Author: senatorjohnkeenan

One day a while ago while having lunch in Quincy, I barely noticed at first the diversity of the people eating at the restaurant. When I did notice, I marveled at it. I thought how far we have come since the Quincy of my youth. I remember in the mid-1970s, new classmates at my elementary … Continue reading Comments at the Abington Black Lives Matter Vigil

As I filmed short videos a few weeks ago for remote Memorial Day ceremonies, I talked about how I hoped we would look back at this Memorial Day, which came while we were in the grip of a pandemic, and see it as the time when elected officials put politics aside, and as a time when all of us came together as a Nation and … Continue reading Condemnation of racism and commitment to change starts in our homes and schools, in our neighborhoods and institutions, and at all levels of our government.

Last week the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, said that President Obama “should’ve kept his mouth shut," and that he was “classless” in speaking out. President Trump tweeted that Mitt Romney, a United States Senator, former Governor of Massachusetts, and former Republican presidential nominee, was a “LOSER!”. Speaker of the United … Continue reading We Must Demand Better

It was Friday evening, the sun had gone down, and the streets were quiet. Too tired to nap after hours of travel, I took a walk, finding the Old City, set within the high walls of centuries of stone and struggle. Not knowing exactly where I was going, I came to a square and then … Continue reading Peace in our world. Peace in our time.

I had just finished a 6:00 a.m. Saturday morning census of residents, the last task of my two weeks volunteering at Moria Refugee Camp on the Island of Lesbos, Greece. I paused to take a picture looking out over Zone 6 of the camp, as the sun was first climbing into the sky. It was … Continue reading Moria Moments – A Last Memory

I am not exactly sure what it’s called. I am not even sure how to spell it. My wife calls it a shmuta. In our family, it is the satin-like edge to a childhood blanket, worn from years of being twisted by and run between the fingers of one of my sons. I remember once … Continue reading Moria Moments – Shmuta

Three Kings Three Kings of the Hill, The Olive Grove, Moria Refugee Camp, Lesbos, Greece, January 2020 The dump truck raised its bed, and clean, bright gray gravel spilled into a pile below. The driver lowered the dump bed and drove away. Then they came. Young boys, anxious to climb on the stones, but holding … Continue reading Moria Moments – Three Kings and a Princess

And He Danced Again. I welcomed 2020 at the Kara Tepe Refugee Camp in Moria, on the island of Lesbos, in Greece, within eye’s sight of Turkey. I was in a yurt with other volunteers from Movement on the Ground, and with residents of the Camp. I remembered the previous New Year's Eve, when I … Continue reading Moria Moments – Welcoming 2020 at Kara Tepe

About a year ago I posted the following about a rainy day in the Moria Refugee Camp on the island of Lesbos, Greece: “When the rain let up a bit, we started again distributing the thermal underwear. As I walked up a hill, to my left, I noticed a young woman peeking through the opening … Continue reading A Return to Moria Refugee Camp