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58

ISSUE

FEATURES

36 ANOTHER SUICIDE A frightening wake-up call by Natalie Axton 48 THE SYRIAN REFUGEE CRISIS,

84 THIRD EYE Virtual Reality, the new story teller at Tribeca Film Institute and The United Nations by Elizabeth Titus 96 FICTION: BRIGHT, PRECIOUS DAYS A loft in TriBeCa and summers in the Hamptons put a marriage to the test by Jay McInerney 106 FICTION: SAFE AND SECURE IDENTITY VERIFICATION Think carefully before you answer! by Jonny B. Diamond

MAKING SENSE OF THE DOLLARS AND CENTS A talk with Target Logistics’ Brian Lash by NoamWaksman 62 HOW HOLLYWOOD SEES WESTPORT A lot has changed since Lucy and Ricky moved to town by DanWoog

72 SEEKING BOSCH A Masterpiece Bucket List by Dan Burstein, photos by Julie O’Connor

TOP: DETAIL FROM “THE GARDEN OF EARTHLY DELIGHTS” BY HIERONYMUS BOSCH TAKEN FROMA REPRODUCTION IN THE JHERONIMUS BOSCH ART CENTER. © 2016 JULIE O’CONNOR PHOTO. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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DEPTS 24 TRAIN OF THOUGHT I Saw Hamilton So Now I’m Going to Orphan My Son by Katie Schorr 118 GREEN ROOM A Dignified Last Act The Lillian Booth Actor’s Home in Englewood, NJ by Christy Smith-Sloman 130 SPEAKER’S CORNER Climbing Jungfrau with Five Spouses by Maureen Pilkington 142 ON THE MENU A whale of a restaurant and classic pizza 146 I’LL TAKE MANHATTAN Trending right now! 150 ROLLING STONE FromThailand to Tahoe, Destinations to Explore National Geographic Channel director, Mark Fowler, introduces educational and wilderness preservation programs by KathrynMayer 168 HISTORY MAKERS Jack Ide–Aviation Spy by Suzanne Clary 170 APPRAISED AND APPROVED Organics for face, hair, & skin 175 SCHOOL GUIDE Feature: The Secrets of Picking a College (and Getting In!) Parents’ Guide to The College Process College Fair Faux Pas 240 COMMUNITY ROOM The Boy Who Cried Wool by J C Duffy 164 IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD New Canaan’s Grace Farms Foundation

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I saw Hamilton on Broadway — because I’m (sort of) young, scrappy, and hungry and also (very) white, privileged, and on trend — and boy did it inspire me. First of all, I immediately purchased Ron Chernow’s biography of Hamilton, which I haven’t started reading yet, but might at some point. Then, I memorized the lyrics to “Satisfied” (devoting an entire work day to it, my patients be damned). And most notably, in a year or so, my husband and I plan to orphan our eleven-year-old son. I know that sounds extreme, but I’ve listened to the album almost five hundred times and it is very clear that Hamilton became the man he was because nothing was handed to him. I need to stop handing things to my son. And I’m going to start by, as Eliza says, “erasing myself from the narrative.” I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, But what if your son becomes an Aaron Burr? He was an orphan too! Yeah. That’s a concern. What’s more of a concern, though, is my son’s unnerving chill-ness and his utter lack of incentive to prove himself to anyone. And he doesn’t even smoke pot yet! He’s a nice kid, eats his stupid vegetables, isn’t outspoken about anything, not even the unfortunate family name we stuck between his first and last (Poone), and prefers meandering around the backyard gathering bruised oranges to teaching himself French or reading philosophy translated from the Greek. So yeah, I think I’ll take the risk that my son might become an Aaron Burr. Besides, have you seenLeslieOdomJr.’s portrayal of history’smostmisunderstood man? Look, if my son becomes a well-regarded lawyer who can also sing and rap and dance with that kind of passion, who the hell am I to complain? I actually encouraged him to duel it out with Rajiv, his arch nemesis from next door, just to get it out of his system, but he said he didn’t want anyone to get hurt. “Hon,” I said, “Most disputes die and no one shoots.” He asked, “Are you quoting Hamilton ?” “Yeah,” I said. He shook his head. “Fine. Will you be my second?” “But I’m the doctor!” I said, because I am. He asked if Rajiv could be his second. Have you ever heard of someone so in need of orphaning?? Since the duel fail, I’ve been playing “The World Was Wide Enough” on repeat during his carpool to fencing practice. I think it’s working and he understands that it’s no big deal how much funnier Rajiv’s epee puns are than his fart jokes because they can each carve out lives of import across the country from one another and will, in fact, once we orphan my son and he goes to live with my sister inWyoming. That being said, I’m not content to see him take the opportunities we give him and squander them by cheating on his wife with a victim of the patriarchy, like Alexander did with Maria. I mean I get it, who could resist a person with that kind of vocal quality and eloquent phrasing? My god, the woman can sing! But I am certain that if my son hears Jefferson — no I Saw Hamilton So Now I’m Going to OrphanMy Son. By Katie Schorr

greenwich Westport NewCanaan hamptons Longisland Litchfieldcounty COUNTRY CAPITALIST

Editor & Publisher Eric S. Meadow Editor Celia R. Meadow Art Director TimHussey Executive Editor Debbie Silver Travel Editor Susan Engel Editors at Large Avicii Flowers, PaulaKoffsky, HerschelMeadow, SimoneMeadow, Rich Silver General Counsel Bruce Koffsky, Esq. Contributors Natalie Axton, Elise Black, DanBurstein, Jonny B. Diamond, J.C. Duffy, KathrynMayer, JayMcInerney, Katie Schorr, Carly Silver, ElizabethTitus, NoamWaksman, DanWoog Contributing Photographer JulieO’Connor Cover Illustration SamWard Social Media Director Suzanne Clary, BarryHimmel, Jeremy S. Hyman, LynnF. Jacobs, MaureenPilkington, Christy Smith-Sloman,

CamilloFerrari Web Designer Alexis Tiganila DistributionManager Man inMotion LLC Advertising Sales Manager Libby Rosen Advertising Sales Representatives PaulMcNamara, Bart Smidt Advertising & Editorial Inquiries (203) 451-1967

Weston Magazine, Rye Magazine, Westport Country Capitalist, Greenwich Country Capitalist, New Canaan Country Capitalist, Hamptons Country Capitalist, Westchester Country Capitalist, Long Island Country Capitalist, Litchfield County Country Capitalist, TriBeCa Magazine, SOHO NYC Magazine, The Upper East Side Magazine, Central Park West Magazine, and Alpine NJ, Issue #58, are published 4 times per year by Weston Magazine, INC. P.O. Box 1006, Weston, CT 06883. Tel: 203/451-1967. Email:[email protected];westonmagazinegroup.com.Copyright2016 by Weston Magazine , INC. All rights reserved. Weston Magazine/Country Capitalist/Rye Magazine/The Upper East Side Magazine/Central Park West Magazine/TriBeCa/SOHO NYC/AlpineNJ™ aretrademarksof WestonMagazine ,INC. Thecontentsofthispublication maynotbereproducedeitherinwholeorinpartwithouttheconsentofthepublisher. Weston assumesnoresponsibilityforunsolicitedmaterials.Printsubscriptionrate:fourissues,$100. Back Issues, $10. Attention Postmaster: send address corrections to Weston , P.O. Box 1006, Weston,CT06883. PrintedinCanada.

slouch, but no orphan — chanting, “Never gonna be president now” enough times and recalls that terrifying way he flung all those papers in Hamilton’s face, he will, for the love of god, get out of the city and go upstate to his wife’s goddamn lake! Or better yet, don’t even have a wife. You see, watching Hamilton did more than prompt me to spend most of my waking hours doing Google image searches of Phillip Hamilton (HOT) or skimming Wikipedia entries about how the Schuyler sisters’ dad owned slaves in upstate New York (WHAT?) and that John Laurens and Hamilton might “HON,” I SAID, “MOSTDISPUTES DIE ANDNOONE SHOOTS.” have been in love (YES!).The show is an object lesson in why you can’t just orphan your child and expect him to acquire ALL the grit and wherewithal he needs to not ruin his chance at the presidency. Or, you know, whatever career he chooses. You need to make sure, before you go, that nothing’s going to get in his way! The reason we’re waiting a year to do this whole orphaning thing is not only to replicate the exact age at which Hamilton was on his own (12), thereby ensuring he is mature enough to handle the crushing blow of our absence, but also emotionally devastated enough for it to affect, change, and drive him forevermore, but also to make sure his brother is in college. That way, he’ll never sacrifice his happiness for Trevor’s, like Angelica did for Eliza. That way, he can stop being the helpless little idiot I created and become the kind of man Alexander Hamilton was, and MORE. That way I can stop worrying that his mediocrity is my fault. That way, he can be president. And that way, I can afford to see Hamilton at least one more time, from the orchestra. --- Katie Schorr lives in Brooklyn and is at work on her first novel. She writes about motherhood here: schorrthing.tumblr.com *

Reprinted from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

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Another Suicide A Frightening Wake Up Call BY NATALIE AXTON

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In December 2015, two people from Staples High School in Westport, CT – a student and a teacher – took their own lives. The suicides sent the school and the town into a state of grief and soul-searching. Media reports remarked on the contrast between the high- functioning school and the tragic deaths. The suicides were also a painful reminder of the 2013 suicide of a sophomore at Greenwich High School on the first day of school.

WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM 37

U nderstanding why anyone would want to take their life is difficult. When it’s a young person who does it, suicide can seem even more tragic. For the vast majority of people, suicide is unthinkable. Nevertheless, suicide in the United States is on the rise. In April, the Center for Disease Control announced its latest findings from its National Vital Statistics System for Mortality. These included a 24% uptick in the age-adjusted suicide rate from 1999 – 2014, with the greatest uptick happening after 2006. The CDC found the greatest increase occurred with girls between the ages of 10 – 14, but it is important to note that the suicide rate among teen girls, from an epidemiological perspective, remains low. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, suicide is the 10 th leading cause of death in the United States. In Connecticut, over three times as many people die annually of suicide than from homicide, with suicide being the second leading cause of death for people between the ages of 15 and 24. In New York, suicide is the second leading cause of death for those ages 15 – 34 and the second leading cause of death for those ages 10 – 14. Over twice as many New Yorkers die annually from suicide than from homicide. When it comes to adolescents, those numbers are more dramatic for a simple reason: Teenagers don’t normally die. And that’s what worries prevention experts. “It’s not that we’re losing lots of teens to suicides,” explains Doreen Marshall, Ph.D. “It’s that [suicide] is one of the reasons they die when they do.” Marshall works as vice president of programming atThe American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), which works with schools and educators on preventing suicide among adolescents. Its film, More than Sad , is available for schools to screen and is used in classrooms nationwide. The AFSP also provides a free download, After a Suicide , as a toolkit for schools dealing with the aftermath of a suicide. “Schools and educators spend a lot of time with our young people. Oftentimes the opportunity to notice behavior changes happens more in that context than it would at home.” These opportunities could include interactions with peers, awareness of the school and social stressors, or even access to academic work. For example, a student might write an essay, the topic of which worries the teacher. In many households, this picture of the student’s interactions at school isn’t made clear to parents. Says Marshall, “A lot of times, if the student isn’t bringing that information home, it doesn’t get there.” Communication is key. Says Marshall, “We know from research that when teenagers are indistress they are probablymore likely to tell a peer than they are an adult.” Empowering students to pass that information along to an adult is one of the things the AFSP works on. School protocols will dictate how the information is handled. If a student tells, for example, a coach that a peer is in distress, that information should be passed along to the school psychologist or counselor. “We don’t want teachers acting as mental health professionals,” says Marshall. “We want the teacher to connect them to the mental health professional [at the school] that’s empowered to act.” Marshall insists this doesn’t let parents off the hook. Parents need to be educated about the warning signs. These include changes in behavior like no longer doing an activity the teen used to enjoy or isolating themselves. Changes in behavior include changes in school performance, with

an important caveat: “We notice that particularly students who are high-achieving can mask and manage a great deal of distress without letting anybody know. That doesn’t mean they are near suicide. Often those are the students who aren’t getting noticed, because they’re doing so well everyone assumes they’re okay. What might be happening is they might be very anxious, they might be putting a lot of pressure on themselves or have a distorted sense of what will happen if they don’t pass a certain class. We can’t ignore that.” Minds Full of Worry “Suicide is a sign of pathologic mental distress,” says Dr. John T. Walkup, Director, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College. In 80 – 90% of suicides there is an underlying mental health problem, previously diagnosed or not. One in five high school students will have a mental health illness. “Twenty percent of kids will have a mental health problem before they graduate from high school,” says Walkup. “Mental health problems are the illness of adolescence and young adulthood. Cancer, cardiovascular disease are the diseases of aging, by and large. Young people die in accidents, by their own hand, or by the hand of others.” Walkup explains that anxiety is extremely common among young people, likely two to three times more common than depression among this cohort. And although depression is the mental illness most associated with suicidal thoughts, it is anxiety that is more closely associated with suicidal acts. Anxiety disorders, explains Walkup, have not received the attention of other mental illnesses. “We have tended to look at [anxiety] as a normal variant, a personality trait, and not as a disorder to treat, if you will. Especially to treat at an early age.” Dr. Walkup is one of the psychiatrists trying to change that. He is the co-program director at the Youth Anxiety Center at New York Presbyterian Hospital. Whereas depression is persistent mood-state, anxiety is a trigger disorder. Those suffering from anxiety disorders use avoidance as a coping mechanism. These disorders can present at a very young age, when a child is between six and 12 years old. They include separation anxiety, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The disorders are treatable with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and cognitive behavioral therapy. One of the challenges in preventing suicide among adolescents is that the underlying mental health problem might be presenting for the first time. Parents can help by facilitating early detection. Pediatricians can evaluate a child and put parents in touch with a mental health professional. And getting teens to trust mental health professionals is an important part of getting an accurate assessment later on, should the teen be in crisis. For those families who have a history of mental health problems, early evaluation is even more important. Says Dr. Walkup, “If you think your child may have a mental health problem, go get a [mental health] checkup. When I talk to families I say, ‘You have a lawyer, an accountant, a religious leader – why wouldn’t you have a mental health professional?’”

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Keeping Achievement in Perspective Suicide accounts for half of all gun deaths in the United States. Make sure anyone at risk for suicide does not have access to lethal means. “Means restriction,” as it’s called, is important because of the role impulsivity plays in suicide. The highest rates of suicide among teenagers occur among white males who have a history of impulse control problems, and alcohol and drug use. Teenagers can have a hard time finding perspective, and that’s when impulse-control becomes a problem. “In my opinion, for teenagers, impulsivity plays a much larger role in suicide than it does in adults,” says Dr. Frank Fortunati, director of inpatient programs at Yale New Haven Psychiatric Hospital. “They become very tunnel- visioned, particularly with information that relates to them in some way in terms of feelings of shame or guilt.” A child who is high-achieving at school should be able to put a setback into perspective, says Fortunati. These students should be able to move past a setback, for example a low grade in a class. “It would be normal for a teen who wants to achieve to be briefly upset or distressed by not achieving at the level they would expect. It would be alarming if they didn’t quickly get by that in a day or two, put it in perspective, move on and look at the next opportunity. If the teen becomes more intense with achieving in the face of a recent setback, if they seem to be more shut off from family, more irritable as they’re trying to make up for what they see as lost ground, that would be a concern.” Teens can not only be tunnel-visioned, but today they inhabit a 24-7 social media echo chamber their parents never experienced. Psychiatrists and suicide prevention groups are trying to learn more about the complex role social media plays in suicide among teens. There has been an increase in the number of patients admitted to hospitals for evaluation for risk of suicide because a friend saw something posted on social media and alerted friends or authorities. Research has shown there is no direct correlation between bullying and suicide. In conjunction with other risk factors, bullying can add to a person’s sense of hopelessness, but bullying or being bullied alone cannot be considered an independent risk factor for suicide. Teens are also acutely aware of how they measure up and pick up on conflictual messages from their parents. “[Parents] might say they’re okay with a B,” says Fortunati, “but the way they might talk about the success of another kid in town sends the message to their child that that’s really what they expect.” When suicide strikes a community, it struggles to understand who or what was responsible. But social explanations like trouble at work or pressures at school cannot explain suicide. Teens across the country face the same kinds of pressures and most never become suicidal. Says Walkup, “People who end their lives are not people who are well or misunderstood or struggling with routine challenges. These are people who have made a decision in a disturbed state of mind to end their life.” Families can feel guilty for failing to notice signs of emotional distress. Says the AFSP’s Dr. Marshall, “Above all else one of the most important messages I think we can convey to parents, teachers, is that it’s okay to ask if kids are thinking about suicide.” Teenagers are more likely than adults to give an honest answer. --- Natalie Axton writes about mental health, the arts, and Fairfield County. She is the founder and editor of Critical Read. WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM 39 *

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THE REFUGEE CRISIS TRYING TO MAKE SENSE THE EF EE I I TRYING TO MAKE SENSE

OF THE DOLLARS AND CENTS OF THE DO LARS AND CENTS

AN INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN LASH, AN INTERVIEW WITH BRIAN LASH,

FOUNDER OF TARGET LOGISTICS FOUNDER OF TARGET LOGISTICS

BY NOAM WAKSMAN

BY NOAM WAKSMAN

LEFT: TIOGA LODGE, ND

WRAPPED

in a bulletproof vest, Brian Lash lay on the floorboards of a beat up old Chevy looking up at his personal security detail–two heavily armed ex-special forces men with large assault rifles strapped to their chests. The setting: Iraq in 2004. Beat up cars drew less attention. He was used to bumpy rides; the number one rule of driving in Iraq–go as fast as you can and don’t stop for anything until you reach the destination. On this occasion, however, the car sat motionless, completely gridlocked by Baghdad traffic. They were surrounded on all sides with no way to identify friend verses foe. Tensions were high and for the first time his security detail were nervous. The windows came down and both guards stuck their rifles through the openings, making it very clear what would happen to anyone who approached the car. Finally, the driver was able to get up on the sidewalks and maneuver out of traffic, and the rifles receded back into the car. Removed from immediate danger, Lash briefly wondered what he, a Jewish guy from Jericho, Long Island, was doing in the middle of Iraq. Now, sitting in the den of his Chestnut Hill home, Lash can look back with pride on what he and his company, Target Logistics, accomplished in Basra, Iraq. He and his team overcame the dangers and logistical challenges that are part of working in a war zone, the dust storms and extreme heat (129°F in the shade), to provide housing, dining, recreation, medical and security for 2200 US, British and Iraqi soldiers. As the founder and former CEO of Target Logistics–a leading global provider of temporary, turnkey workforce housing–Lash has been a part of many projects all over the world that have put him in dangerous situations.

WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM 49

FROM BRANDEIS TO BASRA Lash founded the Target Companies during his senior year as a pre- med student at Brandeis University. He had planned to go to medical school like much of his family before him, but a junior year research fellowship working with young adult paraplegics and quadriplegics left him, “emotionally devastated,” and with the realization that he was pursuing the wrong field. “So, I decided to start a business that let me do the two things I love the most: sports and travel,” Lash says. Thus Target Ski Tours–a ski tour operation company–and Target Tennis–a company managing tennis courts at emerging condominium developments–were born. Over time he dropped the tennis operation and expanded the sport travel company, working his way to becoming the official tour operator for Florida State University. The experience opened his eyes to large, complex travel movements, like those required for the Olympic Games, where he organized white glove corporate travel for big companies.

in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador have forced thousands of Central Americans to flee their homes and seek asylum in the United States. In response to this, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), in collaboration with the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), commissioned the country’s largest refugee camp in Dilley, Texas to house the asylum seekers while they are being processed. Lash and Target Logistics were hired to build the 2,400-person facility and operate its dining rooms, and provide all of its janitorial and maintenance needs. Ideally, it is meant to be a transitional facility with a constantly changing population as refugees get processed on their path to become US citizens–if they pass a background check–and make room for new asylum seekers. “I think the camp is a beta test [for how the US will handle large influxes of refugees],” says Lash. “It wasn’t inexpensive, but it’s a complete living, breathing city with four indoor basketball courts, three soccer fields, over 200,000 feet of education space, medical space, and court rooms.”

While Target Logistics was working on the camp in Dilley and pursuing similar refugee related contracts in the US, the Syrian refugee crisis was seriously impacting Europe. After the sale of Target Logistics, Lash became one of the largest stockholders in Algeco Scotsman, a modular space and secure storage provider based in London. In the summer of 2015, one of the partners called and asked Brian, “Can you come over here and take a look around? Let’s see if we can do in Europe what you did in Texas.” That is how Lash began working with the governments of European countries on efforts to accommodate millions of Syrian refugees as well as refugees from other countries. Lash’s experience provided him a unique understanding of the logistical planning and housing required to successfully manage the massive influx of people. Target Logistics landed their first contract in Germany to house a couple thousand refugees, and Lash met with officials from Denmark, Austria, Sweden and Belgium.Through these discussions, Lash quickly realized that the facility they created in Dilley would not be possible in Europe. “The Europeans, while opening their arms to the Syrian refugees, are really not tremendously excited about them being there, and they want their countries to spend as little as possible to get the refugees resettled. So, the budget that the US government approved for what I’m doing in Dilley, I don’t think will ever be approved in Europe. And I’m not saying that Europe is cheap and America is generous, but it’s that they are dealing with millions [of refugees], and we’re dealing with tens of thousands. It’s a tremendous crisis like never before seen in Europe,” states Lash. “I’ll give you an example: Austria, Belgium, Sweden, and Denmark,

L-R: BASRA TRAINING FACILITY, IRAQ; DINING ROOM OF THE CHEECHAM LODGE IN NORTHERN ALBERTA; PECOS LODGE, TEXAS ENTRANCE AT DUSK. OPPOSITE: BRIAN LASH

Eventually, he switched from moving thousands of people to housing thousands of people, and what started as Target Ski Tours evolved into Target Logistics, the largest provider of temporary housing solutions in the United States. Target Logistics provided housing to U.S Government personnel during the extremely tense 2002 Winter Olympic Games, the first Olympics after 9/11. The U.S Government had more personnel at the games than ever before, andTarget Logistics successfully and efficiently housed the thousands of federal agents and security personnel. For Harley Davidson, Target built and operated Riders’ Ranch, housing over 10,000 Harley owners for the 100th anniversary celebration of Harley Davidson in 2003. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Target Logistics contributed to the disaster relief effort. With clearance from the Department of HomelandSecurity, they frequentlyworkeddeep into thenight–well past the New Orleans citywide curfew– to create an emergency, 700-person modular camp in East NewOrleans. For Tulane University, they brought in a cruise ship to house faculty, students and staff and built over 200 dorm rooms in a vacant parking lot to house displaced students. After selling control of the company in 2013, (Lash still serves as a consultant on business development initiatives), the successful businessman and savvy entrepreneur turned his attention to a new challenge: the world’s refugee crisis. Over the past few years, corrupt governments and murderous gangs

50 WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM

all four of those countries, are somewhere between 10 and 15 million people. All four of those countries have agreed to take north of 50,000 refugees. To put that into perspective, that would be like America taking in 1.5 million refugees, because we are 30 times bigger than those countries. Do you know what this country would do if we announced we were taking in 1.5 million Syrian refugees?” The sheer size of the crisis, compared to the size of the European countries trying to handle it, has Lash concerned about the realistic ability of these countries to successfully accommodate refugees. “When I went to Austria in November, they had used a Band- Aid to get through the winter: they bought 1,000 heated tents [for the refugees], and Austria is a pretty cold country,” Lash says. “They

a country like Austria which has less than 10 million people. That would alter their balance sheet significantly.” So if these countries have to deal with the refugees already there, and they have to provide an acceptable budget but cannot afford that budget, what are they to do? Lash’s proposed solutions involve spreading the refugees out over more countries, or centralizing the refugees in European Union- sponsored cities, both with the goal of lessening the burden for each country individually. “Everyone has to step up, and I think the EU has to make an edict, that says, ‘Every country takes in 0.5% of their population.’ For example, Germany has about 100 million people, so they would take 500,000 refugees.

did the best they could on short notice– nobody could have predicted that millions of people would be coming across the borders–but the fact is these people are there in Europe to stay, and they have got to be treated as human beings. They have to be given quality housing and food, and an ample opportunity to get educated and find jobs in the local economy, or both the refugees and the countries are going to have huge problems going forward.” Lash is well aware of the horrible realities facing refugees at poorly constructed camps, like the one in Calais, France, known as “the jungle.” He has seen firsthand what can happen when people are trapped in environments that don’t provide themwith basic necessities. “If you treat the refugees the way the French are in Calais, you’ll need more security, because those conditions are

Or, the EU should sponsor very large refugee cities that process the refugees, the way we do in Dilley… This would allow Europe to catch its breath, find out who these refugees are, their backgrounds, their skillsets, and find them proper homes in countries that have agreed to accept them. There are members of the EU that have stepped up and said that they will take their fair share, but it’s not enough.” When asked if the United States ought to take in its share of Syrian refugees, Lash says yes, but quickly turns his attention to the responsibilities of our allies in the Middle East. “One of the most screwed up things about this whole refugee crisis from Syria, is that our allies in the Middle East aren’t taking in their fair share of people

abominable–inadequate toilets, showers, sinks, laundry, housing, food, you name it. If you put thousands of people in a junkyard, they’re going to react, and react violently.” “European countries need to allocate the proper amount of money to get these people resettled in a professional way, so that they can eventually contribute to the growth of their new countries and the economy.” Attheendoftheday,eachcountry’sabilitytosuccessfullyaccommodate refugees boils down to howmuch they are willing to spend, and as Lash explains, Austria was not willing to spend nearly enough. “I was in discussions with the Austrians, I met with their office of refugee resettlement, and they announced their budget is €19 per person per day–which is basically just over $21–to house them and feed them three meals a day. We politely recused ourselves from that opportunity, because at €19, we can’tmakemoney, andwe alsowouldn’t be proud of the product that we’d be delivering…We are not going to do something that doesn’t offer quality food, accommodations, and sanitary conditions, and at €19 we just can’t do that.” Lash declares that €50 per person per day is a price point he feels can provide the refugees decent housing, food, and janitorial facilities, but he understands how that number could feel impossible to a small country like Austria. “Let’s look at €50 per person per day. That’s €1 billion a year, for

of the same religion, same culture, same language, who eat the same food and live in the same climate. Namely: Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates. These are five of the richest countries on earth per capita. Why aren’t refugee camps being set up in these countries? Admittedly, you’ve got the Sunnis and the Shiites and the Kurds and there’s a lot of violence between them, but, leaving that aside… these refugees are having huge difficulty dealing with the climate in Europe, the food, and Saudi Arabia and UAE can afford to take in these refugees. Why aren’t they?” Lash does not pretend to have all the answers, but what he does have is invaluable experience in the logistical realities of creating temporary refugee housing facilities, and a genuine interest in the rights and livelihoods of people seeking asylum. “There’s a lot to get your arms around with this situation. We have talked [over the course of the interview] about political philosophy, humanitarian philosophy, business philosophy, and they are all intertwined here. Am I a mercenary? To some degree. Am I a humanitarian? 100%.” --- A native of Boston, MA, Noam Waksman is one of New York City’s newest residents. He works in digital marketing and is a lover of all things comedy, literature, and sports. * WESTONMAGAZINEGROUP.COM 51