Children Crossing the Border

Crossing the border
Crossing the border
Who will help the children crossing the border?

I’m fearful watching television sometimes. I suppose everyone is fearful watching TV sometimes. Today I’m fearful for the children crossing our borders. I’m fearful for what I see happening when busloads of children arrive in a small town in California, only to be heckled and turned away.

What parents would pay a smuggler to bring children across the border? Desperate parents, I’m sure. Tired parents, ones who see no future for themselves or their children. Parents who want a better life than they live, where poverty, drugs, and lack of work dominate. That’s who!

Two Sides

I understand the consternation of the people demonstrating, yet it makes me so scared to think that the melting pot, which is the United States, has no place for these children to stay. What is happening to morality? Where is the humanity?

Hatred is evil. Hatred turns to persecutions and unreasonable, yes, evil results. We must address the issue of the border children in a reasonable manner, or the situation can only escalate. If you are familiar with the stories from the Holocaust, perhaps you know someone who lost  a grandparent or aunt or uncle in the midst of the Nazi hatred which spread so quickly.  Perhaps you’ve read stories about how Jewish parents during the Holocaust left their children behind when they boarded trains to their deaths.  We need to step forward to help the children coming across our borders.

This week I heard a friend tell me that some of the teenagers are being sent to start street gangs and drug wars. Perhaps that is true. The numbers arriving are astounding. But those teenagers need homes and love with the hope of saving them from the streets. The homes where they will go need attenion quickly.

Help for the Children

We are a rich nation. We’ve had hard times. But most people do not know what it’s like to leave their homes with nothing but a backpack and a little lunch to travel miles and miles to a place where they are cooped up like the families in internment camps. They sleep on mats, not knowing what to do or how much suffering is yet to come.  How scary is that?

Crossing the Border
We need courage to help the children crossing the border.

We need to come together, especially in the southern states to reach out to help people.  Where is the morality?  Do you recall how many Jews and their supporters died in the early 1940’s?

Yes, I’m scared today. Would I take a child or children into my home? I’d be darned scared and try to minimize the risk, but sending children to internment camps without proper sanitation and adequate food is just around the corner if we don’t realize that humans are sacred beings. If you are a believer, you know that a living person is precious. These precious children need helping hands, not voices of hatred surrounding their situation. We need courage to do the right thing!

2 Comments

  1. Connie Coelo

    Hi Ruth,

    I appreciate your post and your compassion for these young children who have thronged to our borders, especially here in Texas.

    My son is an attorney and I asked him about these children last Friday when we met for lunch. He reminded me that, much as he supports immigration reform and relaxed borders, the laws in place must be enforced. He said that if we are in Europe and lose our identification (passport, etc.), the US embassy will take responsibility for transporting us back to the US, because without proper documents we are in the European country illegally. He said these youngsters fall into the same category — they are in our country illegally and the US is responsible for returning them to their home country in a humane manner. This does not mean dropping them off at the border, but providing transportation to government officials of their home country who can take responsibility for their young citizens.

    While this may seem cruel, he says the laws in place need to be upheld. Perhaps this situation will speed up Congressional approval of immigration reform and we will see the day when youngsters like these can be welcomed into our country legally.

    The present situation puts the state, the country, and the president in a difficult position. If they are allowed to stay, they will need to be fed, housed, educated, and valued. And then what about their families in their home country? Very sad…

    Your friend,
    Connie

  2. Donald

    Ruth, I agree with you whole-heartedly. I share your fears. Too many people being told how to think and feel. We’re loosing our humanity.

    ~Don

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