#FamiliesBelongTogether

I hope we have all been diligently watching what has been happening to immigrant families in America with the implementation of the “zero tolerance” policy and I hope it has made you as ill and as furious as it has made me. I hope we’re continuing to read articles from trusted sources, looking at the pictures, listening to the audio and viewing the footage. I hope we’re talking about it at our dinner tables and in our places of worship and business.

Because to say that it’s vital that this practice is not normalized or accepted (including in Canada, where this is still not resolved for some communities) would be an embarrassing understatement. Removing children from their parents, either by force or by deception, is devastating, detrimental and indefensible. Unless unavoidable for their own safety, there is never an excuse and there is always a better way than breaking families apart.

I’m not saying that the issue of border security and illegal entry into a country does not need to be addressed or that what happened to First Nations families in Canada is completely equivalent to what is happening to immigrant families in America. I am saying that there is a common lesson.

Throughout human history and across many nations we have repeatedly learned the devastating results of tearing families apart. The examples are depressingly plentiful and the consequences echo through future generations. Deterring hope with punishment, addressing conflict with cruelty and building walls instead of bridges has never resulted in the kind of world we want to live in.

The cruel practice of separating families will not completely end with one executive order, but instead with the continued outcry, vigilance and supplication of the majority who hold the moral high ground and make their voices known. The power of the people has demonstrated to the people in power that we all know better. But for the sake of humanity, let’s continue to demand that we all do better.

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*Donations to help the efforts being made to reunite families that have been separated by this policy can be made through fundraising movements like RAICES or the Immigrant Defense Project. Always do your research before donating money to any organization.

by Refraction

#FamiliesBelongTogether

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