aware that his story of harrowing survival in a time not so politically different from today must be heard. My name is Hannah White. I am not Jewish. I have never survived a genocide nor have I had to survive in hiding from a crazed mass-murderer hell-bent on destroying an entire people. Instead, I spent my younger days among the trees and flowers of a small, conservatively Christian, southern town on the river in the Ozark Mountains. Every experience has shaped me, as yours have shaped you, and now I arrive with humility and honor to assist in the telling of his story.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. so eloquently reminds us, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” So, as America enters a time of political unrest, and the dark corners of the world become emboldened by deranged and hate-laden ideologies, it is with great pleasure that Andreas Algava, myself and those close to him help tell stories that will empower us toward compassion and a greater understanding of our own journey outward and inward. This world is better because we exist. It is our collective stories of perseverance, triumph and hope that can make the change humanity needs so desperately.

Please join us on this incredible journey as this blog of sharing unfurls. Your story is important. You are important. It is our time to rise up and shine.

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