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I won’t judge you if you don’t watch the news or if you even watch a certain channel that might not be covering what’s going on in our country. You probably sleep better at night than I do, and you have every right to take care of yourself. I need you to know about this news, though. There is something going on now that affects us all, as human beings, regardless of our political views, regardless of our religion, regardless of our race or heritage. Children are being used as leverage in a political battle over what’s going on at the border. They are being separated from their parents. INFANTS are being pulled from their mothers’ arms, as they sob, because the mother took a dangerous journey, thousands of miles from her home, with the hope that she could find a safer place with more opportunity than her home country. She was that desperate, completely out of touch with American news, and possibly paid a coyote her last bit of money to get into the “land of opportunity.” The mother is now being charged as a criminal, and her child is put into some sort of mass processing center of children whose parents had the same hopes for them. They are not allowed to be touched, which means no one can hug or touch them to console them, including their OWN SIBLINGS who are trapped with them. The border patrol make jokes about their cries being an orchestra. Some of the children are now being housed in tents in South Texas in 100 degree weather.
The administration of our country adopted a zero tolerance policy last month, which means every single person who tries to get into our country illegally is treated as a criminal, and their children are taken from them. As of the end of May, 2000 children were separated from their parents. Supposedly hundreds of children have been lost in the system. They expect at least 4000 more to be processed through the tent camps in Tornillo, Texas. It is not entirely new for children to be separated from their families, and the issue of children being held in detention centers has been a problem at least since the Obama administration, but the zero tolerance policy of the current administration and the number and ages of children being taken is astounding and heart wrenching. In the past, people who tried to cross the border are usually charged with a civil crime and have to pay a fine, but they’re now being charged with a criminal offense, and their children are being taken from them to set an example.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has said these children are being caused irreparable harm. Lawmakers from both sides have come out against this policy. Religious heads are speaking out.
I’ve cried myself to sleep more than one night with images of children being taken from their parents and stories of children crying and begging for their parents. When asked about the policy, Attorney General Jeff Sessions said, with a smirk on his face, that the bible justifies this punishment, that it is biblical to enforce the law. I ask, what happened to “What would Jesus do???” What WOULD Jesus think of this?
So what can we do to help? First, we can make sure people are paying attention. This is not something we can ignore. Use your voice. Let your lawmakers know you don’t support this executive order. Did you vote Republican? Your voice is more important than ever right now. The Republican party has the power, at least in Texas. Let them know this policy is not representative of the party of family values, and trust that supporting keeping families together does not make you a liberal; it only makes you human. Are you a Christian? Share with your fellow church members. Discuss the work of Jesus and what he would do in this situation, and join forces to stand up against lawmakers giving Christianity a bad name. And finally, you can donate your time and money to groups working to provide legal aid to our fellow humans who only wanted a better life for their children. We may disagree on who should and should not be welcome in our country, which is another debate, but I KNOW that we are on the same page in keeping families together. I provided some links below to organizations worthy of your time and money.
I wish I had more profound language right now, but I honestly don’t have the energy to talk about how great America is or was or should be, or what it means to be human and take care of each other. I don’t have the emotional strength right now to talk about what it means to be a mother and lose your child. I’ve thought about it over and over. The complacency of our fellow humans and fellow Americans has been painful to me recently, but I think we’re all numb and can’t process the atrocities taking place any more. We all know this is wrong, as Democrats, as Republicans, as Christians, as Americans, and as HUMANS. Can we please work together to make the world a better place? #FAMILIESBELONGTOGETHER
Donate:
https://momastery.com/blog/2018/05/29/emergency-love-flash-mob-for-the-children/
Take action:
