My heart hurts. Our nation must do better for children. The things I am about to say are not pretty, but I hope you’ll read them anyway, and let them sink in.
THIS WEEK, children will be separated from their parents as they cross the border into the United States. There are some logical reasons for this, namely the prevention of human trafficking. If the individuals crossing the border with children cannot prove that the children they are traveling with are their own, they will be separated. HOWEVER, in the meantime, these children will be kept in detention centers for undetermined amounts of time while paperwork and records are located. Have you ever waited on our government to find and/or file paperwork for you? Even to native English speakers, who understand “the system,” and have the time and ability to stay on top of the process, it is challenging. In the meantime, this separation is traumatic. Imagine being taken from your parents – either directly or indirectly – and being placed in a sterile environment, with strangers who don’t speak your language, or know your routines, or have the ability to care for you on a personal basis, for reasons beyond your ability to comprehend.
But wait…
THIS WEEK, there are children here in the US, sons and daughters of legal US residents (if that’s important to you) who will huddle in corners, knowing that things will be better for them if they are neither seen nor heard. There are young children – 5 or 6 years old – who will have to parent their younger siblings, because their “real” parents are too sick or too evil to care for them themselves. There are children who will go to bed hungry, go to bed cold and hurting, or not go to bed at all, because they know that they can’t defend themselves while sleeping. There are children who will DIE this week, because they need to be separated from their parents and taken to safety, but are stuck in dangerous situations because of adults in their life who “look the other way” or because of governmental red tape.
But wait…
THIS WEEK, there are children who are on summer vacation, but there are also children who will go to school. They will have lockdown drills and practice hiding from sociopathic individuals who seek to kill them. They will be looked at as numbers and dollar signs by the organizations that are supposed to be educating them. They will be taught by teachers who LOVE them, and want them to succeed, but whose hands are tied by rulings, and regulations, and assessments.
Why am I saying all of this?
Because THIS WEEK, millions of adults, who could be using their time to DO SOMETHING and help these children will sit around and debate. They will sling metaphorical mud at each other. They will write scathing “news” articles. They will fight with their friends, and families, and co-workers. They will do all of these things because they are prideful, they are determined to be right, and they think their solution is the BEST or ONLY solution.
WAKE UP!
Set aside your political beliefs. This isn’t about parties or answers - it’s about children. CHILDREN. They are looking to us as ADULTS to help them. So, before you make your next post, look at some pictures of immigrant children, of abused children, of foster children, and YOUR OWN CHILDREN… and DO BETTER. DO SOMETHING.
