2020

REFUGE

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the United States, various state governments have successively issued a stay-at-home order. Except for those who have to go out and work essential jobs, most people must stay in their houses. During my isolation, the only scenery I could see was through the windows of my home. In all directions were the houses of the surrounding neighborhood. These houses remind me of the difference between a house and a home. Some people say that the place where people really live and feel they belong is a home, and the place where people just exist is a house. Now, with the government requirements, almost everyone is staying in place, but not everyone is staying in a “home”. No one may escape, because this is where they must remain until the danger has passed. When I looked at the houses through the windows of my home, I could not know what the situation was inside. Was I looking at a “home” or just a “house”? Whatever the circumstance, I know that these structures were the occupants’ refuge.