Watching the scenes at the border where people are trying to enter the United States and start a new life is heart-breaking. And this really applies for any border all over the world. The stories of desperation with horrifying conditions in their home country and the desire to help their children with a better life certainly justify their attempts to flee and seek refuge. Often times, families have separated in the hope that one part of the family can successfully enter the asylum of another country, wishing that the separation will hopefully be temporary but sadly might be permanent.
These stories are unfortunately timeless. People fleeing conflict or persecution in some circumstances recognize that there are no alternatives other than to hope that their dreams of a better life might come true. War, famine, poverty, drought, and persecution are just some of the reasons. Most of the time the receiving people in the countries of potential shelter have welcomed them and sought to ease their transition into their new home. Regrettably, sometimes their reception has been blocked and labeled as an invasion. I recognize that these issues are not easily solved. Our legislative representatives have chosen not work toward viable solutions for over 20 years now. Their inability to tackle these issues in a proper humanitarian way has led to frequent flare-ups, but I know that we cannot and must not label the asylum seekers. Two names are especially abhorrent to me –
- Illegal – people are not illegal. Their actions might be illegal in the laws of some jurisdictions, but people are not illegal. This broad-brush term seeks to demonize those seeking a better life and fleeing from horrific conditions. People that have committed illegal acts might be seeking to escape the law but the all-to-common way of lumping all folks seeking better living conditions for their families as illegal I find unpalatable.
- Alien – people are not aliens. I know that the term alien is written into the statutes of US law, but I find the term repugnant since its common usage now is meant to demean and denigrate folks seeking a better life. At times it seems to equate them to non-human life and therefore not deserving of our humanitarian aid and shelter.
As I reflect on these issues (and remind myself of the persistent nature of the problem over mankind’s existence), I am reminded of the haunting lyrics from the Broadway musical West Side Story.
Somewhere. There’s a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we’re halfway there.
Hold my hand and I’ll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!
The children and their families, seeking a better life and freedom from poverty in the homeland or oppression at our southern border or elsewhere, are left wondering where that somewhere will be (that time and place) where they can go hand-in-hand together to a better life. Our job is to assist them.
The science is clear—the adverse experiences that the children have to endure, that they are currently facing and that they will be saddled with for years to come affect their brain growth, their brain wiring, their behavior and their health. The lack of safe and stable nurturing relationships is an unprecedented toxin to children. Safe and stable nurturing relationships allow for parents to take the hand of their children and take them to that time and place that will afford some safety and that chance for a better life—somehow, some day and that special somewhere.
Somewhere.
We’ll find a new way of living,
We’ll find a way of forgiving
As these children and families seek to heal the wounds suffered in their native countries, they will continue to seek a new way of living. The USA offers such an ideal setting and has for centuries. That is our legacy and our pride in the world community. And the children and families will need to find a way of forgiving, a difficult but necessary task.
But we have to be honest – we do have less-than-optimal children’s policies of our own country so that “Somewhere” is in need of repair in a lot of ways. I list just a few below—
- Universal Medicaid for qualifying families should be available. Repairing the infrastructure of families and their health is just as important (and arguably even greater) as the recent bill to boost our nation’s infrastructure.
- A concerted effort to address and eliminate poverty.
- The spread of malicious misinformation (during a pandemic and other times) needs to stop.
- The selfish idea of “freedom” in a pandemic is the notion of privilege, not freedom. Citizens in a free society care for and about each other, nurturing and protecting each other. Unnecessarily exposing others to a potentially lethal preventable disease is a misguided privilege.
- Different standards of care and outcomes for people of color must be corrected.
- The labeling of others in derogatory terms and the lack of rational discourse only serves to divide us. It, in no way, makes us stronger.
The folks seeking refuge or asylum coming to our country or those seeking relief within our country should be treated with respect and given every opportunity possible. The ability to recognize our strengths and the ability to recognize our areas for improvement will be our legacy going forward. If we use our strengths and seek to improve where we can, then we begin to get to that somewhere, somehow and some day. That is our joint humanity.