Here are a few pictures to start things off. The first two are from a photo scavenger hunt. We had to act out a sign for the first one (That is Mary Meghan who also has issues). The second one was act out a Youtube video and be in a fountain (extra points for two inone) The video is turtle man that some of the volunteers really like. That is the link if you want to see. The guy with the chalk was at this amazing chalk the block event. It was wild. Like Mary Poppins :) The car is at the Chicano car festival. My boss has an old car from .... I don't remember when but I couldn't find him at the show or I would have a pic of that :) The last pic is my roommate sarah and me at the Fall Festival a community event sponsored by a bunch of churches in the area. We were in charge of the kid craft tables. Specifically pumpkin decorating :) Now for the blog...
Hello All! So El Paso doesn't really look like it is the fall. It still feels like the summer. Though today was a beautiful day. It was overcast and drizzly. I spent probably an hour outside walking/sitting in the drizzle. Life has been full of ups and downs, as it tends to be. I just had a job shift and am now responsible for the battered women cases at my work. I think it will hold new challenges but it is good for me. I have learned a few things about myself. 1)I need to be in-charge of my own time 2) I like to facilitate (a woman's way of saying be in charge according to one of the Maryknoll Sister's at my work). 3) I work much better when things are close to chaos. 4) I am an extrovert, in that I need to have people around/interact with people/not just look at a computer screen all day. 5) Last, but not least, of my new discoveries I really can't stand bureaucratic processes, specifically those our government instigates, because they lack compassion and become more concerned about the process than the actual people involved. Other recent adventures include more Karen-time. BAKING! Lots of BAKING! and some reading... occasional movie watching... And spending time with my housemates, some workmates, and all the random people our program sets us up with.
Ok, so now for my dose of 'teaching' In working with the immigrant population I have recently been pondering the words of Emma Lazarus' Poem which appears on the Statue of Liberty:
"Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name,
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Working with one asylum seeker really made me start thinking on this poem. Especially the most over quoted, " give me your tired, your poor..." We do in fact welcome many of these described. If they are fleeing for their lives for reasons of persecution based on their political opinion, religion, race, ethnicity, or social group. Oh, and they have to be able to prove it in a court of law where there may or may not be someone who can translate accurately from their native language. If they have suffered abuse, rape, torture, or any other psychological trauma they then must prove it and retell the story dozens of times to complete strangers who generally seem to disbelieve everything and try to find any discrepancy. If one date is not remembered exactly correct then you must be lying. Since we all remember the exact dates of traumatic events from years before. But we do provide some support. These asylum seekers are put up at the expense of our government. They get a bed, 3 meals, and a set of scrubs that match all the others at the state of the art detention facility which is run like a minimum security prison. Their crime: Fleeing Persecution. We do put them up for at least a few months if not over a year while they wait for their trial. Again, someone else controls every aspect of their life, telling them when they can eat and sleep, and of course they are confined like animals unable to leave the one concrete building. But heck, That is what is implied by the statue's poem, right? Then if these asylum applicants are luck enough to be granted asylee status they are released from the facility. Literally, they drive them to the gate of the compound and let them out. They don't tell them where they could go. They don't provide them with any means or transportation. Explanation of what Asylum status means. They don't even make sure they have money to provide for themselves for the night. If you do want to pick someone up you get a range of time as to when they will be released. Sooo you just have to sit out front waiting for said person. Then, these folks are left to the generosity of strangers until they are issued a work permit, which can take months. This is after we have said, 'yes, we feel you qualify as tempest tost and worthy of our support.' Where is the justice in this justice system? Your chances of even winning that asylum case increase about 75% when you are represented by an attorney but the average attorney charges $10,000. Go figure, most of these folks forgot their ten grand when they were running for their lives. Disregarding the violations of human rights, of what we, the United States of America supposedly stand for, or if you are religious - what the Bible, Koran, Upanishads or any other religious teaching says about caring for the weak and vulnerable. It just makes your head and heart hurt.
I wrote most of this rant a few days ago, and then saw this newspaper article today, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/06/AR2009100601639.html
Which does seem like at least they are trying. That is nice. So now you have the opinion of someone closer to the actually trenches of immigration than the average US citizen. Thanks for reading! And hopefully even if you don't agree you now have food for thought! I will include more 'facts' to support the argument in future posts but figured your eyes are probably weary from all the text already :)
Paix!
