Watch

The Impact of the 'Welcome Your Neighbor' Signs

Creator:
Published:
February 14, 2024
October 21, 2019
No-Matter-Where-You-Are-From-We-Are-Glad-You-Are-Our-Neighbor|No-Matter-Where-You-Are-From-We-Are-Glad-You-Are-Our-Neighbor-Square

Have you seen the signs that say "No matter where you're from, we're glad you're our neighbor" in Spanish, English, and Arabic? They originated in Harrisonburg, Virginia, but have now been shipped to all 50 states.

Nzar came to the US seeking asylum in 2016. He shares what it meant to him to see these signs around the community.

"It's beyond politics — it's just a human message," shares David Landies, who helped make the signs available to people all over the country.

Get your own sign at https://www.welcomeyourneighbors.org/

Video Transcript

Meet Nzar and David: Good neighbors

Harrisonburg, Virginia

Nzar Sharif: So, I was hearing on news or reading on newspapers, "We are deporting immigrants, we are no longer letting immigrants take our jobs." It was not a good time.

Nzar Sharif came to the US in 2016 seeking asylum.

It was building a wall, like an invisible wall. But so many wonderful people, they stood up, and they have this sign in front of their home. Wherever I go and I see that sign, it's a visual sign for me that this family, this household is immigrant-friendly.

David Landis: This is where the “Welcome Your Neighbors” signs came from originally. It's a sign that says, "No matter where you're from, we're glad you're our neighbors" in Spanish, English, and Arabic.

It kind of just grew out of what Harrisonburg is and became a symbol for people who wanted just a positive political message. But it's even beyond politics, and it’s just a human message. So I offered to help and say, "What if we make an online platform, and try to streamline it and scale it up?" And so I just put up a website with a simple order form and had three, four hundred orders the next day, and that just kept going.

We think there's probably more than 100,000 signs out there. We don't know for sure. We've shipped signs to every state in the US. The fact that it went so viral, it motivated us all to keep pushing it along. It seemed like a representative value for the rest of the country who wants to hear that.

Nzar now lives with a family who embodies the message of the sign. They welcomed him to live in their home.

Nzar: We dance together, sometimes we cry together, and so pretty much like my family. On a daily basis, we are exchanging information. We are having conversations about what's happening in the world. We are tasting each other's food. So that means they invited the world into their house.

So the city of Sulaymaniyah, the city that I came from, is surrounded by mountains, just like Harrisonburg is surrounded by Blue Ridge and Allegheny. Sulaymaniyah is surrounded by Goyija and Baranan, so it reminds me of Sulaymaniyah.

Creators:
Grotto
Published:
February 14, 2024
October 21, 2019
On a related note...
Restoring Beauty to American Flags

Restoring Beauty to American Flags

Grotto

5 Paintings That Have Shaped My Understanding of God

5 Paintings That Have Shaped My Understanding of God

Maureen O'Brien

Marriage is About More than Just the Couple

Marriage is About More than Just the Couple

Molly Cruitt

A Random, Creative Way to Remember to Pray

A Random, Creative Way to Remember to Pray

Amanda Roberts

This Time-Lapse Thunderstorm Video Will Leave You Shook

This Time-Lapse Thunderstorm Video Will Leave You Shook

Grotto Shares

Letters Bring Healing & Community For Those in Prison

Letters Bring Healing & Community For Those in Prison

Grotto

In an Upside-Down Pandemic World, I Found Stability in Books

In an Upside-Down Pandemic World, I Found Stability in Books

Liz Colleran

Free Download: Original Art Prints for Last-Minute Christmas Gifts

Free Download: Original Art Prints for Last-Minute Christmas Gifts

Grotto

5 Ways Anyone Can Support Kids in Foster Care

5 Ways Anyone Can Support Kids in Foster Care

Manda Carpenter

3 Practices to Enrich Your Life

3 Practices to Enrich Your Life

Cate Von Dohlen

Good and Decent S2|E5: Going to the Margins

Good and Decent S2|E5: Going to the Margins

Grotto

7 Recipes for Meal Trains with Any Dietary Restriction

7 Recipes for Meal Trains with Any Dietary Restriction

Maria Walley

“Pantoum at Mercy-by-the-Sea”

“Pantoum at Mercy-by-the-Sea”

Judith Sornberger

Add These Books to Your Morning for an Inspiring Start

Add These Books to Your Morning for an Inspiring Start

Maureen O’Brien

Urban Confessional Provides Free Listening on the Street

Urban Confessional Provides Free Listening on the Street

Grotto

Why My Workout Motivation Shifted to Mental Health

Why My Workout Motivation Shifted to Mental Health

Maria Walley

Good and Decent S2 | E3: New Beginnings

Good and Decent S2 | E3: New Beginnings

Grotto

Feast of the Sacred Heart Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Feast of the Sacred Heart Spotify Playlist | #GrottoMusic

Grotto

How Catholicism — and Jurassic Park — Can Inform Our Discussions on Future Tech

How Catholicism — and Jurassic Park — Can Inform Our Discussions on Future Tech

Mike Jordan Laskey

These Sources will Help You Prepare for the Polls

These Sources will Help You Prepare for the Polls

Marye Colleen Larme

newsletter

We’d love to be pals.

Sign up for our newsletter, and we’ll meet you in your inbox each week.