tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89524508286009096772024-03-04T23:53:27.726-08:00Adjunct JusticeA blog to talk not only about adjunct faculty, but also to discuss all adjunct in society, whether adjunct faculty, students, DREAMers, undocumented, intellectual and low wage workers, and refugees, including families around the world.
This crisis, however, is most noticeable coming from Mexico and Central America.
These are our neighbors, our friends. As adjunct faculty, we may one day be teaching these students. Besides, if we were in their shoes, wouldn't we want them to take care of us?Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-70710992253821567292019-07-04T10:10:00.001-07:002019-07-04T10:19:11.729-07:00Let Us Celebrate Anew a Happy 4th of July: Edifice of Gold / Edificio en OroThese poems I have published in several places now, but I would like to share them with you here to show you <i>all</i> that though our freedoms are presently threatened in this "land of the free & the brave," people -- asylum seekers from across the world -- still seek <i>this</i> land, even with all its threats to our liberties.<br />
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We need to fight for them, for our future, as we remember the words,<br />
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"Give me your tired, your poor,</div>
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Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,</div>
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The wretched refuse of your teeming shore."</div>
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Here are <i>my</i> sonnets then, in both Spanish & English, which ever you prefer. Happy 4th of July: may we keep fighting for our <i>real</i> freedoms!<br />
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Hues of Gold</i></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">@ Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Edifice of Gold</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">She handed her little boy the gallon jug of water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Drink, she said. But only a little. We need to walk much further<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">before reaching shelter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The heat scorched through the haze of sun, yellow dog burning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">into her skull, tiring her hold of the child she carried on her hip,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">the other holding her hand wearily: mama, <i>estoy cansado...</i></span><span lang="ES-HN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The men, further ahead, looked to them sullenly,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">threatening to leave them behind in the ashen dust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">The sands turned golden, yet burnt merciless indentations of<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">their own brown death, relentless, imprinted heatedly heartless,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">holding hostage her wretched hopelessness.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Yet she stumbled onward, thinking of her son, her baby girl wrapped in a homemade sling,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">blinded to those ruthless men scurrying on without her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">She must dream only of that Eden paradise luring its edifice of gold, her feinted freedom?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arenas de oro<br />
<i style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; text-align: right;"><span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 10pt;">@ Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></i></td></tr>
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<b><span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Edificio en Oro</span></b><span lang="ES-HN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">An interpretation, not a translation </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">(because translation is never poetry) </span></i></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Ella le entregó a su pequeño hijo el galón de agua.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Bebe, le aconsejó. Pero solo un poco. Tenemos que caminar mucho más<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">antes de llegar al santuario.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">A través de la bruma el sol ardiente la quemaba; ese perro en llamas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">le hacía arder su cuerpo, forzándola a soltar el agarre de la niña que llevaba a su cadera,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">el otro sujetando su mano: <i>mami, estoy cansado ...</i></span><span lang="ES-HN"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Los hombres, adelante, miraban a los tres, ariscos,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">amenazando con dejarlos atrás en el polvo ceniciento.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Las arenas se convertían en oro, pero quemaban muescas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">de su propia muerte, implacables, ardiendo sin corazón,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">teniendo como rehén a su miserable desesperanza.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Sin embargo, pensando en su hijo tambaleaba, su niña envuelta en un cabestrillo hecho en casa,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">ciega a esos hombres que se escabullaban sin ella.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="ES-HN" style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Tenía que soñar solo con ese Edén, su edificio en oro, su libertad ¿fingida?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>About the author (me!)</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMqtsyICA60a2mTgJhueEZW5P0PYzY3ig-derYfgta1KMCuP8WDhCJgFgh4V1iF66-9Msda4b0GAw8AhamVt_aZLGVown1S519CXGaO2hbSmzUbWXDydcpwjamTZM1VTWg1fgaOka0EQ/s1600/AnaApril2019StraightHaircut.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZMqtsyICA60a2mTgJhueEZW5P0PYzY3ig-derYfgta1KMCuP8WDhCJgFgh4V1iF66-9Msda4b0GAw8AhamVt_aZLGVown1S519CXGaO2hbSmzUbWXDydcpwjamTZM1VTWg1fgaOka0EQ/s320/AnaApril2019StraightHaircut.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being an academic who was <a href="https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">not paid</a> enough for my trouble, I wanted instead to do something that mattered. Thus I began to advocate for <a href="https://www.rsndfw.org/" target="_blank">marginalized refugee families</a> from Mexico and Central America.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Working with asylum seekers is heart wrenching, yet satisfying. Their pain, <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2017/05/sombras-brillantes-en-un-mundo-de.html#more" target="_blank">their sorrow</a>, their joy, is quite humbling. Moreover, being with them has helped me with my own sense of displacement, since I too was a child refugee, trying to find a new home. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But this is the refugees' life today: I have seen it, I have heard it, I have cried tears with them through every phase. I have sat in the <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html#more" target="_blank">court rooms</a> as they await news of their most definite deportation, and now I share their agony with the world, so that we realize it might not have to be this way… </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I also want to share their hope, their coming joys: help me do that by reaching out to help <i>all</i> migrants in this country of immigrants, like me! </span></div>
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<br />Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-71434857767492342442018-06-16T17:22:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:38.168-07:00Elegy to a Refugee Girl/Oda a una niña refugiadaIt's been too long since I've written. My life has taken on too many changes, too many problems have come my way, and the little time I have left outside of work I use to help the asyum seekers I have grown to love passionately, and who are under attack, so fiercely, so wrongly.<br />
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What have we become as a nation?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7mIXm5yps2w7r1iNMVD286j6KJgP3cl_r-_hP0qIXnbFdMYQycByNCclplkfDTptuWgVScEr1n3vtIDDuyTX7qAddlfFPj933MmqDXoHx2tZVNwd9uHi_e5-eZWKEaZXnUKWHlBZHVw/s1600/AZChrist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq7mIXm5yps2w7r1iNMVD286j6KJgP3cl_r-_hP0qIXnbFdMYQycByNCclplkfDTptuWgVScEr1n3vtIDDuyTX7qAddlfFPj933MmqDXoHx2tZVNwd9uHi_e5-eZWKEaZXnUKWHlBZHVw/s640/AZChrist.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Christ Bleeds in the USA Too </i><br />
El Santuario de Chimayo, New Mexico<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My poems "Elegy to a Refugee Girl / Oda a una niña refugiada" will be published in a book entitled <i>Detained Voices / </i><i>Voces detenidas</i><i>, </i>edited by <span style="font-family: "georgia";">M. Montserrat Feu Lopez & </span><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Amanda Venta, from Sam Houston State University. </span><br />
<br />
For Father's Day, for <a href="https://www.weareallusa.org/wrd2018" target="_blank">World Refugee Day</a>, which this year falls on Wednesday, June 20th, all fathers should be with their children; all children should enjoy, with their families, the freedoms afforded to those of us in the free world.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>These are freedoms they seek, freedoms we are denying with impunity. Let us reflect, then, and <i>act</i>. I leave you with these thoughts while you read, in either English, or Spanish below...<br />
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<br />
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Elegy to a Refugee Girl</span></b><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">The teacher collected the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">young child's drawing.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Looking it over, she stared</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">intently</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">at the little girl's work:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">she saw</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a young child, separated by</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">bars.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a large splash of crimson</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">covering the trees she had drawn.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">A larger lady in the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">background faraway,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">brown on brown her hair</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">falling wildly</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">on the page,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">so that all she could see</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">were splashes of sepia with</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a little green</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">but much more blood red.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the wild woman seen in the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">image</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">had something shackling her</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">ankle,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">her face blotched with</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">droplets upon her cheeks.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">What did you paint,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">sweetheart?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the teacher slowly</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">questioned</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the young child with the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">immense, sorrowful eyes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">And the girl looked up,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">giant eyes tearing,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">voice quivering,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">repeating softly--</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my mami, she whispered.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my mami was taken away.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">She flew to the trees there,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">to the blue in the sky.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">She</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">was put in that </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>carcel</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">you see?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">but her spirit flew</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">like the birds when they</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">soar through the sky, stormy yet safe.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">And the teacher stared at</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the sanguine red, what seemed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">to be the color of gore,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and again she gazed</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">inquisitively at the child...</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">My mami is a rose,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and the wilderness in her</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">spirit breaks free</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">as she wails for my papi,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">red blood screaming pain.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">escondi,</span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a stifled sigh to the teacher.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>Tenía miedo...</i></span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">hid myself under the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>cama</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the bed skirt muting</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my silent shrieks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">as</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I saw my papi's red </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>sangre</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">spilling from him.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I stayed still and quiet</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">under that bed</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">afraid they would see me,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">those ugly green suits</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">taking my papi and hitting</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">him, again and again,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">so that he</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">became a scarlet jumble of</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">pain.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my mami had no time to react</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">as those ugly men</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">took her and threw her on</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">top of me...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">they did not know I was</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">hiding under the bed.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">But my mami knew, and she</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">tried to be still</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">as the beasts tore into her,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">they ripped off her clothes, I think,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">they strangled her cries,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">they heaved themselves</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">on top of her.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">First one, then the other.</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Then a third.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">My mami did not move.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I sang blue songs in my head</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and listened to the fairy birds</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">ringing out their tune of</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">love, of my mami and papi</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and their love for me...</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">It was a long time the men</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">were there and my mami not moving.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">But finally what seemed to</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">hump and hump and hump again</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">stopped moving,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and the bad ugly men in</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">their green army suits all splattered with red were gone.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">stayed under the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>cama</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">afraid to come out</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">afraid to have the red stain</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my hands, sink through my fingers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">so I crawled into myself,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">staying below.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">But finally I felt some</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">movement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">My mami came back from the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">skies</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">from</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the blue heavens with the </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>loros</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">singing...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">she</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">did not leave me, she stayed that </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>rosa</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">in the ground</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">for her baby girl.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my mami stumbled almost</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">falling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">She lowered her body</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">crawling</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">beneath that </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>cama</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">holding me, closely, loving</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">me, touching me to make sure I was real</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">flesh and bone and not the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">red of my father,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the body limp without</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">movement.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">His eyes -- I finally saw --</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">were open wide staring blankly</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">at nothing. No heaven was</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">open to his</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">rust stained drip</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">spilling all over the floor.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I knew my mami was hurt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I knew it was hard to walk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">but we took off, my mami and</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">me,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">and we traveled the death</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">roads for heaven</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">thinking</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">if we made it to </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">el</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>norte</i>,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">good people would see us and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">gather us into their</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">embrace.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">How strange it is that I am</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">here in a school while my mami</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">is jailed for a crime she</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">never committed?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">For being forced by some bad</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">bad men and she only trying to save me?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Why</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">is it that others do not see </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">mi</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>dolor,</i> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">mami's ache,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">because I weep inside</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">like</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a salamander </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">who</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">hides in bright colors</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">?</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">The teacher looked at my</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">drawing again, then she looked at me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I saw her face, too,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">blotched with droplets upon her cheeks...</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Why does she cry like my</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">mami? And will I see my mami again?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Why do these ugly men -- now</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">wearing blue suits instead of the green I despise --</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">take my mami away?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Why</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">have they placed me in this </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>escuela</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">in this place with other sad</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">children who</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">say nothing look at nothing</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">feel nothing</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">because</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">ellos</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">también tienen miedo?</span></i><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Please</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">teacher, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><i>maestra</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">take me to my mami.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Don't</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">let her cry alone, </span><i><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">por</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">favor...</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Don't let her fly in that</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">cell room forsaken,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">let me be with my mami,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">please.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I don't want to learn</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">English,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">don't want fine things </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">if</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">my mami is destroyed in your cell.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">the young girl with the</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">immense, sorrowful eyes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">voiced long silent stabbings</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">with her muted gaze. </span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">You</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">are killing me, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">not</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">softly, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">not</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">kindly, she uttered.</span><br />
<br style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;" />
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">killing</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">killing</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> killing</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> killing</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> killing</span></blockquote>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7AeZI0XrWHA_EqQoHaz1tgwet4Dqdi9BRmMFLLWtGAWA4cwKA5kCldbTMGuFv6mcXFL1KDx0YjG82TjumJTLoiR6tUnH19WuiXxRLV86TrLNVh7ktSe30SYpWMSvClEkDn6aX6cUxwY/s1600/Mom%2526childOrig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin7AeZI0XrWHA_EqQoHaz1tgwet4Dqdi9BRmMFLLWtGAWA4cwKA5kCldbTMGuFv6mcXFL1KDx0YjG82TjumJTLoiR6tUnH19WuiXxRLV86TrLNVh7ktSe30SYpWMSvClEkDn6aX6cUxwY/s640/Mom%2526childOrig.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Madonna & Child at the Border</i><br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo, 2014</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<b><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Oda</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a una niña refugiada</span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">La maestra recogía lo que había dibujado la niñita.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Al verlo, miró fijamente</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">el trabajo de su pupila:</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">observó en la página</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">una pequeña mocosa, separada del mundo por barras.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Una gran capa de carmesí cubriendo los árboles.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Una señora en el fondo lejano,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
marrón contra marrón, su cabello salvajemente golpeando</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
la página.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Solo percibía</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
retazos de sepia con un poco de verde</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
y mucho más rojo de sangre.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
La indómita mujer que contemplaba en la imagen</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
tenía un grillete encadenando su tobillo,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
la cara manchada de lágrimas.</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Qué pintaste, corazón?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">La maestra preguntaba lentamente</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">a la pequeña pupila con unos ojos inmensos, tristes.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Y la chiquita levantaba su vista, ojos gigantes, sollozando,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">su voz temblorosa</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">repitiendo suavemente--</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
mi mami... susurró.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Mi mami fue secuestrada.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Ella voló hacia los árboles allá, hacia el azul celeste del cielo.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
A ella la metieron en esa carcel, ¿entiende?</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Pero su espíritu se escapó</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
como los pájaros cuando se elevan hacia el cielo, tempestuosos pero seguros.</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Y la maestra contemplaba el rojo sangre, lo que parecía</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">ser un monstruoso derrame,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">y una vez más miraba a la niña curiosamente...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Mi mami es una rosa, decía,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">y el desierto en su espíritu se libera</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">mientras ella llora por mi papi, dolor de sangre y llantos.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me escondi… susurró un sofocado suspiro a la maestra.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Tenía miedo...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me escondí bajo la cama, las sábanas cubriendo</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">mis silenciosos gritos</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">al ver la sangre escarlata de mi papi.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me quedé quieta quieta bajo esa cama enorme,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">con miedo que me sospecharan,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">esos feos trajes verdes</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
atrapando a mi papi y golpeándolo, una y otra vez,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
mientras él</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
se convertía en un caos de sangre y pena.</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Mi mami no tuvo tiempo de reaccionar cuando esos feos hombres</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">la tiraron encima de mí, la raptaron ...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">no sabían que yo estaba escondida bajo la cama.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Pero mi mami sí lo sabía, y ella se quedaba quieta quieta</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">cuando esas bestias le arrancaban la ropa, cuando se la clavaban,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">le estrangulaban sus gritos, se lanzaban</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
encima de ella</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Primero uno, luego el otro. Después, un tercero otra vez más.</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Y mi mami no se movía.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">En silencio, yo cantaba canciones azules y escuchaba a los pájaros,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">entonando su melodía de amor, de mi mami y mi papi</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">y su amor por mí ...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Pasó mucho tiempo con esos hombres allí mientras mi mami no se movía.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Finalmente, lo que parecía cascar y cascar y cascar otra vez</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">dejó de moverse,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">y esos grotescos, sus trajes de ejército salpicados de rojo, desaparecieron.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me quedé bajo la cama, con terror de salir,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">con terror de mancharme las manos de sangre, ese rojizo de muerte hundiéndose entre mis dedos.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Huí dentro de mí, enterrándome en las tinieblas de la noche.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Pero finalmente sentí algo de movimiento.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Mi mami regresaba de los cielos,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">desde ese horizonte azul con los loros cantando ...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">ella no me dejó, mi mami; se quedó como esa rosa en la tierra</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">con su hija adorada.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Sin embargo, se tropezaba, casi caía.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Agachaba su cuerpo,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
arrastrándose debajo la cama,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
y me sostenía cerquita, amándome, acariciándome, asegurándose que era real,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
carne y hueso y no el rojo de mi papi,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
su cuerpo sin movimiento.</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
Sus ojos - finalmente los vi - estaban abiertos, mirando fijamente</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
a la nada. Ningún cielo quedaba abierto a su</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
goteo infinito, manchado de óxido,</div>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
derramándose por el suelo de piedra.</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Sabía que mi mami estaba herida.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Sabía que era difícil caminar</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">pero igual nos escapamos, mi mami y yo,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">y viajamos por los caminos de la muerte hacia el cielo,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">pensando que si lográbamos llegar al norte, gente buena</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">siempre nos acogiera en su abrazo.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¡Qué extraño estando aquí en una escuela mientras mi mami</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">se encuentra en la cárcel por un crimen que no cometió!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Por haber sido violada y ella ¿solo tratando de salvarme?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Por qué es que los demás no ven mi dolor, el dolor de mi madre?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Por qué lloro dentro</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">como una salamandra escondida en colores brillantes?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">La maestra contemplaba mi dibujo, y luego me miraba.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Yo notaba su cara también, sus mejillas manchadas de lágrimas ...</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Por qué llora la maestra igual que mi mami? ¿Y volveré a ver a mi mami?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Por qué esos feos -- ahora de azul en lugar del verde que odio --</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">atrapan a mi mami y se la llevan lejos de mi?</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">¿Por qué me han puesto en este frío colegio,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">en este lugar con otros tristes niños que</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">no dicen nada, no miran nada, no sienten nada</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><div style="text-align: right;">
porque ellos también tienen miedo?</div>
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Por favor maestra, <i>teacher</i>, lléveme a mi mami.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">No la deje llorar sola, <i>oh please ...</i></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">No la deje volar abandonada en la celda,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">déjeme estar con mi mami, le ruego.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">No quiero aprender inglés,</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">No quiero cosas buenas si mi mami cae destruida en su celda.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">la niña con los ojos tristes e inmensos</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">anunciaba agotados silencios</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">apuñalando esa mirada apagada.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me están matando, decía. No suavemente, no cariñosamente.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">Me están… </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">asesinando</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><span style="text-align: start;"> a</span><span style="text-align: start;">sesinando </span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><span style="text-align: right;"> asesinando</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
asesinando </blockquote>
</span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
asesinando</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;"></span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>About the author (me!)</i></span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6glyq8N05xsLC7AvhxO2RAEXnqu8iYB56GtEJHiq4gcO3chTW3qKJ58KxNutonwot1DmSYCmJIQhLSMsv7P35MeKPCRyhYaBf70WxAzptjfvlo3xSop3aW5pu-2fmlG9N7AshvBvr-0g/s1600/AnaSquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6glyq8N05xsLC7AvhxO2RAEXnqu8iYB56GtEJHiq4gcO3chTW3qKJ58KxNutonwot1DmSYCmJIQhLSMsv7P35MeKPCRyhYaBf70WxAzptjfvlo3xSop3aW5pu-2fmlG9N7AshvBvr-0g/s320/AnaSquare.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being an academic who was <a href="https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">not paid</a> enough for my trouble, I wanted instead to do something that mattered. Thus I began to advocate for <a href="https://www.rsndfw.org/" target="_blank">marginalized refugee families</a> from Mexico and Central America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Working with asylum seekers is heart wrenching, yet satisfying. Their pain, <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2017/05/sombras-brillantes-en-un-mundo-de.html#more" target="_blank">their sorrow</a>, their joy, is quite humbling. Moreover, being with them has helped me with my own sense of displacement, since I too was a child refugee, trying to find a new home. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But this is the refugees' life today: I have seen it, I have heard it, I have cried tears with them through every phase. I have sat in the <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html#more" target="_blank">court rooms</a> as they await news of their most definite deportation, and now I share their agony with the world, so that we realize it might not have to be this way… </span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6glyq8N05xsLC7AvhxO2RAEXnqu8iYB56GtEJHiq4gcO3chTW3qKJ58KxNutonwot1DmSYCmJIQhLSMsv7P35MeKPCRyhYaBf70WxAzptjfvlo3xSop3aW5pu-2fmlG9N7AshvBvr-0g/s1600/AnaSquare.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 12.800000190734863px; margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"></span><br /></div>
<br />
</span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-62024863033838056852017-09-10T15:59:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:37.221-07:00Our wings are stronger than their hate...<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Lots of schools, universities, and communities are <a href="http://p2a.co/TvB0oBo" target="_blank">fighting for DACA</a> students -- and alongside them too -- but these endeavors do <i>not</i> take away DREAMers' hurt, their fear, their <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/daca-trump-dreamer-data/" target="_blank">mistrust in a system</a> that supposedly was going to protect them.<br /><br />What happens to all the information the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/donald-trump-dreamers-program-young-immigrants?CMP=share_btn_fb" target="_blank">government now has</a> of DREAMers? </span><div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Will it use it to not only come after them, but also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/sep/05/daca-dreamers-personal-data-undocumented-immigrants" target="_blank">their families</a>? And <i>who</i> will help their families now? After all, a huge part of DACA, for these students and dreamers, was being able to help in the <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/as-trump-ends-daca-dreamers-worry-about-family_us_59af37a7e4b0354e440d8121" target="_blank">day-to-day struggles their families go through</a>, as they try to adjust to immigrant lives no one wants to acknowledge.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJKKwPsAzIaah1Re2-3zI0T3C_lh9ZZFyA7Rp47gORKqYsBtNWIsWtUm3G37xMOrneG16PgC31iHUG2kW83jyIZuWaO-yJvf1nvh-Jb9u3nvtAbT8zXiCu0wmL0wes0M5qnEJEZ3MHPA/s1600/RosaliaButterfly+AlbertoGutierrez.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoJKKwPsAzIaah1Re2-3zI0T3C_lh9ZZFyA7Rp47gORKqYsBtNWIsWtUm3G37xMOrneG16PgC31iHUG2kW83jyIZuWaO-yJvf1nvh-Jb9u3nvtAbT8zXiCu0wmL0wes0M5qnEJEZ3MHPA/s640/RosaliaButterfly+AlbertoGutierrez.jpg" width="426" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Photograph © Alberto Gutierrez. Courtesy of the author. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a name='more'></a>Today is a time of infamy, and it will be remembered as a dark cloud over these United States. I hope this storm passes, & a new day dawns soon. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But these DREAMers are great</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">fighters, and they will always strive for a better</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">day. </span><div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">will get it too, <i>despite</i> the government. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">They will <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/05/us/dreamers-daca-trump.html?mcubz=0" target="_blank">never give up</a>.</span><div>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So today I share with you one DREAMer's words. You may recognize her: Rosalía Salazar has graced our pages <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/12/teacher-dreamer-tries-to-explain.html" target="_blank">before</a>... </span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">And as before, her original Spanish will appear first, followed by my translation of her work into English. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Indeed, we are all one; we share one <i>same</i> language, the language of love. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlsXFXEWRUy61dUv_cX0UHVptFYQTi30uZMMLuLeO5J_kpv7EfCd2mXQDOCn5Kipep67_ho0S7p_-MWDWR9JIjTXEppLsGaqSG4TYnSujgQUk5DamH9ankXLpn-JL529yM9H7tlZvyoI/s1600/RosisButterflies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxlsXFXEWRUy61dUv_cX0UHVptFYQTi30uZMMLuLeO5J_kpv7EfCd2mXQDOCn5Kipep67_ho0S7p_-MWDWR9JIjTXEppLsGaqSG4TYnSujgQUk5DamH9ankXLpn-JL529yM9H7tlZvyoI/s400/RosisButterflies.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">Courtesy of the author</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Por alguna razón, los últimos meses me han perseguido las mariposas por todos lados...<br /><br />Queridos SOÑADORES de ojos abiertos<br />y de sueños tan reales como las líneas de nuestras manos,<br />esto va para ustedes...<br /><br />... para nosotros 🦋<br /></span><h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nuestras alas son más fuertes que su odio...</span></h3>
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Intentaron soplar con tal fuerza que pudieran atemorizarnos, desplazarnos, y alejarnos.... Pero al hacerlo, nuestros colores se hicieron aun mas brillantes, y nuestras alas se desplegaron abrazando a todo aquel quien se cree incapaz de sentir.<br /><br />Volamos por las calles inundándolas de esperanza, revoloteando entre el odio de los que aun no han aprendido a volar. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Somos la revolución hecha canción.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Somos la libertad reflejada en la mirada de alguien que observa el cielo azul.<br />Somos flores renaciendo en un horizonte que ya se alcanza a ver.<br />Somos manos entrelazadas creando puentes.<br />Somos seres alados intentando los muros derrumbar, y las vendas de los ojos quitar…<br /><br />Hay veces que los latidos de nuestros corazones logran sincronizarse con el movimiento de nuestras alas y es entonces que se llega a un instante que transciende fronteras,<br />que hace del odio algo<br />insignificante,<br />casi inexistente.<br /><br />Nos volvemos uno,<br /><br />…pero somos muchos.<br /><br />Y nuestras alas siempre serán mas fuertes que su odio.<br /><br />#DefendDACA #HereToStay #DREAMers#SinDACASinMiedo<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">🦋</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For some reason, the last few months I have been pursued by butterflies from all directions...<br /><br />Dear DREAMERS with eyes wide open,<br />and dreams as real as the lines of our hands,<br />this goes out to you<br /><br />to all of us 🦋</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV0vkZtpPOMLgl5A9r3UJyOAZhyphenhyphenggoeb2obMC39OB74ETc59TuCNvhpcZpIE_fKHR0-E-clDmb92BKgNNenmh7F78wEyarJrNWQQ0-dLADr3lunVUOdQNUtwDfoMEItby_flrTlkSZro/s1600/RosiButterfly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGV0vkZtpPOMLgl5A9r3UJyOAZhyphenhyphenggoeb2obMC39OB74ETc59TuCNvhpcZpIE_fKHR0-E-clDmb92BKgNNenmh7F78wEyarJrNWQQ0-dLADr3lunVUOdQNUtwDfoMEItby_flrTlkSZro/s400/RosiButterfly.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Courtesy of the author</td></tr>
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Our wings are stronger than their hate...</h3>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">They tried to bluster with such force they would terrorize us, displace us, distance us.... But in so doing, our colors dazzled even brighter, our wings unfolded, embracing all who think they are incapable of sentiment.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We soar through streets, flooding them with hope, hovering amidst the hatred of those who have not yet learned to fly.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are the song made revolution.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are freedom reflected in the gaze of someone who studies the cerulean sky.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are flowers reborn on a horizon that is breaking dawn.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are hands entwined, forging bridges.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We are wingéd beings trying to shatter walls, removing bandages from our eyes...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There are times when the beat of our hearts manages to synchronize with the flutter of our wings. And it is only then that we arrive at that instance of transcending borders,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">which makes hatred an instrument so</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">insignificant,</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">it becomes almost inexistent.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We become one,</span><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">... yet we are many.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And our wings will always remain so much stronger than their hate.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">#DefendDACA #HereToStay #DREAMers #SinDACASinMiedo</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WhQ6LALAE_M-IBm9LfsKXxpV9q0SmEpbQAYMguD4Gv3lfb92DJDXwlHSkFYWw_d2X4PKRYTIwps58XHoNWkWkmvMzJyuu7BbAE8ttX6QgFdqWRjDSKE691_i8G7xsz9pGkVQTCjR8xA/s1600/Rosi6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WhQ6LALAE_M-IBm9LfsKXxpV9q0SmEpbQAYMguD4Gv3lfb92DJDXwlHSkFYWw_d2X4PKRYTIwps58XHoNWkWkmvMzJyuu7BbAE8ttX6QgFdqWRjDSKE691_i8G7xsz9pGkVQTCjR8xA/s320/Rosi6.jpg" width="240" /></a><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">About the author:</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Rosalía Salazar is an alumnus of</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">The University of Texas at Austin</a> </i><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">with a Bachelors of Science in Applied Learning and Development.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />She is a bilingual Teacher at <a href="http://www.dallasisd.org/domain/525" target="_blank">Lida Hooe Elementary</a> in the Oakcliff area of Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys serving as chair of the “beautification committee” and uses art as a tool to inspire staff and students. She also serves as an active member of <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/enpiedeluchaperformance" target="_blank">En Pie De Lucha Peformance</a>, </i>a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness of social issues through the use of art.<br /><br />Rosalía enjoys poetry more than anything, and she believes that it is through the use of art that people can make deeper connections with who they truly are and what they are capable of doing in order to change their surroundings.<br /><br />This is her motto, which she lives by daily; you see this in her classroom as well as in her day-to-day life interchanges with all those around her: "In order to change the world, we need to start from within… cambiar al mundo desde adentro".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Rosalía Salazar</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">rosaliasalaz@gmail.com</span></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-22700747219059203932017-06-20T07:41:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:34.458-07:00 Refugiado / Refugee<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Two years ago on <a href="http://www.indiacelebrating.com/events/world-refugee-day/" target="_blank">World Refugee Day</a>, I published a very <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2015/06/that-was-then-this-is-now.html#more" target="_blank">personal essay</a> about my status as a refugee child, back then, yet what it is like <i>now</i> for refugees and asylum seekers. Today, I publish my own poem -- in its original Spanish followed by my English interpretation </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">(because translation is </span><i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">never</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> poetry!)</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">-- about the plight of the asylum seeker, so that we know. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuunVr-IZZvhqW-_T3vykx1H4Tsb7y24CVOy61En84MQU1wg8FEDOeJD-ahXkP3VmX8GDk0mGVAU9-PBS6TJH8rUbzVc9aebrX9WYbordJYwUVRxR0OY8ZA-FLu2Ai_Dg_WRmX3y68-aw/s1600/McAllen+BorderFence+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="644" data-original-width="1280" height="322" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuunVr-IZZvhqW-_T3vykx1H4Tsb7y24CVOy61En84MQU1wg8FEDOeJD-ahXkP3VmX8GDk0mGVAU9-PBS6TJH8rUbzVc9aebrX9WYbordJYwUVRxR0OY8ZA-FLu2Ai_Dg_WRmX3y68-aw/s640/McAllen+BorderFence+3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The border fence, with menacing clouds hanging © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">So that we can be witness to our own ungodliness. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The English version was published in <i>Bad Hombres and Nasty Women,</i> from Raving Book Press: if you would like to buy it, go to this <a href="http://www.theravingpress.com/" target="_blank">link</a>. There are many other great works in this little treasure! </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But I wanted to print the Spanish original too, so I am publishing both versions here <i>now, </i>the English below the Spanish. </span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-align: center;">Refugiado</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Mi alma en pedazos,<br />Veo el alambre de púa<br />rasguñando metal contra piel.<br />Llorando lágrimas de sangre,<br />Escucho disparos al vacío del silencio<br />de la Salva Maratrucha.<br />Lo empujo bajo la cerca<br />pero llora mi hijo,<br />aunque no importa;<br />lo hago porque<br />lo quiero.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Caminamos caminamos...<br />horas por las vías podridas<br />de los coyotes,<br />días, semanas, un mes, mano en mano:<br />vamos enfermos,<br />sin comer,<br />sin beber,<br />sin hablar.<br />O cuando hablamos es llorando,<br />porque no hay energía para más. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />¿Dónde se habrá ido la niñez de mi hijito?<br />¿Cuándo la perdió?<br />¿Será cuando vio a su tío caer por unas balas<br />que le correspondían a su madre?<br /><br />La eternidad del infierno<br />ha pasado en frente,<br />y cruzamos la frontera<br />llegando al río.<br />Atravesamos en balsas,<br />yo muerta en vida<br />con mi hijito en brazos.<br />Nos damos por vencidos<br />en esa tierra de tinieblas<br />y nos tiramos a sus pies —<br />esas patrullas sin cara, sin rostro.<br />Les decimos, susurrando,<br />"tengo miedo."<br /><br /><br />II<br /><br />Recuerdo los ojos negros<br />de mi hermano,<br />entreabiertos, glaseados,<br />la sangre estallando sus entrañas,<br />mi abuela gritando<br />corre, niña, corre,<br />eres tú la que quieren,<br />es tu sexo,<br />tu poder como mujer,<br />tu manera de decirles <i>no</i>.<br /><br />Oigo los disparos lejos todavía,<br />y vuelvo a escuchar la voz de<br />mi querida abuela:<br />vete con tu niño antes<br />que te maten, dice. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYePCRt9Up2VI-kByXxHnkwqLCbmsgtBheES4bvdOyDkrsJD4J9yJyRzijK3kkeWFGpDvDxUboOsfkoRTRzYhnSCqz7rpcGKrCA2VpxY6ktQoen7i3Nmr43S4xBGleG5QBEdOw3IhMp2U/s1600/McAllen+Bus2+Mother%2526son+3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYePCRt9Up2VI-kByXxHnkwqLCbmsgtBheES4bvdOyDkrsJD4J9yJyRzijK3kkeWFGpDvDxUboOsfkoRTRzYhnSCqz7rpcGKrCA2VpxY6ktQoen7i3Nmr43S4xBGleG5QBEdOw3IhMp2U/s400/McAllen+Bus2+Mother%2526son+3.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the border, waiting © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<br /><br />Y el presente rompe pesadillas<br />que me trae aún más asaltos:<br />percibo a un guerrero,<br />llama en llamas...<br />el choque me catapulta hasta la actualidad.<br /><br />La policía fronteriza me pregunta,<br />"¿Regresarás?"<br />Y yo le digo, con sarcasmo,<br />"Quiero ver mi patria,<br />quiero oír los<br />tiroteos tormentosos,<br />quiero ver las maras<br />asaltando uno al otro,<br />mata mata.<br />Quiero ver mi hermano muerto,<br />quiero ser luceros de mi abuela<br />llora llora.<br />Quiero ver la sangre deslumbrar<br />lo verde en las montañas,<br />las piedras de mis calles,<br />el agua de los ríos,<br />pero todo rojo rojo<br />Sangre sangre<br />Llora llora."<br /><br /><i>"Corre, niña, corre:<br />eres tú la salvación.<br />Llévate a tu hijo,<br />líbralo de este horror".</i><br /><br />Así es que oigo esa voz tan asustada,<br />las palabras apocadas de mi abuela,<br />pero no me quiero recordar...<br /><br />¿Qué te pasa, chica?<br />Pregunta el agente de mal manera.<br /><br />Tengo miedo, Policía.<br />Tengo miedo.<br /><br />Pero igual, no me quiere escuchar.<br /><br /><br />III<br /><br />Me agarra fuerte, recio,<br />maltratándonos el hombre ICE.<br />Nos tumba, belicoso.<br />Se cae de mi protección mi hijito tembloroso.<br />Nos arrastra, ese monstruo,<br />forzándonos hacia deslumbrantes luces: <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1F-yfAcArhcK-EtkLtJJpJjw27yjZpX0sp45OoDFns3pVRe3hC02tJVDRvtygBMUQSx3_bKYElSZRHE7vjB6zIUw5hGBGSbU_2U9pcT5pBF4w7MJdagG0HZA7r7a9xltcY7eNfq_jv8/s1600/McAllen+EntireCBPCar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="540" data-original-width="960" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY1F-yfAcArhcK-EtkLtJJpJjw27yjZpX0sp45OoDFns3pVRe3hC02tJVDRvtygBMUQSx3_bKYElSZRHE7vjB6zIUw5hGBGSbU_2U9pcT5pBF4w7MJdagG0HZA7r7a9xltcY7eNfq_jv8/s400/McAllen+EntireCBPCar.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Customs & Border Patrol <i>perrera</i> where they jail "captives"!<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<br />refulgentes, cegadoras,<br />dando vueltas sobre un carro.<br />Nos encarcela en el perrero<br />con sirenas estridentes,<br />con barrotes enrejados,<br />¿ese furgón no es hecho para perros?<br /><br />Pero no. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: center;">Entre ropas empapadas por el río congelado</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">y el crítico engaño de un hueco reducido<br />en que los vigilantes nos encierran,<br />llegamos a una celda fría,<br />insensible,<br />aséptica, estéril:<br />desinfectada de piedad total,<br />y así nos hielan a los dos,<br />abrazados uno al otro,<br />mi hijito y yo.<br /><br />El calor entre madre e hijo<br />siempre es suficiente para quitar<br />el frío inhumano de agresores asaltantes,<br />pero no es suficiente para desarmar<br />espíritus perversos,<br />para darle miedo al más malvado.<br />Me acurruco con mi hijo,<br />y lloro lloro...<br /><br /><br />IV<br /><br />Llegamos a nuestra celda<br />con otras madres, otros hijos indefensos.<br /><br />Oh, las luces fluorescentes chillan<br />día y noche.<br />Las comidas recuerdan asco.<br />No hay vida<br />más allá.<br />Los guardias nos desprecian,<br />tratan de humillarme<br />como si fuera yo<br />la que hubiera hecho el crimen,<br />como si fuera yo<br />la que hubiera herido<br />a mi hermano<br />en vez de la que corre<br />por su vida...<br /><br />Y presiento a mi hermano<br />todo un hombre,<br />un recuerdo<br />con corbata de cielo azul,<br />cerúleos susurros quietos<br />vestido con traje de lino blanco,<br />mientras camina él, despacio, inocente,<br />con piernas de un roble eterno.</span><br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHTFtnyOoKjgTR1J25TjnkAhtkzhCP_n2CX_Nsvzag9Z82Wti2GYBUA9UbLJ2xJoWyzJY6g_tC1qrX3RGzqyc0a-sHjmvoKAETmz0RKC5kF5x9X3gNKayyp9Ji3TdY4EqticBmnZBZaY/s1600/Chagall%252C+The+Juggler+1969.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="736" data-original-width="564" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlHTFtnyOoKjgTR1J25TjnkAhtkzhCP_n2CX_Nsvzag9Z82Wti2GYBUA9UbLJ2xJoWyzJY6g_tC1qrX3RGzqyc0a-sHjmvoKAETmz0RKC5kF5x9X3gNKayyp9Ji3TdY4EqticBmnZBZaY/s400/Chagall%252C+The+Juggler+1969.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"> Marc Chagall, The Juggler, 1969</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">¿Pero será ésta</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">la memoria de mi hijo,<br />o es la de mi hermano vuelto en vida?<br /><br />¿Será éste un sueño<br />de aquí o de más allá?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6uTsA6q_vZuZINWRuV49co494O29giM7hpiDKfzH6D_PDH84X_ahIN2fCnBEAE9nxzqK2dtnpv3Q68SVmID4DCBtatVbhm9c3A9OCyzFWn6suPcRJ3pHnBbb1_SAI3STxsMScUBKfo8/s1600/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6uTsA6q_vZuZINWRuV49co494O29giM7hpiDKfzH6D_PDH84X_ahIN2fCnBEAE9nxzqK2dtnpv3Q68SVmID4DCBtatVbhm9c3A9OCyzFWn6suPcRJ3pHnBbb1_SAI3STxsMScUBKfo8/s1600/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6uTsA6q_vZuZINWRuV49co494O29giM7hpiDKfzH6D_PDH84X_ahIN2fCnBEAE9nxzqK2dtnpv3Q68SVmID4DCBtatVbhm9c3A9OCyzFWn6suPcRJ3pHnBbb1_SAI3STxsMScUBKfo8/s1600/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKgryRUBdWtSLwfSvri8W5sIJdrvXXZKLwRwoA649zJg4okqzJKqiseByYmtrqghrFPGq2NEITmagSI2makgRB-eWWWvSGEji4vsUxEkyR08q5Id6uxpe0OXpI1DaXQSzLL0O6PFa-HEE/s1600/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">V<br /><br />Pasan meses en un sinfín<br />de agonías,<br />una monotonía de días rutinarios<br />donde nada pasa,<br />porque todo es mentira,<br />todo es artificial,<br />todo es locura.<br />Por fin nos toca hablar<br />frente a un tipo comisario,<br />oficial del maquiavélico ICE<br />para explicar mi miedo.<br />Este nos mira indiferente,<br />me dice sin creerme,<br />¿Porque estás aquí, chiquilla?<br />¿Vienes a robarnos la comida?<br /><br />Y yo pienso en mi hermano,<br />muerto sangre fría,<br />un batallón de drogas<br />despojando mis bellas tierras<br />para llegar a este espacio libre,<br />y yo pienso en la vegetación<br />que ellos devastaron<br />para hacer lo que arrasa<br />hoy en día<br />a mi país sagrado.<br />Pienso en las tierras,<br />en las vidas,<br />en la sangre que me roban...<br />en mi hijito,<br />en mi hermano muerto,<br />en las mujeres que nos violan,<br />en mi pueblo amado,<br />en mi patria destruida.<br /><br />Y entonces veo a la <i>migra</i>, <br />miro al funcionario,<br />ese hombre que trabaja para ICE,<br />preguntándome con desdeño<br />si los pienso atracar,<br />y les contesto, fría:<br />Sí, ya que ustedes están aquí<br />burlándose de mí,<br />vengo justo para vindicarme<br />yo de ustedes.<br /><br />Vengo a que sufran admirando<br />mi <i>criminalidad</i>,<br />soportando esa culpa de comprender<br />todo, todo mi dolor.<br /><br />Fíjense:<br />la mujer violada, su hermano muerto.<br />Contemplen estas transgresiones,<br />las amenazas, la miseria,<br />las matanzas, la muerte en vida:<br />ésto es mi país querido. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Y entonces, recuérdense de mí —<br />detalle por detalle;<br />reflexionen en lo que represento,<br />y memoricen estas lágrimas de sangre<br />cuando se rían de todo refugiado. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6uTsA6q_vZuZINWRuV49co494O29giM7hpiDKfzH6D_PDH84X_ahIN2fCnBEAE9nxzqK2dtnpv3Q68SVmID4DCBtatVbhm9c3A9OCyzFWn6suPcRJ3pHnBbb1_SAI3STxsMScUBKfo8/s1600/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="420" data-original-width="273" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6uTsA6q_vZuZINWRuV49co494O29giM7hpiDKfzH6D_PDH84X_ahIN2fCnBEAE9nxzqK2dtnpv3Q68SVmID4DCBtatVbhm9c3A9OCyzFWn6suPcRJ3pHnBbb1_SAI3STxsMScUBKfo8/s640/Murderer%252C+the+Hope+of+Women%252C+Kokoschka.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murderer, The Hope of Women, Oskar Kokoschka, 1909<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br />An interpretation, not a translation<br />(because translation is <i>never</i> poetry)</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><br /></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>Refugee</i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><br />My soul into pieces,<br />I see the barbed wire<br />ripping metal against skin.<br />Crying tears of blood,<br />I hear gunshots in the vacuumed silence<br />of the gang's <i>Salva Maratrucha</i>.<br />I push him under the fence<br />but my son cries.<br />No matter:<br />I do it because<br />I love him.<br /><br />We walk walk walk...<br />hours and hours on the rotted roads<br />of the <i>Coyotes</i>,<br />days, weeks, a month, hand in hand:<br />we go, sick —<br />without eating,<br />without drinking,<br />without speaking.<br />Or when we speak, we do so crying,<br />because there is nothing left for more.<br /><br />Where did my little son's childhood go?<br />When did he lose it?<br />Is it when he saw his uncle fall by a bullet<br />meant for his mother?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwV2_fR5aM71zeGBz8LUiYqzywjWWl8V0YxSken4VoFTyRHz5fsEO2EAOgNbF2z4181yDxies8w2pyhCYYMBncXalq-JkJdjAWzrFOEcceCMzd-DsIKbAa-6V0LwzNSYjktRIcesJvtsM/s1600/They+shoot+Horses%252C+don%2527t+they%253F+.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="500" height="302" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwV2_fR5aM71zeGBz8LUiYqzywjWWl8V0YxSken4VoFTyRHz5fsEO2EAOgNbF2z4181yDxies8w2pyhCYYMBncXalq-JkJdjAWzrFOEcceCMzd-DsIKbAa-6V0LwzNSYjktRIcesJvtsM/s640/They+shoot+Horses%252C+don%2527t+they%253F+.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Death at the Border © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />The eternity of hell<br />has bridged our path,<br />and so we cross the border<br />reaching the river.<br />We travel in rafts;<br />I am the walking dead<br />with my little son in my arms.<br />We give up<br />in that land of darkness<br />as we throw ourselves at their feet —<br />the faceless border patrol: no image, no semblance.<br />And I say, whispering,<br />"I am afraid."<br /><br /><br />II<br /><br />I remember the black eyes<br />of my brother,<br />parted, glazed over,<br />blood bursting his bowels,<br />my grandmother screaming<br />run, girl, run,<br />It is you they want,<br />it is your sex,<br />your power as woman,<br />your way of saying <i>no</i>.<br /><br />Still I hear the distant gunfire<br />as I listen to the voice of<br />my grandmother once again:<br />go with your child before<br />they kill you, she says.<br /><br />And the present shatters nightmares<br />that produce even more assaults:<br />I perceive a mercenary,<br />burning flames...<br />Shock catapults me to the present.<br /><br />Border patrol interrogate me,<br />"Will you return?"<br />And I say, sarcastically:<br />"I want to see my country,<br />I want to hear the<br />raging shootouts,<br />I want to see the <i>maras</i><br />assaulting one another,<br />kill man kill.<br />I want to see my dear dead brother,<br />I want to be my grandmother's star of light </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Distant Lands © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">
<br />crying crying.<br />I want to see the blood bedazzle<br />the green of my rugged mountains,<br />the stones of my pebbled streets,<br />the river water flowing,<br />but all is red red<br />blood blood<br />Cry cry."</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /><br /><i>"Run, girl, run:<br />you are our only salvation.<br />Take your son away,<br />deliver him from oh, this horror."</i><br />So I hear that panicked voice,<br />my grandmother's dreaded words,<br />but I want never to remember...<br /><br />What is it, girl?<br />Asks the agent, mean and foul.<br /><br />I am afraid, Policeman Sir.<br />I am afraid.<br /><br />But still, he does not want to hear.<br /><br /><br />III<br /><br />He grabs me strongly, with brute force,<br />bashing us, this bully ICE man.<br />He knocks us down, thrashing, bellicose.<br />My son falls from my protection,<br />my trembling little boy.<br />He drags us, this inhuman monster —<br />forcing us toward the glaring lights:<br />incandescent, blinding,<br />their flare piercing round and round.<br />He imprisons us in an old dogcatcher<br />screeching sirens screaming,<br />slatted with thick metal,<br />Is this cop car made for dogs?<br /><br />But no.<br /><br />Cloaked in clothes drenched by an icy river<br />and the key deception of the dwarfed hole<br />to which the armed guards cage us,<br />we arrive at a bleak, sterile prison:<br />insensible, aseptic,<br />sanitized of all damned godliness,<br />they freeze us both<br />while we embrace each other,<br />my little boy and me.<br /><br />The warmth of mother and son<br />is always enough to take away<br />the cold from smiting bastards,<br />but not so when it comes to disarming<br />perverse spirits,<br />to striking fear in the most evil.<br />I huddle closely with my son,<br />crying crying...<br /><br /><br />IV<br /><br />We arrive to our cell<br />with other mothers, other defenseless children.<br /><br />Oh, fluorescent lights wail<br />both day and night.<br />Meals reminisce disgust.<br />There is no life<br />beyond today.<br />The guards despise us,<br />try to humiliate me<br />as if it were I<br />who would have done the crime,<br />as if it were I<br />who would have hurt<br />my brother<br />instead of the one who's running<br />for her life...</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreams of Moonlight © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">And I sense my brother<br />all a man,<br />a memory<br />with blue sky tie,<br />cerulean whispers<br />dressed in bleached white linen.<br />Then I watch him walk away<br />slowly, innocently,<br />with limbs of timeless oak.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But is this<br />the memory of my son,<br />or is this my brother come alive again? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will this be a dream</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">from here or from beyond?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />We spend months in a cornucopia</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">of agonies,<br />a monotony of routine days<br />where nothing happens,<br />because everything is deception,<br />everything is artificial,<br />everything is mad.<br />Finally comes the day when we talk<br />to a commissioner,<br />an official of that machiavellian ICE:<br />we must explain our fear.<br />This man looks at us indifferently,<br />tells me, not believing,<br />Why are you here, girl?<br />Have you come to steal our food?<br /><br />And I think of my dear brother,<br />slaughtered, in cold blood,<br />a battalion filled with drugs<br />despoiling my sacred land,<br />yet surfacing in this free expanse,<br />and I think of the vegetation<br />they demolished<br />to undertake what ravages<br />my country<br />nowadays.<br />I think of the land,<br />of the lives,<br />of the blood they steal from me...<br />I think of my son,<br />of my dear dead brother,<br />of us — the women they have raped;<br />I think of my beloved people,<br />of my homeland — wrecked, destroyed.<br /><br />And then I see the <i>migra</i>,<br />I look toward the agent,<br />those men who work for ICE,<br />asking scornfully<br />if I think I might assault them,<br />so I tell them, bitterly:<br />Yes, since you disdain<br />to mock me,<br />I come explicitly for vengeance.<br /><br />I come so you can suffer<br />delighting in my criminality,<br />I come so that you understand<br />that guilt, of oh, so much my pain.<br /><br />Beware:<br />the woman raped, her brother dead.<br />Contemplate oh these transgressions,<br />the threats, the misery,<br />the massacres, the death in life:<br />this is my beloved country.<br /><br />And then, remember me —<br />detail by bloody detail;<br />reflect on what it is I represent,<br />and memorize these tears of blood<br />when you laugh at every refugee. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moonlight Serenade © Oskar Kokoschka, 1907-1908</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>About the author (me!)</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Being an academic who was <a href="https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">not paid</a> enough for my trouble, I wanted instead to do something that mattered. Thus I began to advocate for <a href="https://www.rsndfw.org/" target="_blank">marginalized refugee families</a> from Mexico and Central America.<br /><br />Working with asylum seekers is heart wrenching, yet satisfying. Their pain, <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2017/05/sombras-brillantes-en-un-mundo-de.html#more" target="_blank">their sorrow</a>, their joy, is quite humbling. Moreover, being with them has helped me with my own sense of displacement, since I too was a child refugee, trying to find a new home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">But this is the refugees' life today: I have seen it, I have heard it, I have cried tears with them through every phase. I have sat in the <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html#more" target="_blank">court rooms</a> as they await news of their most definite deportation, and now I want to share their agony with the world, so that we realize it might not have to be this way… </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUNs23Vwd7bfMKOXLQFnh6jfnms-JlGiK1FBvycDggDcM_M4H6QCO12I-58kcPqa2App_LypmzUCiWB9hdU2DlGMYuE0-yB5w0RptWGFGgaZEn7HCeoSuv3OPe810ewsJipv7ZX8klCk/s1600/ProfilePicMe+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="528" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMUNs23Vwd7bfMKOXLQFnh6jfnms-JlGiK1FBvycDggDcM_M4H6QCO12I-58kcPqa2App_LypmzUCiWB9hdU2DlGMYuE0-yB5w0RptWGFGgaZEn7HCeoSuv3OPe810ewsJipv7ZX8klCk/s320/ProfilePicMe+copy.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I write as an expiation, to banish my demons, so that I can continue my work. </span><br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-14334005793793380562017-05-26T18:32:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:33.598-07:00Sombras brillantes en un mundo de obscuridad / Brilliant Shadows In A World Of Darkness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">In today's world of American politics, what are we doing to our future? Are we stomping on the many varied voices of tomorrow, on future Masters students, </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">PhDs,</span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">scientists, lawyers, doctors, educators? Are conservative politicians afraid of losing their majority? In Texas, at least, this Latino majority is an impending reality, as it already is in <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/01/24/in-2014-latinos-will-surpass-whites-as-largest-racialethnic-group-in-california/" target="_blank">California</a>. Thus politicians repress people and pass reactionary laws that only promote <a href="http://www.fox7austin.com/news/local-news/253386447-story" target="_blank">racial profiling</a>. No matter what the trump administration says about security, we know they are afraid of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/us/politics/dhs-immigration-trump.html" target="_blank">losing their rule</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">They offer bleakness instead of light & unity...</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H9YVuHQBSv8f97K8SJBDop3rFsCdazbs96-3D0A7YDQUdOXfMIbSBQZ7lWKv-TnSSPQboBPjx0YL3Ng07KiT_WzNL4wkduKzLYp3yZwuM2nXD2zMnWUYO1akaU096smKfnVzMLcfWGI/s1600/Lili+B%2526W.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="960" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0H9YVuHQBSv8f97K8SJBDop3rFsCdazbs96-3D0A7YDQUdOXfMIbSBQZ7lWKv-TnSSPQboBPjx0YL3Ng07KiT_WzNL4wkduKzLYp3yZwuM2nXD2zMnWUYO1akaU096smKfnVzMLcfWGI/s640/Lili+B%2526W.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">La</span><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">Madre Patria /Motherland</span></i></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">Courtesy</span><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">© of <i>En Pie de Lucha Performance</i></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This poem -- from a Masters student in <i>Clinical Mental Counseling</i> who is concerned about her prospects as a scholar in civil society -- speaks the <a href="http://news.berkeley.edu/2017/01/25/undocumented-student-program-trump-era/" target="_blank">truth of many students</a> of all races, all ethnicities, all creeds. It raises their collective fear of a future in the United States of America, the land they thought was a welcoming beacon... once upon a time.<br /><br />We should listen and realize that the boogey man is <i>only ourselves...</i><br /><br />Por <i>Una Sombra Brillante</i></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"A world in which many worlds converge"<br />La familia es para siempre<br />Courtesy © </span></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">of </span><i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; text-align: start;">Una</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;"> </span><i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; text-align: start;">Sombra Brillante</i><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Nosotros,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Los alienígenos,<br />Los fantasmas de carne,<br />Somos aquellos que estamos sin estar.<br />De quienes muchos temen y de quienes pocos conocen.<br />Nosotros, aquellos que no podemos dejar huella porque sería rastreada y nos robarían lo poco que nos queda de libertad.<br />Somos la lucha de nuestros ancestros, y la pesadilla de nuestros agresores.<br />Somos sin ser, porque nuestra identidad ha sido borrada en piezas y nuestro corazón partido en dos.<br />Para muchos somos el reflejo de la ignorancia, sin saber que tal vez nuestra inteligencia supera la de ellos.<br />Somos luz, pero vivimos en la obscuridad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Translated by </span><i style="font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif;">Ana M. Fores Tamayo</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The aliens,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">The ghosts of our flesh,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are the ones who live without presence.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are the ones whom many fear and whom</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">few wish to know.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are the ones who cannot leave a trace because we might be hunted down, and they</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">would steal what little we have left of our freedom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are the struggle of our ancestors, the nightmare of our aggressors.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are without being, because our identity has been erased into shadows and our heart</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">has been fractured in two.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">For many we are the reflection of ignorance, without their knowing that perhaps our</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">intelligence surpasses their own.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">We are the light, but we live in darkness.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>About the author </i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoWthPLFVpUYGZipXdv_BotYPFqpBfn15QKnGblzWTzkeFgluh-Tyx6bq4rvoMo0fRW2Vg6r98M6Oj8SV8Dd0rz6VKKWUvo4djh9CkU4AUwm4w9rySXnBKojdeJ9NaPi7xu6nbczzObg/s1600/SisterShadows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjoWthPLFVpUYGZipXdv_BotYPFqpBfn15QKnGblzWTzkeFgluh-Tyx6bq4rvoMo0fRW2Vg6r98M6Oj8SV8Dd0rz6VKKWUvo4djh9CkU4AUwm4w9rySXnBKojdeJ9NaPi7xu6nbczzObg/s400/SisterShadows.jpg" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sister Shadows</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Courtesy @ <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">of </span>Unknown</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Una Sombra brillante,</i> like so many other undocumented students, cannot come out of the shadows as long as we have the laws we do in this country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Thus, I present to you her shadowed biography...<br /><br />"No tienes ninguna idea de lo que esto significa para mí. Cuando tienes tanto que decir y tienes que callar... lastima 😔 MlL gracias por hacer algo tan bello por mi y por todos aquellos que viven igual... En esto, sale mi voz, pero también salen las lágrimas de todas nosotras, nosotros...<br /><br />You have no idea what this means to me. When we have so much to say yet we are forever silenced ... it aches 😔 Thank you a thousand times for doing something so beautiful for me, and for all those who live in these same shadows... With this piece, my voice is illuminated, but moreover, so are the rest of our collective tears ..."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-1492499732084507482017-04-29T15:35:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:33.691-07:00May Day: Helping with the Migration Crisis Across Borders<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For May Day, I will take part in one of the many marches against what trump is doing to immigration </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(I don't capitalize trump's name because he is <i>not</i> worthy). </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You can too:</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> look at marches going on in </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/how-to-join-the-day-without-immigrants-on-may-day/" target="_blank">A Day Without Immigrants</a>! </i>More so, however, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I will add my two grains of sand by writing about what we <i>can</i> do proactively to help immigrants today. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I was thinking that, since trump was elected, he at least had to have a majority. Though that was <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-elections/donald-trump-lost-popular-vote-hillary-clinton-us-election-president-history-a7470116.html" target="_blank">never the case</a> and he won through electoral politics, his <a href="https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/" target="_blank">popularity has suffered</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">even </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">more so since his election. A case in point: I was food shopping in my very conservative neighboorhood supermarket (I know: what am I still doing here?), when I saw a little note left for me on my car bumper, in response to a sticker I have: "Immigrants & Refugees WELCOME." </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDdnGeKRmwraloCeUjcji7F5oXVN_au6FQ073VQro_NLHt7wrTQO6l2msoI-jcsVySk3uV8XDqotlUS9v8qf_iOk8NWZHr1SKCOziExsBGfYZDYDGQ4Y_3x4BuypCEWlvhJnft-qmIQE/s1600/Neighbors2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuDdnGeKRmwraloCeUjcji7F5oXVN_au6FQ073VQro_NLHt7wrTQO6l2msoI-jcsVySk3uV8XDqotlUS9v8qf_iOk8NWZHr1SKCOziExsBGfYZDYDGQ4Y_3x4BuypCEWlvhJnft-qmIQE/s320/Neighbors2.jpg" width="295" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">The note said, verbatim: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: center;">"Thank you for your bumper sticker. Immigrants & refugees are our neighbors" 😉</span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From this, I gather there is hope for everyone here in the United States: we are <i>still</i> a welcoming nation! I think my advice on helping asylum seekers and refugees, then, will come in handy, for those of you who really want ideas on next steps... </span></blockquote>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thinking about all this and how to present it then, I will tell you that I went to the <a href="http://www.sfaa.net/files/9014/8969/0697/2017_Final_Program.pdf" target="_blank">Applied Anthropology Conference in Santa Fe</a> — <span class="username u-dir" dir="ltr" style="direction: ltr !important; text-decoration: none !important; unicode-bidi: embed;"><a href="https://twitter.com/SfAAnthro" target="_blank">@<span class="u-linkComplex-target" style="text-decoration: none !important;">SfAAnthro</span></a> — a few weeks ago. </span>Anthropologists and academics <a href="http://womensstudies.unt.edu/people/sandra-spencer-phd-0" target="_blank">Alicia Re Cruz</a>, <a href="http://anthropology.unt.edu/dr-mariela-nu%C3%B1ez-janes" target="_blank">Mariela Nuñez-Janes</a>, and <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-kober-aba48b105" target="_blank">Ryan Kober </a>invited my husband <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/pachecoandres/" target="_blank">Andrés Pacheco</a> and me to form part of a panel in this year's conference, <a href="http://sfaa.net/~sfaanet/news/index.php/2016/aug-2016/annual-meeting/trails-traditions-and-new-directions-tours-planned-and-proposals-sought-santa-fe-2017/" target="_blank">Trails, Traditions, and New Directions</a>. We were a very diverse group of academics and activists from both sides of the border — USA, Ecuador, and Mexico — and we presented a round table discussion on "'Witnessing' the Migration Crisis Across Borders." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here is the recorded podcast, which was very well-received: <a href="http://sfaa.net/podcast/index.php/podcasts/2017/witnessing-migration-crisis-across-borders">http://sfaa.net/podcast/index.php/podcasts/2017/witnessing-migration-crisis-across-borders</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Discussing our presentation among ourselves afterward, we were excited by the response from the mostly local audience, since Tuesday's session — when we presented — was scheduled for folks of the area. The interest generated and questions asked during the session means people are really concerned and want to take an active role in doing more for the immigration crisis. This critical point has been peaking for quite some time too, and it has now been exacerbated by this new presidency. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After coming home, I received a letter from one of the audience who wanted to become more involved and needed ideas as to how to go about making an active difference in the lives of immigrants, to help them and to have them know we are on their side. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thinking about what I wrote to her in response, I decided to share it here, because I am sure she is not alone in wanting to make a difference. Immigrants </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— myself included </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">are under attack by immigration and even local and state law enforcement everywhere. I hope these ideas might spur you into action then, as immigrants need to know we stand beside them, and they are not the horrible migrants certain people purport them to be. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Thus, we talked about reaching out to already established groups who are helping immigrants. Since she was from Santa Fe, we spoke about the great organization <a href="http://www.somosunpueblounido.org/somos-un-pueblo-unido.html" target="_blank">Somos Un Pueblo Unido,</a> which has its website written in both English and <a href="http://www.somosunpueblounido.org/somos-un-pueblo-unido--espanol.html" target="_blank">Spanish</a> for more inclusivity, or <a href="http://www.santafedreamersproject.org/what-we-do/" target="_blank">The Santa Fe Dreamers Project</a>, which helps with legal questions specifically. Depending in what state you reside, there is a varied group of social service organizations you can become involved with. Right now, in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I am very involved in our <a href="https://www.rsndfw.org/" target="_blank">pro se clinic for asylum seekers</a>, and though our webside is currently under construction, we have been providing free monthly clinics to asylum seekers — mostly women and children — for over two years. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We have helped many. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfBuAs09xQnSs-J4_QnlwJisB8WCA6CaBvTx1eCJ5gGMzOcdhiZ_PPCOtqQkBuhxy0jk5cczHiaRk3W3UptJEU5itufzgza681bxiZ0RwSU3J9yex0vQC7-z417R8I0UzqsVlti6T7_g/s1600/RefugeeBaby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfBuAs09xQnSs-J4_QnlwJisB8WCA6CaBvTx1eCJ5gGMzOcdhiZ_PPCOtqQkBuhxy0jk5cczHiaRk3W3UptJEU5itufzgza681bxiZ0RwSU3J9yex0vQC7-z417R8I0UzqsVlti6T7_g/s400/RefugeeBaby.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me helping refugee mom with baby, and loving it! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hopefully, you can find an organization that fits your needs, or even begin your own! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In fact, if you decide to hold a meeting to begin your own organization, or even if you already have an organization but want more expert help, you might ask already established organizations to send a representative of their group to speak personally to you during your organizing meeting, to let you know what initiatives or similar actions you can take as a group. Since these organizations are in the midst of local actions — beside what they are doing nationally — it would be a perfect catalyst for you to initiate your own actions, using their suggestions. In this way, too, your potential members will become more invested, as they see actual people from the community doing wonderful things to advance solidarity for all.<br /><br />Most groups enjoy speaking about what they do, and especially if they are involved in a local initiative, they want to spread the news. So doing local efforts is best, while supporting national initiatives.<br /><br />There are other things you might be able to get involved with, if having local organizations does not work for you.<br /><br />Writing your local representatives is always an option. There is a nifty little app called "<a href="https://resistbot.io/" target="_blank">resistbot</a>," which you can set up by writing a text saying "RESIST" to <i>50409</i>, and it will text you through what you need to do next. BUT you can send your senators and local representatives a daily text if you want, which can be <a href="https://www.recode.net/2017/3/9/14865882/resistbot-texts-faxes-senators-representatives" target="_blank">awfully effective</a> in getting your word heard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Try it; you'll like it! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After you write to your representatives, however, you might consider presenting yourselves as a group to any such — especially those you think you might be able to sway with your vote — not only to make demands, but to open up a dialogue. It is amazing what face-to-face meetings can do: congresspeople cannot sway you with pretty words having no substance, since you are right there and can challenge them on the spot. Of course, they can still lie, but it’s a lot harder to lie to their constituents if you are right there to catch them in the act! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And if it becomes a true dialogue, you can then demand results after some time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Writing editorials to your local paper is an excellent way to bring attention to a local problem. But you should consider doing so to national papers as well as local news, to show them that from all parts of the country — including yours — immigrants add positive value to society. Not only can you write your local papers, but if you dare, you can try to contact radio stations or even TV or internet channels to vocalize what it is you do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you would like to write to detained refugees instead of going the legislative route, the national organization <a href="http://www.endisolation.org/" target="_blank">CIVIC</a> has both visitation communities — where they can help you set up actual visitations if there is a detention center or jail near where you live — or also writing to detainees, becoming their pen pals, if you would like and are too far from detention facilities. Detained immigrants do love receiving mail, especially because they are in such despair (in the past few weeks, there have been two immigrant deaths, as well as a "successful suicide attempt" at the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-nicaragua-0331-story.html" target="_blank">Adelanto Jail in California</a>, because ICE does not listen to immigrants)! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You do not know the power of words, in whatever language. So, the directors of CIVIC are amazing women, and you can ask them about writing to immigrants, so they can put you in touch with the exact person heading that front. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Tina Shull, Adjunct Professor of History at UC Irvine and <i><a href="https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/press-releases/foundations-announce-2016-soros-justice-fellows" target="_blank">Soros Justice Fellow</a></i>, has started an <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScUVMEqzw0DGhOtE4qyTf8xqWqs41YiKM1KjD_H4Vr8yj-e5g/viewform" target="_blank">online publication</a> and blog — <a href="https://medium.com/imm-print" target="_blank">IMM Print </a>— for people who write stories about immigrants, whether they are fact-based or narrative non-fiction and poetry. You can also submit photography and art, and you can write in any language! </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY2X59MAaTN7bgA-gGQJT9QLyEfH6LrZKCJ1b3GiExjb86i4hwvJ3Aow5SBD2URsENd84gKE7zs5ZSe2CwtKzO7ZwY6WgtPnIfncU4ue4blWh8urTJOwTGXMI36SpTGXAXlk7fBq6jMI/s1600/IMM+Print.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuY2X59MAaTN7bgA-gGQJT9QLyEfH6LrZKCJ1b3GiExjb86i4hwvJ3Aow5SBD2URsENd84gKE7zs5ZSe2CwtKzO7ZwY6WgtPnIfncU4ue4blWh8urTJOwTGXMI36SpTGXAXlk7fBq6jMI/s320/IMM+Print.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you get in touch with either <a href="https://medium.com/imm-print" target="_blank">IMM Print </a>or <a href="http://www.endisolation.org/" target="_blank">CIVIC</a>, the organizers there will be able to guide you in what it is you want to do, and you will be able to get not only a local audience but a national one as well. My piece, "<a href="https://medium.com/imm-print/the-justice-of-the-immigration-court-and-the-power-of-its-judge-king-37172f1fe28" target="_blank">The Justice of the Immigration Court and the Power of its Judge King,</a>" was one of the first published through their website. They have many more articles now since mine came out. If you like to communicate through writing, photography, or the arts, this is a powerful way to go. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Another forceful way to help refugees and asylum seekers — which I mentioned when speaking at the conference — is to accompany immigrants who have to show up to ICE or go to court and are very scared to do so alone. Remember, most do not speak English, and this system can be not only baffling but downright inhumane at times. Look for an <a href="https://www.ice.gov/contact/field-offices" target="_blank">ICE office near you</a>, or an <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/eoir-immigration-court-listing" target="_blank">Immigration Court</a>, and you will be a great help just by accompanying immigrants to their meetings with ICE or to their court appearances. So if you know immigrants who need to go and are scared of deportation, I cannot stress enough how important it is — or what difference it makes to the treatment they receive from ICE — to see that these immigrants are not alone! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />I am not sure how you would find out who needs to go to such appointments, but I suppose if you know immigrants in the area, especially recent arrivals, you can ask them if they need support, or whom they know might need support. Local Immigrant rights organizations like the <a href="https://www.nilc.org/about-us/what_we_do/" target="_blank">National Immigration Law Center (NILC)</a>, based in Los Angeles, Berkeley, or Washington DC, the <a href="https://www.nwirp.org/about-nwirp/our-story/" target="_blank">Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)</a> in various cities in Washington State, <a href="https://www.raicestexas.org/pages/about" target="_blank">RAICES</a> in different cities of Texas, or <a href="https://asap.urbanjustice.org/programs" target="_blank">ASAP (Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project)</a> in NY can all better guide you, depending what city you live in. These organizations might be able to help you identify immigrants who need and want help in your area. I am also attaching a <a href="http://jezebel.com/a-list-of-organizations-dedicated-to-helping-immigrants-1791772883" target="_blank">recent list of organizations</a>, if you need to find more in your area. Moreover, if you go to your local university law school, I am sure they will be able to help you, or direct you to a local immigrant organization that can. Lastly, in terms of finding immigrant organizations, here is a list of <a href="https://www.justice.gov/eoir/list-pro-bono-legal-service-providers-map" target="_blank">pro bono legal service providers</a> throughout the United States. I am sure they would gladly receive the help, if you are willing to give it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />The last thing I was going to suggest — if you know enough immigrants who could benefit — is to hold a <a href="https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights" target="_blank">Know Your Rights</a> presentation. If you have a Spanish speaker -- or whatever language most immigrants in your area use -- you can ask interpreters to translate your talk as you speak, so all understand. The <a href="https://www.aclu.org/" target="_blank">ACLU</a> has plenty of materials you can use, in either Spanish or English, so you can help the immigrants you need to make them aware. Remember, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER. Here is a similar <i>Know Your Rights presentation</i> from <a href="http://www.endisolation.org/" target="_blank">CIVIC</a>, in <a href="ttp://endfamilydetention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Web-Ready-TFDP-Know-Your-Rights-Spanish.pdf" target="_blank">Spanish</a>, or in <a href="http://endfamilydetention.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Web-Ready-TFDP-Know-Your-Rights.pdf" target="_blank">English</a>. If you cannot do a presentation but feel making copies of this material and distributing it would be helpful, then you'll be all set for copying and distributing. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Within the ACLU materials are scripts in both English and Spanish that can also be made to wallet-sized cards immigrants can carry. If immigrants are picked up by police, they then do not have to speak but hand over these cards, and ask to talk to a lawyer instead. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />These cards are available to citizens and noncitizens alike.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Many immigrant rights organizations hold <i>Know Your Rights</i> presentations, and if you call them, they will gladly come out to an event you will hold, to make immigrants aware of their rights. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friend Immigrant Lawyer Paul Zoltan giving a<br />
Know Your Rights presentation</td></tr>
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These are enough suggestions to get something started in your area, so good luck with whatever you endeavor. I am sure there are a lot of people close by to where ever you are whom you can invite and would welcome your support in spreading awareness.<br /><br />If you have any questions, just ask here and I will get back to you too. And if I do not know the answer, I will try to find out for you and let you know. So please, I welcome any questions: ask away! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Good luck to you all, and thank you for helping those who do <i>not</i> have a voice to stand up for themselves. You do not know what your voice means to them, even if they cannot tell you... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Happy May Day! </span></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-23739183977634030932017-01-16T19:25:00.001-08:002019-07-14T14:00:34.551-07:00Daybreak in Alabama by Langston Hughes<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">On Martin Luther King's Day, I'd like to share this poem, which I have shared before but which I find so striking not only for its beauty but also for its essence of simplicity. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">If things could only be this way! </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zKkCLtDXZYCuxGaBx0VhH1O71cipp4aXvpLzBy5eQ2DhifWe33od05Ny-kPU6hw_yH4eGbj-UEv8zZXKQlPqOnd5b1JN84eQu2EC40v0JY1fhlW0gevvW2tW_1jwcFCtsVi5YvIcvo0/s1600/DeltaMississippi%25C2%25A9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2zKkCLtDXZYCuxGaBx0VhH1O71cipp4aXvpLzBy5eQ2DhifWe33od05Ny-kPU6hw_yH4eGbj-UEv8zZXKQlPqOnd5b1JN84eQu2EC40v0JY1fhlW0gevvW2tW_1jwcFCtsVi5YvIcvo0/s640/DeltaMississippi%25C2%25A9.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delta Mississippi © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">And yet, there is no reason why hope cannot let us see that daybreak in Alabama, know that the next few weeks and months can be of grandeur and not of dread, because we will all be working together as one...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Daybreak in Alabama</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Langston Hughes</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnH96_6Y8VVmUOr80GCe0kH1ZTdNc3ZJUIWr9tbFNRbPXqAUn70TAe13nm5ir7sytyOB9STox1nEApRAG6G_p6HatXq1wv_vpLSKlIKpq5U1iDqlj9lqlb5GnA0lfcodXfPI4aptQ4Vx4/s1600/PearBranches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnH96_6Y8VVmUOr80GCe0kH1ZTdNc3ZJUIWr9tbFNRbPXqAUn70TAe13nm5ir7sytyOB9STox1nEApRAG6G_p6HatXq1wv_vpLSKlIKpq5U1iDqlj9lqlb5GnA0lfcodXfPI4aptQ4Vx4/s640/PearBranches.jpg" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reaching Out to Heaven<br />© Ana M. Fores Tamayo<br /><br /></td></tr>
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When I get to be a composer</div>
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I’m gonna write me some music about</div>
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Daybreak in Alabama</div>
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And I’m gonna put the purtiest songs in it</div>
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Rising out of the ground like a swamp mist</div>
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And falling out of heaven like soft dew.</div>
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I’m gonna put some tall tall trees in it</div>
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And the scent of pine needles</div>
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And the smell of red clay after rain</div>
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And long red necks</div>
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And poppy colored faces</div>
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And big brown arms</div>
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And the field daisy eyes</div>
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Of black and white black white black people</div>
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And I’m gonna put white hands</div>
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And black hands and brown and yellow hands</div>
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And red clay earth hands in it</div>
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Touching everybody with kind fingers</div>
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And touching each other natural as dew</div>
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In that dawn of music when I</div>
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Get to be a composer</div>
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And write about daybreak</div>
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In Alabama.</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Besos, Not Borders, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ana M. Fores Tamayo, Adjunct Justice</span></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-42767926187682671592016-12-28T09:36:00.001-08:002019-07-14T14:00:36.271-07:00Confronting Fidel Castro's Death through Poetry<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">As</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the end of the year approaches, I am finally beginning to confront</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the death of <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/26/world/americas/fidel-castro-dies.html" target="_blank">Fidel Castro</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">who changed the course of my life forever.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">M</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">y</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">relationship with </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">him</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">even as an absence </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">has</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">always been</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">complex. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">When</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I was little, I remember seeing </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">his</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">photograph</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">a</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">big</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">bushy beard </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">overpowering</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the frame</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> And w</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">hile</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">we</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">were eating our </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">supper, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> would </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ask</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">my mom</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">innocently</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">, </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">as</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">children often do</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Mom,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">d</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">oesn't</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Fidel</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">get his soup noodles stuck all over his beard</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">?</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">h</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ow</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">does he</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ever</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">get</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">them</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">out</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">after he eats?"</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPaLyz_2gO38W99vVEInV3ZJdbw2Qz8jpzUIknaDel-7ytkMElU5E_KU95_yesP206Zk43qDTk-kRILAEONWsZnnaA0JxTElH0qd4mrcL6g7oBrqowYfhF5TjlabBQCWHj50mplPO8wc/s1600/UsWhenLittleAtAna%2527sHouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVPaLyz_2gO38W99vVEInV3ZJdbw2Qz8jpzUIknaDel-7ytkMElU5E_KU95_yesP206Zk43qDTk-kRILAEONWsZnnaA0JxTElH0qd4mrcL6g7oBrqowYfhF5TjlabBQCWHj50mplPO8wc/s400/UsWhenLittleAtAna%2527sHouse.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">My father in an undated photo toasting </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">for our future happiness, in Cuba</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">Fores Family Album</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Maybe</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that's what happened to </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">all</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">those</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">around him...</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br /><a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2015_06_01_archive.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">My</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">father fled </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Cuba</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">because he lacked political freedoms.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">H</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">e</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">believed</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">we had these liberties here in the United States, however, so my brothers, sisters, and I grew</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">up convinced in this country of democratic justice and fair play.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">This</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">lawye</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">r</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">my </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">gentle</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">father</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">could have been imprisoned</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">for years or</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">died for us in Cuba</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">He</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">suffered greatly</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">trying to escape</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">just</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">like</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">my</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">mother: </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">as</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">children, we</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">do not remember</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">much</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">And</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">my parents never</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">talked about it </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">afterward</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">only to tell us how lucky we were to be living</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in this land. </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">When</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">my</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">dad</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">chose to come to the United States </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ask</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">for political asylum, he knew he </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">wanted</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">us to be able to live </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">speak</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">freely</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">he never doubted that we </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">might</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">not have that.</span></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Just</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">as he could </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">not</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">have foreseen</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">what he saw happening in the land</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">he so loved, his </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">treasured</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Cuba</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I do</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">n</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">o</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">think he could have foreseen</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">what is happening now to his adopted</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">country</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">So</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I often wonder </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">now</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">what</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">kind of freedom</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">we have</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">remaining </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">all these years hence </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">especially with this <a href="http://time.com/4574031/president-donald-trump-foreign-policy-guide/" target="_blank">new joker</a> who's befuddled </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">half</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">American</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">people....</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Every</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">great leader has his good and bad. No one is ever completely</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">good or</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">completely evil, I believe. And so I think Castro suffers from</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">same. He has done immense good in the world as in Cuba,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">bringing</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">education to many, as well as healthcare, though many there</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">trenches say that is what we see from the outside and it is not so</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">inside.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">That</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">may be, but still, his advances in <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cuba-medical-innovations_us_56ddfacfe4b03a4056799015" target="_blank">healthcare</a> are great, as well as</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">his stride in <a href="http://www.worldatlas.com/articles/the-highest-literacy-rates-in-the-world.html" target="_blank">education</a>.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">But</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">on personal freedoms, well that is another story.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">have no love for the man that was Castro; he made<a href="http://foreignpolicy.com/2014/07/03/cuba-wants-you-to-think-its-a-gay-paradise-its-not/" target="_blank"> gays suffer</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">immensely. He made <a href="http://thepoliticalbouillon.com/en/prostitution-in-cuba/" target="_blank">prostitutes</a> suffer too. No one could <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cuba-human-rights-castro-government_us_56f12d7fe4b03a640a6b7e30" target="_blank">speak their</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cuba-human-rights-castro-government_us_56f12d7fe4b03a640a6b7e30" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/cuba-human-rights-castro-government_us_56f12d7fe4b03a640a6b7e30" target="_blank">mind</a> and that would curse me to high heaven: can you imagine <a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html" target="_blank">me not</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/08/the-justice-of-immigration-court-power.html" target="_blank">speaking out?</a> He was <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/09/22/cuba-religion-pope-francis-visit/32551927/" target="_blank">no friend to religion</a>, and though I have my own</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">very complex view of God, I do believe in a Higher Power, and I don't know how</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that would fare in Castro's Cuba. Though I do hear <a href="https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/11/26/fidel-castro-communist-leader-received-three-popes/" target="_blank">things have</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/11/26/fidel-castro-communist-leader-received-three-popes/" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/11/26/fidel-castro-communist-leader-received-three-popes/" target="_blank">changed</a> in that respect.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">So</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">along with the bad, Castro did a lot of good. We need to</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">acknowledge</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that, no matter our beliefs in his wrongs...</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">And</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">so many asked me, when Castro died, did you support him?</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">stayed quiet most of the time, not saying much, or posting arbitrary things about</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Castro's</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">death </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> not linking to one</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">side or another </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> because I have such</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">mixed feelings about this man who changed my life so.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv79jXUuSb4pumYqKsRWI2-Q1DCLbPxx9OTgSHabdwLKcIrYMYHju2fiFsFUqnrYrVbOQpjXjYiiCCpv966bPFWNw-B-RDaEDYr-aEk6oEJdEbiHQxpjqR24FDQ2buSIIT8y42-Op7YA/s1600/DeathReigns.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTv79jXUuSb4pumYqKsRWI2-Q1DCLbPxx9OTgSHabdwLKcIrYMYHju2fiFsFUqnrYrVbOQpjXjYiiCCpv966bPFWNw-B-RDaEDYr-aEk6oEJdEbiHQxpjqR24FDQ2buSIIT8y42-Op7YA/s400/DeathReigns.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From one of the endless cemeteries I've roamed: I love cemeteries...<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">But</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I do have one reflective loathing, one instinctual animosity: Fidel</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Castro stole language from me. He stole my land and my language. Thus</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> I belonged to no one and no place. </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">never really knew my homeland; I never understood my yearnings for</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that faraway land that was forbidden. I have never seen my Cuba</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">again</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">since that day when I left as a little girl...</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">And</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> often times </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I do not feel at ease speaking "my" language.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">language he stole from me.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">So I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">leave you now with my ponderings, on language and on conflict </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> in</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">both <i>idiomas</i> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> because neither one is truly mine...</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<b style="font-size: 13px;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Conflicto</span></b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5aB8VA0ALA1DwNUn_LzZSFT8m863woz7Rd8Qx7v0rIL09GYjj-12pA5NVpfvtF4TKPA_2toBII5PbQOKo99uwyjuPA8E_yTiE9zYoF24aWh4wTB9ut8vussUmWC-eI12vuNN3htBlaSU/s400/En+el+bohioCloseUp.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="261" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"El bohio" © </i>Dinorah Fores</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5aB8VA0ALA1DwNUn_LzZSFT8m863woz7Rd8Qx7v0rIL09GYjj-12pA5NVpfvtF4TKPA_2toBII5PbQOKo99uwyjuPA8E_yTiE9zYoF24aWh4wTB9ut8vussUmWC-eI12vuNN3htBlaSU/s1600/En+el+bohioCloseUp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">Atrapada</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">entre dos idiomas</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">me</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">siento . . . nadie.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;">Entiendo</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">que me quiera atraer el romance</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">de</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">la lengua,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">su</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">ritmo escalante,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">su</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">sabrosura ardiente.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">Las</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">palabras entendidas</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">y</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">tan poco conocidas</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">también</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">me seducen,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">y</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">el sonido musical me baila,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">vuela</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">alto,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">se</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">esconde entre los suspiros</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">y</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">desaires solitarios.</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">Pero</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">cuando hablo aún no entiendo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">el</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">desorden posesivo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">de</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">mi otra lengua,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">esas</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">palabras que son otras,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">no</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">las mías,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">que</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">me ahorcan</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">a</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">través de dos idiomas confundidos.</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">Siempre</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">sobresale el más sobrio,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">el</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">más andante,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">el</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">son masculino y agresivo</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">de</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">ese otro,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">el</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">idioma ajeno que hasta poco</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">creía</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">yo que era el mío.</span><br style="text-align: start;" /><span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">Pero</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">no lo es,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">porque</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">con palabras dulces,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">apasionadas</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">e instintivas,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">el</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">ritmo de la lengua </span><span style="text-align: start;">es</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">único,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">y</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">mi idioma</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">es</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">la madre en donde</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="text-align: start;">yo</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">nací.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Co</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">nflict </span></b></span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">An</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">interpretation, not a translation</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">(because</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">translation is never poetry)</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HzH7e4YYsPxqj4mVeewLVRCznSS8rup9-BcweSgyn9LvU87IOG4pUOSfH2jhYdcgXxCFt_09KzHrHWS14aXdgSPGLLnmqdkgnStcJBhEvIGuhLDA7syH7vyh5c3t3I5XjgkIHNTRqos/s1600/GirlsAtBeachFurtherByMuma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9HzH7e4YYsPxqj4mVeewLVRCznSS8rup9-BcweSgyn9LvU87IOG4pUOSfH2jhYdcgXxCFt_09KzHrHWS14aXdgSPGLLnmqdkgnStcJBhEvIGuhLDA7syH7vyh5c3t3I5XjgkIHNTRqos/s400/GirlsAtBeachFurtherByMuma.jpg" width="293" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>"Girls at Beach" </i>© Dinorah Fores </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Trapped</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">between two languages</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">feel as if I were . . .</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">no</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">one.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">understand that language may romance me,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">its</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">escalating rhythm,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">its</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ardent nectar.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Words</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that are understood</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">but</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">so little known</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">indeed</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">seduce me,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">their</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">musical sounds dance with me,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">fly</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">on high,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">hide</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">among the sighs,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">slights of hand, the solitary snubs.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">But</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">when I speak</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">still</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I do not understand</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">possessive disorder</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">my other tongue,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">those</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">words that are so different,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">not</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">my own,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">words</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that choke me</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">through</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">two confounded languages.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">more sober one always excels,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">one knight errant,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">masculine aggressive yin</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">that other,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">foreign language that until recently</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">thought was mine.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">But</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">it is not,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">because</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">with sweet lyrics,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">passionate,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">instinctual:</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">rhythm of the tongue</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">is</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">peerless,</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">my language</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">is</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the mother where</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> was born.</span></span></div>
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</span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-7475738405684194482016-12-06T09:22:00.000-08:002019-07-14T14:00:38.356-07:00Teacher & DREAMer Tries to Explain Inexplicable to Children...<br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I can not imagine the pain of being a teacher today, especially in a multilingual school.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Having to speak with the refugees I help is quite difficult. Talking to young angels who do not understand the madness of the past few weeks seems to me impossible.... Worst, needing to reassure these same angels, when I find myself in the exact precarious limbo they fear is insufferable.<br /><br />Yet Rosalía Salazar — graduate from the <i><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">University of Texas</a>,</i> kindergarten teacher, and <a href="http://unitedwedream.org/" target="_blank">DREAMer</a> — has to do just that.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NTIbK_8sta-qhId_IBItuuA6cdXcDyeLcu8jvNCy5UJloaQA3cTmzcMAwk-GADvBN_NEYakKy1jqjcScwiRCjCVhgMUzHwwjlpr7-83ZQNUApBGB77zOI6f6IcdmVKfQ53ahoTyGQTA/s1600/RosiW%253AKinder.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6NTIbK_8sta-qhId_IBItuuA6cdXcDyeLcu8jvNCy5UJloaQA3cTmzcMAwk-GADvBN_NEYakKy1jqjcScwiRCjCVhgMUzHwwjlpr7-83ZQNUApBGB77zOI6f6IcdmVKfQ53ahoTyGQTA/s640/RosiW%253AKinder.jpeg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DREAMer Rosalía Salazar with her kindergarten class</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It has taken me a while to translate Rosi's message, since I have been busy with many projects and translations especially relevant to the wake-up call we've gotten, but her words are just as important today as they were the day she wrote them after the Trump election. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Below, the original Spanish will appear first, followed by its translation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Read her text in whatever language you feel most comfortable. After all, more and more, we are a multicultural and multilingual society. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We need to begin acknowledging that, no matter what any government tries to say...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">And now, I will leave you with Rosalía's message, poignantly written! </span><br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=8952450828600909677" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />____________<br /><br /><br />El día lunes de esta semana tuvimos un simulacro electoral en la escuela para promover la importancia del voto e informar a los más pequeños. Al final del día, cuando se escucharon los resultados finales la escuela entera gritó de emoción al enterarse que trumph no había sido el ganador...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSXpfRwWvCgHlvX0di1QJT5hoNWZeCrDqnYXc5O-AMg_H9oP6S4dzO90zhoenp1BysLlXiwjjpslrFZo7WLY5vQ0ERs8EqO_R4k4MFh05F0WSblp7KCO8iNuWU0BKlhlSldrZ-eg7wJA/s1600/Rosi1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLSXpfRwWvCgHlvX0di1QJT5hoNWZeCrDqnYXc5O-AMg_H9oP6S4dzO90zhoenp1BysLlXiwjjpslrFZo7WLY5vQ0ERs8EqO_R4k4MFh05F0WSblp7KCO8iNuWU0BKlhlSldrZ-eg7wJA/s400/Rosi1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosalia uses Dr. Seuss as a jumpstart for conversations to diffictult topics<br />
about figures of authority & what traits people of importance should possess</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br />Aunque yo traté de no tocar el tema por obvias razones, fue necesario hacerlo.<br /><br />Lo sorprendente fue el saber que incluso niños de 5 y 6 años conocían un poco de este individuo que ahora será "presidente". En sus palabras era el hombre que "no quiere a los mexicanos" y el hombre que "dice cosas feas a las mujeres".<br /><br />En fin, en clase les enseñamos la importancia del voto. Hablamos sobre los presidentes, sobre las cualidades que deben poseer, hablamos de sus deberes de cuidar del pueblo, de tomar decisiones basadas en bienes comunes, hablamos de los presidentes como figuras de autoridad y más que eso, como modelos a seguir.<br /><br />¿Como se les explica a los niños, que su nuevo presidente no es nada parecido a lo que hemos aprendido que se supone debe de ser?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cSHOo6RM_IJJFo9UUjtIZVcP3ad87fZMoyPE56w3TKk-8aO1XIlSGaw3lYV1F6UDaDRxe8gsTTAi8Uk0XzEZ_ep0luqY4G34uFsIOK2mj6ZFvrP8OtyapUgmTcGXzOV-ZlMfhiZSr0Y/s1600/Rosi7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cSHOo6RM_IJJFo9UUjtIZVcP3ad87fZMoyPE56w3TKk-8aO1XIlSGaw3lYV1F6UDaDRxe8gsTTAi8Uk0XzEZ_ep0luqY4G34uFsIOK2mj6ZFvrP8OtyapUgmTcGXzOV-ZlMfhiZSr0Y/s400/Rosi7.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosalia decorates the teachers' lounge with a mural she<br />
designed with the help of six teachers who painted it</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br />¿Que les respondes cuando te hablan con lágrimas en los ojos acerca de sus miedos de lo que está por venir?<br /><br />¿Como les aseguras que todo va a estar bien?<br /><br />Hoy al caminar por los pasillos en la escuela y ver hacia mi alrededor, me di cuenta de que a todos nos dolía un poquito el corazón, de que queríamos abrazarnos, de que queríamos consolarnos unos a otros, de que el "buenos días" de cada mañana fue uno diferente porque está mañana teníamos demasiadas cosas que pensar... ¿Que les decimos a los niños si preguntan sobre el futuro presidente? ¿que les decimos cuando nos pregunten sobre sus padres, hermanos, tíos, abuelos, o amigos? ¿Por que lo que se les ha enseñado contradice por completo a lo que están ahora viviendo?<br /><br />¿Como les explicas qué tal vez tendrás que decirles adiós porque ese individuo ha decidido que tú no tienes el derecho de seguir haciendo lo que amas? Pensé, mientras observaba mi salón...<br /><br />Mientras trabajábamos por la mañana durante la hora de matemáticas las conversaciones no envolvían precisamente números. Entre susurros se hablaba de que trumph (en las palabras de mis estudiantes) enviaría bombas, y causaría guerras; se hablaba de que trumph le decía malas palabras a Hillary. Se hablaba de que la familia de Fulanito tendría que volver a México con su tío. En algún momento del día, fue necesario parar y mentirles un poco... asegurarles que todo iba a estar bien, aún sabiendo el limbo en el que nos encontramos ahora, aún sabiendo que los miedos de los que ellos hablaban son los mismos que sentimos muchos de nosotros ahora...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJaQugGXcwCBn6HNS-JO1Jt1OC7rHr2KtAW_R4K6YWTYH3fueuP1JeEEC-gIAFg3_pJTLEY3ofvlZrNXZu2sOruZNIGamjLTTtoEYadUV2ZrK9Ir35-wVcHR6436PJOhJi9v0R_YxEJQ/s1600/Rosi3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGJaQugGXcwCBn6HNS-JO1Jt1OC7rHr2KtAW_R4K6YWTYH3fueuP1JeEEC-gIAFg3_pJTLEY3ofvlZrNXZu2sOruZNIGamjLTTtoEYadUV2ZrK9Ir35-wVcHR6436PJOhJi9v0R_YxEJQ/s640/Rosi3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosi's very creative "chalk-paint" desk breaks barriers; instead of keeping teacher and student apart, it draws students to her, letting them share their feelings and stories if they want, and writing too: what more can we ask of a teacher?</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Esta madrugada, nos dimos cuenta de que el odio ha vuelto a salir a flote muy por encima de todo lo que se había logrado. Esta madrugada tratamos de justificar los miedos y los egos internos con "ignorancia".<br /><br />Hoy es el primer día de los que faltan por venir en el que inmigrantes, mujeres, personas no blancas, musulmanes, y personas con capacidades diferentes entre otros posiblemente serán humillados y atacados.<br /><br /><br />Pero hoy también es el primer día en el que espero que entendamos que es cuando debemos de estar más fuertes que nunca.<br /><br />Familia, amigos y conocidos.... Hay que organizarnos, hay que informarnos, pero sobre todo hay que cuidarnos unos con otros... siempre.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">Y la imagen... habla por sí sola.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY648h82k5h7fO_jgQuAxTPSu_hKwD-qZRxY_z4oeOyfhEgvVo18HaMhW3TwluLm9WBF8bA9mBRkbU3E5CTupdLNNoZARnwQUWhyphenhyphenKbwZysk8a901TRbwYPtQjjuq_f32mW2joQSETIV4/s1600/Rosalia%2527s+Warrior+Girl.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-family: -webkit-standard; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOY648h82k5h7fO_jgQuAxTPSu_hKwD-qZRxY_z4oeOyfhEgvVo18HaMhW3TwluLm9WBF8bA9mBRkbU3E5CTupdLNNoZARnwQUWhyphenhyphenKbwZysk8a901TRbwYPtQjjuq_f32mW2joQSETIV4/s400/Rosalia%2527s+Warrior+Girl.jpg" width="265" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Colores. Mujeres. Luna. Trenzas. Ropas. Cielo claro. Cielo nublado. Seguiremos caminando.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">La lucha sigue.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On Monday of this week we had an electoral drill at the school to promote the importance of voting and to inform our youngest students. At the end of the day, when the final results were heard, the entire school gave a shout of emotion upon learning that "trumph" had not been the winner...<br /><br />Although I tried not to touch the subject for obvious reasons, it was necessary to do so.<br /><br />What was surprising was knowing that even 5 and 6 year olds knew a little bit about this individual who will now be "president." In their own words, they spoke about the man who "does not love Mexicans" and the man who "says ugly things to women."<br /><br />In short, we teach the importance of voting </span><span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">in class</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">. We discuss our presidents, and we talk about the qualities they must possess. We speak about their duties, how they must take care of their people, how they must make decisions based on common goods. We speak of presidents as figures of authority and, more than that, as role models.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />How do you explain to children, then, that their new president is nothing like what we have learned a person of power is supposed to be?<br /><br />How do you respond when they talk to you with tears in their eyes about their fears of what is to come?<br /><br />How do you make sure everything is going to be okay?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHD-m7LNlloh7tapofv9LjnB5rCyrACJTLTGmRfMBB_9pI3PDCJqgQFlSjy4UmDM9WOD9jjM4AjTwyT0a4O9J-TGuvG7DNHh993-Pwu6bqu9eer6GETEraRCq-Ea8fpBJS5JM2d7TnLA/s1600/Rosi4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwHD-m7LNlloh7tapofv9LjnB5rCyrACJTLTGmRfMBB_9pI3PDCJqgQFlSjy4UmDM9WOD9jjM4AjTwyT0a4O9J-TGuvG7DNHh993-Pwu6bqu9eer6GETEraRCq-Ea8fpBJS5JM2d7TnLA/s400/Rosi4.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosalía's nurturing classroom, where students are hugged by her warmth<br />
and calm spirit, despite any anxiety she may feel </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><br />Today as I walked down the aisles at school and looked around me, I realized that we all hurt just a little... Our hearts were heavy and we wanted to hug; we wanted to comfort one another. The "good morning" of each morning was a little bit different than every other morning because this morning we had too many things to think about...<br /><br />What do we tell the children if they ask about their future president? What do we tell them when they ask us about their parents, their siblings, their uncles, their grandparents, or their friends? Why is it that what we have taught them completely contradicts what they are now living?<br /><br />How do you explain to them that you — as their teacher — may have to say goodbye because that individual has decided that you do not have the right to continue doing what you love?<br /><br />I kept thinking as I looked around my classroom...<br /><br />As we worked in the morning during math class, the conversations did not exactly involve numbers; whispers told us that "trumph" (in the words of my students) would send bombs; he would cause wars. They murmured that "trumph" was saying bad words to Hillary. I heard someone mention that <i>Fulanito's</i> family would have to return to Mexico with his uncle. At some point in the day, it was necessary to stop and to lie to them just a bit... to assure these little ones that everything would be fine, even while knowing the limbo we are all in now, even while understanding that the fears they spoke about are the same fears many of us feel presently...<br /><br />On this early dawn, we realized that hatred has come back to float far above all that has been achieved. On this dawn we will try to justify our internal fears and egos against "ignorance."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tS9XCMdV2OAo_RZDuoLTNRbnUq_Z7_7zXOJlyIv6g1NSMG6hpJgWYJ-nh6IkYgIN8lAEQ7eM6jkFX3SpQ_t8bWbc77Hqa_Xff1iRiT1zF5wLLvNH8QdvwoXSlhLDl1RDGYJborRbQx8/s1600/Rosi5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8tS9XCMdV2OAo_RZDuoLTNRbnUq_Z7_7zXOJlyIv6g1NSMG6hpJgWYJ-nh6IkYgIN8lAEQ7eM6jkFX3SpQ_t8bWbc77Hqa_Xff1iRiT1zF5wLLvNH8QdvwoXSlhLDl1RDGYJborRbQx8/s320/Rosi5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rosi teaches her students about fear & ignorance<br />
through beautiful murals; this one she created with<br />
another teacher, Ms. Elizabeth Macias</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Today is that first day of those yet to come, in which immigrants, women, non-white people, Muslims, and people with different abilities, among other possibilities, are likely to be humiliated and attacked.<br /><br />But today is also the first day I hope we all understand that today is when we must be stronger than ever.<br /><br />Family, friends, acquaintances .... We must organize! We have to inform ourselves, but above all, we have to take care of each other... always.<br /><br />And the image ... it speaks for itself.<br /><br />Colors. Women. Moon. Braids. Clothes. Clear sky. Cloudy sky. We will continue walking...<br />The struggle continues!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WhQ6LALAE_M-IBm9LfsKXxpV9q0SmEpbQAYMguD4Gv3lfb92DJDXwlHSkFYWw_d2X4PKRYTIwps58XHoNWkWkmvMzJyuu7BbAE8ttX6QgFdqWRjDSKE691_i8G7xsz9pGkVQTCjR8xA/s1600/Rosi6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6WhQ6LALAE_M-IBm9LfsKXxpV9q0SmEpbQAYMguD4Gv3lfb92DJDXwlHSkFYWw_d2X4PKRYTIwps58XHoNWkWkmvMzJyuu7BbAE8ttX6QgFdqWRjDSKE691_i8G7xsz9pGkVQTCjR8xA/s320/Rosi6.jpg" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i><i>About the author: </i></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Rosalía Salazar is an alumnus of <i><a href="http://www.utexas.edu/" target="_blank">The University of Texas at Austin</a> </i>with a Bachelors of Science in Applied Learning and Development.<br /><br />She is a bilingual Teacher at <a href="http://www.dallasisd.org/domain/525" target="_blank">Lida Hooe Elementary</a> in the Oakcliff area of Dallas, Texas, where she enjoys serving as chair of the “beautification committee” and uses art as a tool to inspire staff and students. She also serves as an active member of <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/enpiedeluchaperformance" target="_blank">En Pie De Lucha Peformance</a>, </i>a non-profit organization committed to raising awareness of social issues through the use of art.<br /><br />Rosalía enjoys poetry more than anything, and she believes that it is through the use of art that people can make deeper connections with who they truly are and what they are capable of doing in order to change their surroundings.<br /><br />This is her motto, which she lives by daily; you see this in her classroom as well as in her day to day life interchanges with all those around her: "In order to change the world, we need to start from within… cambiar al mundo desde adentro".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <i> Contact Information</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Rosalía Salazar</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">rosaliasalaz@gmail.com</span></span></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-36938729299273508792016-11-07T19:30:00.003-08:002019-07-14T14:00:35.587-07:00Every Vote Counts, brick by brick<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I went to vote the second day of early voting, I should have written about what happened to me then </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in this very conservative town where I live in middle America</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span></span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">because I was furious. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH9zel887b7alf1qWUTfqFn_Qx86Dj9TOdfXw4w7kSvZ4bcekIcfWO3HkqDM9aB9pFvklu4e_IU4XrxPpK-voO_9tMBZP1wbc8E-IOFbIzaiwnRVMO6cBz0A1i60fwi3MaAKxmhFNINw/s1600/VOTE.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaH9zel887b7alf1qWUTfqFn_Qx86Dj9TOdfXw4w7kSvZ4bcekIcfWO3HkqDM9aB9pFvklu4e_IU4XrxPpK-voO_9tMBZP1wbc8E-IOFbIzaiwnRVMO6cBz0A1i60fwi3MaAKxmhFNINw/s320/VOTE.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But I did not, as I had too many other things preying on my mind, and this was just another thing on the list. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I see the articles going back and forth, however, and I see the atrocities going on in the name of "voter fraud," I cannot stand it any longer. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do you want to vote but think you cannot because you do <i>not</i> have proper ID?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When you go to vote, even if you do <i>not</i> have two pieces of identification, or if you do <i>not</i> have a photo ID, it does not matter anymore, according to Texas law, which was voted on and "trumped" down in July of this year, against all Texas Republican conservative wishes and much to Trump's dismay. According to the Federal Appeal Court, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/21/us/federal-court-rules-texas-id-law-violates-voting-rights-act.html" target="_blank">Texas was in violation of the Voting Rights Act</a>, and so, the state had to find ways to accomodate voters who could not find appropriate documents, the ones the state wanted everyone to use but were hard to acquire for certain folks.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Of course, extensive proof of identification was discriminatory against black and Latino voters, besides women who might carry two different names because of divorce or a myriad other reasons (I go by both names: my single name, though many know me too from my husband's name, which is NOT my legal name). Many of these women therefore do not often have two same IDs. Students also suffer similar indignities; oftentimes they are listed as living both at home and </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">away from their home state in some </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">college campus. In particularly conservative states, this has pushed the buttons of "you cannot vote here, as you are registered in another state," thus their vote has become invalidated, although this "fictitious residence" may not be necessarily true (my son was a case in point). Moreover, poor and marginalized populations, who do not often have the means to acquire identification except in most extreme needs, suffer when it comes to voting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Yet in Texas, the dominating party has only been too glad to keep up this affront to voting. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONcTIQnHSQ1SAZ_fxN1XLxpaGbEccxjrs1LNRdmqALBsBRoerhzu2lE7TvV81NVLBdRsloLj9kXeZHbORQTZuEa0JmIXlPw5v_lq71z_V9n9lY_EC-GAj76QYdZzfzsE60dOVDr97gRs/s1600/636132595996318793-rote.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjONcTIQnHSQ1SAZ_fxN1XLxpaGbEccxjrs1LNRdmqALBsBRoerhzu2lE7TvV81NVLBdRsloLj9kXeZHbORQTZuEa0JmIXlPw5v_lq71z_V9n9lY_EC-GAj76QYdZzfzsE60dOVDr97gRs/s320/636132595996318793-rote.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "larsseit" , "helvetica neue" , "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; letter-spacing: 0.17000000178813934px;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Terri Lynn Rote, a registered Republican from Des Moines, Iowa,<br />was arrested for voting twice.<br />Special to the Desmoines Register<br /></span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Is this one of the reasons now that Donald Trump may be spreading his false claims of voter fraud? Is this why <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/11/poll-monitoring-voter-intimidation-lawsuits/506078/" target="_blank">Trump voters are intimidating voters at the polling booths</a>, trying to "trump" people out of their vote? Yet so far, the only case I've heard of falsifying a vote was actually a <a href="http://www.aol.com/article/2016/10/30/iowa-woman-arrested-voting-donald-trump-twice-rigged/21595075/" target="_blank">Trump voter voting twice</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">When I went to vote, I decided to test the supposedly non-partisan volunteers at the polls in my precinct, yet the two little old ladies sitting behind the big log book checking </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">in </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">voters miserably failed the test. They asked me</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span></span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a Latino and a woman who has lived here for 17 years</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">— </span></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">for my picture ID, so I gave them my VALID Voter Registration ID, supplied to me by the state of Texas. They would not a</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">ccept it. They wanted a picture ID. When I told them that the<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/26/us/elections/voter-id-laws.html" target="_blank"> laws in Texas had changed</a>, that their attempts at voting restrictions had been invalidated, that they now had to accept my voter registration card as one of the given IDs, they would hear none of it. I did not want to balabor the point, so I took out my drivers license and voted. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">After I left the precinct, I then went home to call the County Office <i>VoteTexas.Gov</i> to complain. They told me they would look into it. The next day I printed out the rules from the official website & took it to my voting site, but they said they could not post it until they received an official copy. BUT they had received a censoring, and the old ladies were gone... The woman outside too, who had told me that the GOP had explained to them the rules (!!!!) was gone too. I told her that I did not care for whom she voted, but I explained that the Grand Ol' Party is NOT the LAW! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At least the county office did its job, and they listened to my call, and I am sure to others. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But what of other voters who go to vote, who are afraid to speak out, yet who don't have a picture ID? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Here are the rules today, for Texas at least. Look </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">up </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">your state before voting, if you have a problem with your ID. BUT please VOTE. It's very important that you do! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.votetexas.gov/register-to-vote/need-id/" target="_blank">List of acceptable forms of photo ID</a>:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Texas driver license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS)<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Texas Election Identification Certificate issued by DPS<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Texas personal identification card issued by DPS<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• Texas license to carry a handgun issued by DPS<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• United States military identification card containing the person’s photograph<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• United States citizenship certificate containing the person’s photograph<br /><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>• United States passport</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the exception of the U.S. citizenship certificate, the identification must be current or have expired no more than 4 years before being presented for voter qualification at the polling place.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyway, this is my rant the day before election. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16dYKbQIluD0mvhoFrV_POb0Uyq2r6ZcQo43aWvZXVEMdn5USahjm0RvivTYAqH8NjI3N0uPAbWI22XyMHE8kBWvsRI6whnEsmgDKa7Qa2FIL7_p-UGpFZVLD_ZV1NOsuVSxtViDjpQo/s1600/LaloAlcaraz.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg16dYKbQIluD0mvhoFrV_POb0Uyq2r6ZcQo43aWvZXVEMdn5USahjm0RvivTYAqH8NjI3N0uPAbWI22XyMHE8kBWvsRI6whnEsmgDKa7Qa2FIL7_p-UGpFZVLD_ZV1NOsuVSxtViDjpQo/s320/LaloAlcaraz.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"We built you that wall you wanted" <br />
Lalo Alcaraz © November 7, 2016</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a child refugee, as a person who remembers what it is like to NOT have our voices heard (from having heard my parents tell me before they acquired citizenship!), as a woman who now works with other women and children refugees who are constantly invalidated, imprisoned, and then deported because they can never aspire to be part of this our great country of immigrants (can it continue to be so, at the rate we are going?), or as a teacher who sees her students strive to do their best in the only country they know, but who cannot vote because they were not born here, please, I beg you: go and VOTE! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We will not be able to change our inane and archaic immigration system unless you and I stand up to change things, from the bottom up. So please, go out and VOTE tomorrow, and take your proper ID. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So many voiceless depend on you, on me! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Besos, not borders, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Adjunct Justice </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-72756280491778144252016-09-11T18:12:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:38.262-07:00On the Responsibilities of Citizenship<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> the past,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">this land has been renowned as the <a href="http://www.culturalsavvy.com/understanding_american_culture.htm" target="_blank">melting pot</a> of nations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">am sure a lot of our parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents, however, are turning in their</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">graves as</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">my friend and colleague Paul Zoltan writes these cautionary words. The full support of the country </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">our parents loved and</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">clamored for, the USA </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">which they thought no one could surpass</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">because of the liberty</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">they won at such a hard price </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">would disappoint them. Our predecessors had to forsake their own countries. They left other safe harbors as well because they thought no one</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">could ever offer them a better chance at safeguarding their liberties as this</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">one true nation, yet that privilege now seems elusive. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">was protected by the constitution they</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">enthusiastically adopted</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> as their own </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">seems now to be a shard, used arbitrarily to break the most vulnerable,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> and indeed, many other populations as well. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">But I leave you with Paul's words, because he says it so much better... </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mYbOfV39f8VDOW_0bctrw23MbcVI31eZgNMqKLMvYuXjlGhO0_6RwcqWQMpJA4evLYgs7HGwf-HU8MQbGHKn4myrvS2JPM0QQG-D5VErHvTNS9Eh0fy13-m2gFGgrVzE_p2l6-OMcVA/s1600/PaulZoltan%2527s+Dad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1mYbOfV39f8VDOW_0bctrw23MbcVI31eZgNMqKLMvYuXjlGhO0_6RwcqWQMpJA4evLYgs7HGwf-HU8MQbGHKn4myrvS2JPM0QQG-D5VErHvTNS9Eh0fy13-m2gFGgrVzE_p2l6-OMcVA/s400/PaulZoltan%2527s+Dad.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul's father's naturalization papers from 1965, <br />
hanging in his immigration law offices</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">On theResponsibilities of Citizenship</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>By Paul Zoltan</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In the waiting area of my small law practice hangs my father’s naturalization certificate. He took the oath of allegiance and became a United States citizen when I was all of eight days old.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />My dad had arrived in this country as a refugee from Hungary six years earlier. The story of his exile begins, improbably, in Belgium. In 1958, two years after Hungary’s tragic rebellion, my father was chosen to represent his nation’s engineering achievements at the World Exposition in Brussels. Though Hungary’s Communist regime had encouraged him and other participants openly to share ideas with engineers from outside the Soviet Bloc, my father did so with trepidation: having grown up a member of Hungary’s landed aristocracy, he belonged to what the Communists called the “suspect class.” His three half-brothers, who’d never fought in the war, were sent off to Soviet work camps as “war criminals,” never to be seen again. When a telegram reached my father in Brussels demanding his immediate return to Budapest, he smelled a rat. Purportedly it came from the university where he taught, but his dean insisted she hadn’t sent it. So my father sought out the British Secret Service.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My father hilariously related the story of his defection. Suffice it here to say that his interrogation by the British in the back of a car swerving through Brussels traffic made a heart-stopping yarn. I wish he were here to tell it but he is, as they say, in a better place.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />But Great Britain wasn’t where my father felt he belonged. He belonged, he felt, in this land of the free. My father’s story exemplifies why many, many people have come to this country over the decades: to escape tyranny.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />In this election year I’m compelled to say for him what my father would doubtless be telling anyone who’d listen: we ourselves are flirting with tyranny. Democracy depends as much upon the limits we place upon our government as it does upon majority outcomes. If 51% of the electorate votes to kill and eat the other 49, thank heaven they won’t get their way. Better yet, thank our founding fathers’: their prescient protections of our civil liberties would leave that majority vainly licking their chops.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />In popular culture, and even in our schools, we are taught that democracy boils down to majority rule. Nonsense. Hitler was democratically elected. Closer to home, it was our democratically elected president who, in 1942, ordered the internment of roughly 110,000 men, women, and children of Japanese origin – nearly two-thirds of whom were U.S. citizens.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Hand-written copy of the proposed Bill of Rights, cropped to show what was to later become the 5th Amendment, 1789</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Atop the list of obligations and responsibilities of citizenship, I would have to place studying our nation’s Bill of Rights. Those first ten amendments to the United States Constitution form the bulwark against the tyranny of what our founders called “mobocracy.” For the first time in my not-short lifetime, we’ve a major party candidate who accuses this nation’s president of conspiring with our enemies, a candidate who incites violence and insists that all the adherents to a religious faith – 2.2 billion of them, 2 million of whom happen to be citizens of this country – hate the United States of America.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />In these days I believe the single greatest obligation of citizenship is to remember and respect the framers’ vision of a government with limited powers. Think for a moment on the import of this passage from the Fifth Amendment: “No person shall… shall be compelled to be a witness against himself; nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">With more and more of the electorate yearning for the simple solutions of a populist strongman – someone in the oval office who might be heard to growl,” “Do you feel lucky, punk?” – I would urge that we in this room acknowledge and, in discourse with others, patiently explain the importance of constitutional limits on popular outcomes. If, by virtue of my race, I am presumed either guilty or violent, this is tyranny. If I am forced to pray to another’s god or prevented from worshiping my own, this is tyranny. And, I would insist, if I am ever tortured, no matter the reason, this “cruel and unusual punishment” is also tyranny. It matters not at all if a majority of Americans – that hungry 51% - think otherwise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br />Of course I’m not saying that the majority of Americans are closet cannibals. Nor am I saying that the majority’s always wrong, mostly wrong, or even often wrong. But they are indeed sometimes wrong. And a whole lot of folks – maybe even a majority – are clamoring this year for things that would make my father, a beamingly proud American who also happened to be an atheist with a thick foreign accent – wonder what has become of this nation to which he swore his allegiance some half a century ago.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHgDe8_vUxNbdVqdFmno6dS0XfawhtIe3L9bE4XC3VhPfu4T5kPfi6GyfGQuuwH_RPBBKcUtKHy8AAerkgk5w1zqRCceFEtpY-GBbmKbGf3zO0myR5s-iqmffGroKL0FTtBOqi6976yw/s1600/PaulZoltan%2527s+Dad+closeup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghHgDe8_vUxNbdVqdFmno6dS0XfawhtIe3L9bE4XC3VhPfu4T5kPfi6GyfGQuuwH_RPBBKcUtKHy8AAerkgk5w1zqRCceFEtpY-GBbmKbGf3zO0myR5s-iqmffGroKL0FTtBOqi6976yw/s320/PaulZoltan%2527s+Dad+closeup.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steven Zoltan, Paul's dad, who was proud to call<br />
the USA his home: let's not let him, or others <br />
like him, down. We cannot! </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Reflecting upon what it means to be a citizen, and what it meant to my father to become a citizen, I believe that in this moment our paramount duty is reacquaint ourselves with the architecture of this great republic – with a wall between church and state and a foundation of individual liberties.</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ABOUT PAUL ZOLTAN</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nYVHd59KVTRs1wBwv7xwJGsCxWzDNoBxTUfSMhebZgbXBvL11m9yvvdzdjmySY9UuuT88ooFxLZ8cWKCoTCGd2llgBO2sYepI1T_xJqPEyGy2AditzNLApCOyf6K_lR-JwRWM90nFPw/s1600/Paul.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9nYVHd59KVTRs1wBwv7xwJGsCxWzDNoBxTUfSMhebZgbXBvL11m9yvvdzdjmySY9UuuT88ooFxLZ8cWKCoTCGd2llgBO2sYepI1T_xJqPEyGy2AditzNLApCOyf6K_lR-JwRWM90nFPw/s320/Paul.jpg" width="203" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i><br /></i></span></span><i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">In 1992, upon receiving his Juris Doctor degree from the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/" target="_blank">University of Minnesota</a>, Paul Zoltan determined to devote his</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">legal practice solely to immigration. In a way, the choice was made for him: as the son of a Hungarian refugee, he </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">felt compelled to work so that the refugees and immigrants of today were welcomed as his father was, over four</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">decades ago.</span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">Paul Steven Zoltan has practiced exclusively immigration law since 1992. One of the</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>founders of Dallas' Child Refugee Support Network, he trains and supervises volunteers</i></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">for Dallas Catholic Charities' pro se asylum clinic. He has served as liaison between the</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="https://www.immigrationdirect.com/uscis-office-locator/uscis-service/asylum/Houston-Asylum-Office/20021" target="_blank">Houston Asylum Office</a> and the Texoma Chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">Association <a href="http://aila.org/" target="_blank">(AILA)</a>, and has presented at numerous regional and national AILA</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">conferences. He has chaired the District 6A <a href="https://www.texasbar.com/Content/NavigationMenu/ForThePublic/ProblemswithanAttorney/GrievanceEthicsInfo1/DistrictGrievance.htm" target="_blank">Grievance Committee for the Texas Bar</a>, as</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">well as the boards of directors of Proyecto Adelante and the <a href="http://cstnet.org/about-2/" target="_blank">Center for Survivors of</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://cstnet.org/about-2/" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://cstnet.org/about-2/" target="_blank">Torture</a>. Mr. Zoltan served on the advisory board of the Dallas office of the <a href="http://www.rescue.org/us-program/us-dallas-tx" target="_blank">International</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.rescue.org/us-program/us-dallas-tx" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.rescue.org/us-program/us-dallas-tx" target="_blank">Rescue Committee</a> and, for over a decade, coordinated the Dallas Section of AILA. He has</span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">taught both Immigration Law and Legal Writing and Reasoning at the <a href="http://www.utdallas.edu/" target="_blank">University of Texas</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.utdallas.edu/" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.utdallas.edu/" target="_blank">at Dallas</a>. In 2012, the <a href="http://www.superlawyers.com/" target="_blank">Super Lawyers</a> rating service named Mr. Zoltan a Rising Star.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-12206604328719274012016-08-28T09:08:00.002-07:002019-07-14T14:00:33.504-07:00The Justice of the Immigration Court & the Power of its Judge King<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I went to an <a href="http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/what-happens-merits-hearing-immigration-court.html" target="_blank">Immigration Merits Hearing</a> at the Dallas Courts recently </span><span style="font-family: "\22 \\22 georgia\\22 \22 "; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">the last hearing before an individual or family is deported or given asylum </span><span style="font-family: "\22 \\22 georgia\\22 \22 "; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and this young mother and child from Guerrero, Mexico lost, as asylum seekers in the <a href="http://trac.syr.edu/phptools/immigration/court_backlog/apprep_removal.php" target="_blank">majority of these cases</a> do. Although the judge admitted that the young woman "might be in danger," he said he could do nothing about the consequences such criminal activity effects on these poor folk in the</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> countries from which they are escaping</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. The actions perpetrated</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> in such countries were individual</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">criminal proceedings, not governmental undertakings, and thus the people who suffered <i>individually</i> were not privy to meriting asylum under our government statutes, according to the judge's ruling.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ternura, by Oswaldo Guayasamin © 1989</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How can these learned men say such a thing? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As a majority, do these judges have blinders on? Do they <i>not</i> see the massacres committed by the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/17/opinion/sunday/why-cartels-are-killing-mexicos-mayors.html?_r=0" target="_blank">cartels of Mexico</a>, or the <i><a href="http://www.insightcrime.org/news-briefs/snapshot-of-honduras-most-powerful-street-gangs" target="_blank">maras</a></i> throughout Central America (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/origins-of-ms-13-mara-salvatrucha-name" target="_blank">that <i>we</i> deported</a>!), gangs that have <a href="http://www.voanews.com/content/el-salvador-rules-out-talks-with-gangs-as-crackdown-fuels-fears-of-more-bloodshed/3323733.html" target="_blank">taken over entire populations</a>, becoming a de facto, criminal and parallel local government, so that people in these countries cannot live in peace? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These refugees are fleeing for their lives; they are </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/us/politics/obama-refugees-central-america.html" target="_blank">not</a></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/27/us/politics/obama-refugees-central-america.html" target="_blank"> economic refugees</a>, as the immigration courts so often want to make everyone believe, or as many judges delude themselves into thinking. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Instead, judges deceive everyone </span><span style="font-family: "\22 georgia\22 "; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">including themselves </span><span style="font-family: "\22 georgia\22 "; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">by stating young mothers' stories as filled with discrepancies, their credulity doubtful, and their exaggerations tantamount: how can these "liars" and "illegal aliens" live in our midst, they proclaim? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A few weeks ago I went to listen to an anthropologist from El Salvador </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.indienauta.com/libros/ver-oir-y-callar-juan-jose-martinez-daubuisson-pepitas-de-calabaza-2015/" target="_blank">Juan José </a></span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.indienauta.com/libros/ver-oir-y-callar-juan-jose-martinez-daubuisson-pepitas-de-calabaza-2015/" target="_blank">Martínez </a></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.indienauta.com/libros/ver-oir-y-callar-juan-jose-martinez-daubuisson-pepitas-de-calabaza-2015/" target="_blank">D'Aubuisson</a> </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> at the <a href="http://thewilddetectives.com/events/juan-jose-daubuisson-ver-oir-y-callar/" target="_blank">Wild Detectives</a> </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">Café/</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Bookstore, a literary & artistic venue in Dallas. He spoke about the development and rise of the <i><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/origins-of-ms-13-mara-salvatrucha-name" target="_blank">Mara Salvatrucha</a></i>; he lived with them for a year, so he is the perfect </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.playgroundmag.net/noticias/actualidad/Ver-oir-callar_0_1605439451.html" target="_blank">expert witness</a>.</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> I wondered if he could ever make these judges realize how they hurt the people they are deporting: they could be repeating the same <a href="http://www.local10.com/news/history-of-the-mara-salvatrucha-gang" target="_blank">history of the 1980s</a>, except the people they are </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">now </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">exiling are <i>not</i> gangs: they are families, mostly women and children</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">, and deportation for them often times means a death sentence, or a radical worsening of their life conditions. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If these judges had only come to listen to this young anthropologist, they would have realized how his testimony disqualified and refuted the sweeping statements they summarily make every day, without realizing the ramifications they perpetrate on entire families sent back to their </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/12/obama-immigration-deportations-central-america" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;" target="_blank">almost certain deaths</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">. </span><br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When I listened to the judge speak to this young mother a few weeks ago, his condescension and disdain were oozing. He did not look at her but glared his beady steel blue gaze around the courtroom to see who was present. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I thought that in <i><a href="http://interactives.dallasnews.com/2015/asylum/" target="_blank">Pro Se</a></i> cases </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> where there are no lawyers representing the respondent </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> it is the judge’s duty to be fair and to listen to the respondent’s side, at least asking questions to make it seem as equitable as possible, so that "Judges are charged with ascertaining the truth, not just playing referee... A lawsuit is not a game, where the party with the cleverest lawyer prevails regardless of the merits.” (<a href="http://law.justia.com/cases/california/court-of-appeal/4th/91/1276.html" target="_blank">Gamet v. Blanchard</a>)</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">YET in this judge's case consistently — and I have seen this particular judge several times already — I have noted that he has taken over the </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">US Government </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.ice.gov/" target="_blank">DHS ICE</a> attorney’s job</span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;"> <i>(</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "helvetica";">Department of Homeland Security I</span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">mmigration & Customs Enforcement)</span></i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>:</i> the </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">fiscal</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> does not have to ask any questions because this overseer does not judge impartially but revels in destroying the respondent, picking her statements apart instead of raising questions to help her get at the truth, as a judge should do in a </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">Pro Se </i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">case; he left the ICE attorney </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">without</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> any work to complete. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Such was the case that when this particular ICE attorney came out and saw the young woman crying inconsolably, he told her not to despair or give up, to appeal and keep on fighting. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg07PeJ_E6L-ea7w2Ly3DphRAclH_u35eZUjQAkBuMJVIPc6qvRLI5-pAEcYDABzaEF_OIa49ZOGxu6ICej9DRiW2hYPYg_ysPULY0q3YHdiqwm3zWiRIbD9GukOD-6SkXYF_67iXfrE/s1600/rosa-z-rate-decapitated-flower-1987.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRg07PeJ_E6L-ea7w2Ly3DphRAclH_u35eZUjQAkBuMJVIPc6qvRLI5-pAEcYDABzaEF_OIa49ZOGxu6ICej9DRiW2hYPYg_ysPULY0q3YHdiqwm3zWiRIbD9GukOD-6SkXYF_67iXfrE/s400/rosa-z-rate-decapitated-flower-1987.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">Rosa Zárate, Decapitated Flower </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: start;">by </span>Oswaldo Guayasamin © 1987</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I suppose many judges act in this same manner, but is this really fair? I did see a new judge once </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">— oddly enough (or maybe not so!), </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>not</i> from Texas, but thankfully newly assigned to the Dallas Immigration Court </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> who did not make an immediate ruling but took the case home with him, reread it and looked at all evidence again before making a careful decision, and who asked questions to help the respondent, despite her having a <i>pro bono </i>attorney (I think because he knew her attorney did not normally deal with immigration). </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">About a month later, this young mother received asylum. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But no, the present judge had <i>already</i> made up his mind, even before hearing the case. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">He, and judges like him, have the summary judgment cases</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> favoring their decisions already in place </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to validate their predetermined verdicts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All this particular judge needed now was to get answers from the respondent to help him lend force to the decision he had <i>pre-made</i>, so he picked and chose what he wanted from the young mother's testimony, and he ignored the rest of the evidence. Therefore, he tried to trip </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">up </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">the scared young woman in details such as her myriad cell phone numbers (she switched phones everytime these assailants threatened her, so she had been through several phones), the dates she stated on her asylum application (which were off due to volunteer error, much like his own court interpreter error, but because the </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">interpreter </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">error now favored the respondent, he did not mention it in his ruling). Further, he asked the respondent irrelevant questions, which were off-base and immoral, I thought, such as why did she bring a child into the world in 2010 when she knew it was dangerous? The child, now 6, was listening to every word his mother said. </span></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Tell me, judge, why are you sending her back, if you know it is dangerous? </i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When the police in Guerrero, Mexico told this young woman to leave their station, not to report her missing brother or </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">something worse could happen, she realized she could not count on the police's help to go after the cartels. Luckily, her brother was returned, beaten up but alive. But when she began to get harrassed later that year because she saw a woman abducted and then murdered, when she began to get subsequent death threats, when she began to hear that they were going to take her small son unless she complied to whatever they wanted from her, when they began accosting her sexually </span><span style="font-family: "\22 \\22 trebuchet ms\\22 \22 " , sans-serif;">— </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">so that she had to leave her job </span><span style="font-family: "\22 \\22 trebuchet ms\\22 \22 " , sans-serif;">— s</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">he knew she could </span><i style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;">not</i><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> go to the police: she had learned from that first time. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yet this judge did not understand that they spoke of two different worlds.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This young mother understood the Mexican police for how they "are ruled" in Mexico’s streets or <a href="http://www.breitbart.com/border/2016/04/03/telemundos-martin-slams-mexican-government-cartels-thousands-missing/" target="_blank">how these same police are complicit</a> through their silence: "report a crime, I will be killed by the cartels, and the police will do nothing to protect me, so I should <i>not</i> report any crime, lest I call attention to myself." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But this judge told her that police here in the US <i>similarly</i> tell citizens <i>not</i> to go near kidnappers. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What he was comparing, however, was apples to oranges. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When police in the US tell citizens not to “look for kidnappers or criminals,” it is because they are telling people they will do the job themselves and will find these criminals. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">In Mexico, that is not the case. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When Mexican police tell people </span><a href="http://www.laopiniondeapatzingan.com.mx/ejecutan-a-jovencitos/" style="font-family: 'trebuchet ms', sans-serif;" target="_blank">not to go near the cases</a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">, it is because they do not want to deal with the consequences of another murder to tidy up…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBqGVO9RlSZMk0-txlWk2HnGnEzMkSNbNT9ZBiy0eTPoHtEalRpcE7Py0AEaXZFmlku1ZFS8f7PGues-jPCt4KfeZvEQVxAiQMvaWdHih4WKtO4wY2NuRMzileKgaZoLMqGK9JYYceR8/s1600/meeting-at-the-pentagon-1970.jpg%2521Large.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtBqGVO9RlSZMk0-txlWk2HnGnEzMkSNbNT9ZBiy0eTPoHtEalRpcE7Py0AEaXZFmlku1ZFS8f7PGues-jPCt4KfeZvEQVxAiQMvaWdHih4WKtO4wY2NuRMzileKgaZoLMqGK9JYYceR8/s640/meeting-at-the-pentagon-1970.jpg%2521Large.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meeting at the Pentagon, by Oswaldo Guayasamin © 1970</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span><br />As a <i>Pro Se </i>asylum respondent, this young woman, all of 25 if a day, fought admirably for her freedom. When she pointed out an article she had delivered as evidence, which showed the corruption of the Mexican police and the lack of protection from them </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> since she is no lawyer, and the interpreter was not at her best that day — the judge completely ignored this section of her testimony. Though the distraught mother mentioned this article several times, in addition to her own story, the judge chose to disregard it. He also made it a point to say that her translations were “uncertified” and unknown, although she used standard procedure for all her translation documents, as required by the courts. Never before has the court system needed to officially notarize a translation of a document, or require it to be done by a certified interpreter/translator.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Moreover, this </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">young woman had the wherewithal to bring in her sister to testify. Although she had no lawyer to guide her, she followed correct protocol again. It was a short testimonial, but the sister corroborated what had happened, although she had sat outside the entire time while the young mother was giving her evidence. It is important </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">to note how</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> — with the sister's testimony </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> the judge already had his ready made case and was fitting his decision to it, shaping what he wanted to use. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">When he made his ruling,</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> not only did he ignore crucial testimony and evidence, but he completely twisted the sister’s testimony to fit his own agenda, and put words into her mouth, as what she said and what he interpreted were two different realities. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTnrPWiBHYnT3NAo_do0mS95mniaeJvTGNsVCT7RoFa2tm6-0BaHZohJ6YqolJjTqlxtsEFvzrdDIC4kV44QXrVe38nEODa1FZjhCUYmzlccxnKz1qvmK-jNPA-406ZyxrHWb9Pt9XoM/s1600/el-grito-n-3-1983.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTnrPWiBHYnT3NAo_do0mS95mniaeJvTGNsVCT7RoFa2tm6-0BaHZohJ6YqolJjTqlxtsEFvzrdDIC4kV44QXrVe38nEODa1FZjhCUYmzlccxnKz1qvmK-jNPA-406ZyxrHWb9Pt9XoM/s400/el-grito-n-3-1983.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" width="277" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El grito no. 3<br />
by Oswaldo Guayasamin © 1983</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">These judges are used to having the court to themselves: the respondent who speaks no English, the opposing lawyer and sometimes, an attorney defending the rights of the refugees </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">— though most cannot afford them </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> and the judge king. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But here I was sitting, making observations. And I have done this same thing before. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The judge did not like the fact that I was "judging" his reign. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Still, this did not stop his reign of terror in the courts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Though narco traffickers intimidate these foreign governments and the general population, and we might sympathize with the respondents, the judge began, this does not establish a nexus for most people seeking asylum. He continued: a generic fear of violence is not approval for sanctuary. The cartels, <i>maras, </i></span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">or gangs </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">are private actors, not part of a government that tortures people, even if they terrify. The police might even be victims themselves, but this does not equal their being complicit with the corruption in these cartels. Thus most refugees are victims of individuals, not the government, and therefore they cannot establish grounds for asylum. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; white-space: pre;"> </span><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Addendum</i>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This young woman went to ICE after she lost the hearing, and our government again shackled her, although they had </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">previously </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">taken off the GPS monitor. They told her that unless she presented papers from her upcoming appeal, she would remain shackled. They then proceeded to intimidate her and demand that she get the appeal to them immediately. Afterward, ICE relented and told her she had until the 8th of the following month, not even 10 days... </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I told her she had 30 days by law before deportation proceedings could begin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This is a beautiful young mother who has done <i>no</i> wrong. She escaped her country because the cartels wanted to kill her after she saw them murder yet another innocent, and they would have killed her too after torturing her, </span><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif;">had </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">she not escaped, like so many others and others and others... </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYjz0V-0P2WTIT54Ar2sOvWePPlLYoAtE5R4_BaPxpXsVvmg-qg2vDLPbQ3euPfHbTW7kW0huaZUcsBMYWQ5Oj8h65uCQM1loQgZIyNdSplsy2p0TXGKJCkydrwMeV_EHDSyKvthCOd8/s1600/the-accident-1941.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLYjz0V-0P2WTIT54Ar2sOvWePPlLYoAtE5R4_BaPxpXsVvmg-qg2vDLPbQ3euPfHbTW7kW0huaZUcsBMYWQ5Oj8h65uCQM1loQgZIyNdSplsy2p0TXGKJCkydrwMeV_EHDSyKvthCOd8/s400/the-accident-1941.jpg%2521PinterestSmall.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Accident, by Oswaldo Guayasamin © 1941</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Instead of finding understanding and help here in "our land of the free and the brave," instead of finding sanctuary to welcome her, she finds bars and shackles to constrain her. </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And yes, she also finds that our government wants to send her back to a death trap.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oh yes, we live in the land of opportunity, the land where we all came to live, once upon a time, as immigrants... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Ana M. Fores Tamayo</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>Adjunct Justice</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>ABOUT THE ARTIST</i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmDLsECb3RZavPAaFV8ssqdyR8Wur0nZPBUlUGENAulbrR0zlo6B0MjrSY-HW7F3AR4MwAz4JB2sARHP_l30y6_aPcQT4HG6QFhadN2DHXrntHE44zq-L8lEh-Ohszm-TMBugcgDr9TU/s1600/ChapelOfMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMmDLsECb3RZavPAaFV8ssqdyR8Wur0nZPBUlUGENAulbrR0zlo6B0MjrSY-HW7F3AR4MwAz4JB2sARHP_l30y6_aPcQT4HG6QFhadN2DHXrntHE44zq-L8lEh-Ohszm-TMBugcgDr9TU/s320/ChapelOfMan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>La capilla del hombre</i> (The Chapel of Man)<br />
Oswaldo Guayasamin</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Oswaldo Guayasamin, 06/07/1919 to 10/03/1999, was born in Quito, Ecuador. One of the most important artists of Latin America, his art has crossed borders, and his work denounced the inequality, suffering, and exploitation of the indigenous in Latin America. He had an abusive father, yet a loving mother, which colored all his work. He was also deeply influenced by his friend's death during a demonstration in Quito, which inspired his vision of society and the world he lived in. Guayasamin was working on his masterpiece, <i>La capilla del hombre (The Chapel of Man)</i> upon his death, but it was completed in 2002, to document what he saw: not only humanity's cruelty but also our potential for greatness. It is located by his home in the hills overlooking Quito.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I thought Guayasamin was the perfect visual representative of refugees today: the downtrodden who come asking for help at our Southern border, yet we turn them away. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">There is another way... </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMAL-Q7b1NeU6vYRFwrOsZP8xvCjIvZst4EnqPGtK_9xUMIBW-neySAD9oCtJK3xoh1EAZEaBUxu9XhN-3bFOpAJNocgRE29qWBR1xOM1m6ecWRTUNxpXYoKVOhAt1dvOZx2pgK8D_Vi4/s1600/ChapelOfMan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-80678208095341434402016-07-04T13:43:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:38.504-07:00IMMIGRANT...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">With the presidential race and all it stirs up in our collective pasts as immigrants </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> because we are all immigrants, even if </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">some of us</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"> go as far back as the Mayflower </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">we will realize that we are all living on borrowed land, and if we learn to live together, we can learn that we are all one, and no borders need divide us. </span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.286px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Kristian (right) joined a number of other community activists of all ages in Las Vegas </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 20.286px; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">to street canvass for the Bernie Sanders campaign this past February.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: left;">Some of us came later too, not in the early migrations but in more recent relocations, and especially today, we are still arriving, because the forced exodus from other lands </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> due to politics, warfare, poverty, displacement, or what have you </span><span style="font-family: "helvetica"; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">—</span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: left;"> are all legitimate. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humankind has always migrated, and today, on the Fourth of July, we should realize that we had a name that we were proud of, a melting pot of nations. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let us not forget that and truly be that nation, that melting pot! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">So I introduce you now to a wonderful young writer, activist, and human being who works relentlessly to make things more equal, for every<span style="color: orange;"><i>one</i></span>. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is your definition of immigrant? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">im·mi·grant</span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">noun<br />a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign country.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLW-JA24mDGMXRdsTowJbDRYl8VEr7f-Iu-epcaseswbs19fQW-__suM5H_T5tRm0fOW3pHeMQaEWkwSTEt2OLCshGX9W8jt_40nexvyGs18v_cZYRxJOs78OLZXpBc7wTrzAI8eW91I/s1600/KristianWChildren.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHLW-JA24mDGMXRdsTowJbDRYl8VEr7f-Iu-epcaseswbs19fQW-__suM5H_T5tRm0fOW3pHeMQaEWkwSTEt2OLCshGX9W8jt_40nexvyGs18v_cZYRxJOs78OLZXpBc7wTrzAI8eW91I/s320/KristianWChildren.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Kristian volunteers with her younger sister's 2nd grade class, <br />reading in English & Spanish to them.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My parents are immigrants: they defied a border to earn their children's freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Still, they could not change the fact that birthplace does not erase sins.<br />Their sacrifice is ingrained in the hue of my hands, the tongues I speak, the way I view the world.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />I watched food for two feed seven. I witnessed miracles.<br />My family, my home, was permanently in the U.S. But this land still seemed strange.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br />Expecting liberty, my mind ached for the dignity that came with it.<br />I've mastered English, yet still the subject of insults. I know my history </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">& yet my skin betrays me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am native by birth, foreign by birth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I am an immigrant because I am the child of immigrants.<br />Invisible walls have no effect on the blood in my veins.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQl0xDR-Vb6F-my0mk9vFdYxxeFkMjm5cA-8nqezseuHQhl0noVwrUXC4OwblytkXgY1qYdycP11G2IyngRzHE-Cr7THJ7Hv8vc1FH64bl98FihZuSn6tBexPCIR3Zq_xXK36nOKvMIxE/s1600/KristianProtesting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQl0xDR-Vb6F-my0mk9vFdYxxeFkMjm5cA-8nqezseuHQhl0noVwrUXC4OwblytkXgY1qYdycP11G2IyngRzHE-Cr7THJ7Hv8vc1FH64bl98FihZuSn6tBexPCIR3Zq_xXK36nOKvMIxE/s1600/KristianProtesting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"> </a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Visible walls have no effect on the blood in our veins.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWvFSCLdSSY6dZFWDHPxCKQ6iig_g5jFvv3zgymi3LoD3yR-EzyFYbUBCw7K1-xpMxPWjMVD8Ito1ASAEHngPdN4mtJMGhsyIzncqz6kguNKhyEcS4lREcBY6y62V3sEmJAeV-fqRUOU/s1600/KristianProtesting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsWvFSCLdSSY6dZFWDHPxCKQ6iig_g5jFvv3zgymi3LoD3yR-EzyFYbUBCw7K1-xpMxPWjMVD8Ito1ASAEHngPdN4mtJMGhsyIzncqz6kguNKhyEcS4lREcBY6y62V3sEmJAeV-fqRUOU/s320/KristianProtesting.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Protesting Governor Abbott's anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies <br />in front of his mansion in Austin earlier this year.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We are immigrants.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We live in a land that needs our work but wants our silence.<br />& we are loud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I live loudly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And of all I've seen and all we've learned,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">silence will not do once you've tasted the sweetness of your own voice.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><i>About the Author</i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Kristian Steffany Hernandez is a Dallas-native, graduating the <a href="http://www.hockaday.org/page#Down-Arrow" target="_blank">Hockaday School</a> in 2007 and attended <a href="http://www.smu.edu/" target="_blank">SMU</a> for her undergraduate career. She is an HR/Production Administrator for a construction company. The rest of her time is dedicated to service in the political and community realm. She is a <a href="http://www.dallasdemocrats.org/about/precinct-chairs.html" target="_blank">Precinct Chair</a> for Precinct 4009 in North Dallas and is currently active with a couple of campaigns. Kristian dedicates most of her free time as the Vice President of the <a href="http://www.northtexasdreamteam.org/" target="_blank">North Texas Dream Team</a>, in an effort to empower and inform the underrepresented. She is a strong proponent of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voltaire" target="_blank">Voltaire's</a> declaration that "Every man is guilty of the good they did not do," though her feminist tendencies would modify that to include every<i><span style="color: orange;">one</span></i>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Contact Information:</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Kristian S. Hernandez</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">Vice President</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px; text-align: start;">kristian@northtexasdreamteam.org</span></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "\22 trebuchet ms\22 " , sans-serif; text-align: start;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">The North Texas Dream Team before an action in Houston: protesting the 287g policy <br />implemented by Harris County & Sheriff Hickman.</span></span></td></tr>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-34202753120302549582016-06-26T21:37:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:35.248-07:00Poemas del destierro / Poems of Exile<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Usually I post things about education or immigration.<br /><br />Sometimes I post things on poetry.<br /><br />So I thought, why not? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">This is about my father, and it is about his poetry, his beautiful poetry, which I want to translate completely, one day. So this is the beginning... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Today is my papi's birthday. He would have been 94 years young today, & he is still with me everyday, in everything I do. Looking at some old books, then, I decided to translate the prologue he wrote to his small book of poetry, of course, dedicated <i>A MI ESPOSA/TO MY WIFE... </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think this is the small birthday present I can give you, Papi. Little by little I will try to translate your book, and maybe, I will try to republish it, somehow, someday... Happy happy birthday, where ever you are!<br /><br /><i><span style="font-size: large;"></span></i></span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;">Poemas del destierro </span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Aquí quiero presentar mis breves y pequeños poemas, <i>POEMAS DEL DESTIERRO, </i>aunque no todos fueron escritos en él.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Los primeros, <i>Poemas viejos, </i>son un tributo al tiempo en que fueron escritos. Frutos de la primera juventud, casi de la niñez. Los segundos, <i>Poemas del destierro,</i> comprenden algún aspecto o expresan algún sentimiento de tantos cubanos que hoy por tierras extranjeras comparten esta experiencia. Los últimos, <i>Poemas bíblicos,</i> son el producto de la lectura de los textos sagrados. La Biblia es fuente de poesía. Sus temas son numerosísimos: amor, alegría, tristeza, envidia, dolor, traición, misericordia... Donde quiera he encontrado uno de esos pasajes cargados de poesía, he tratado de expresarlo con una poesía directa, sin el ropaje de una preceptiva literaria rígida. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Nuestro José Martí dijo alguna vez que no debíamos morir sin tener un hijo, sin plantar un árbol y sin escribir un libro. Dios me ha favorecido con numerosa prole, que significa para mi una poesía íntima; he plantado algunos rosales en el patio de casa que cada vez al romper la primavera florecen fragantes y llenos de color. Solo un libro me faltaba. Aquí presento este muy pequeño libro de poesías. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Quiera Dios que algunos ojos piadosos pasen sobre sus versos, y al leerlos, pueda el lector percibir algún tenue perfume. Y así no quede aprisionado en las hojas sin abrir... </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i>Poems of exile</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">With this I would like to present my few small poems, my <i>Poems of Exile,</i> although all were not written during this time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">The first set, <i>Old Poems,</i> is a tribute to the years in which the poems were written. Fruits of my early youth, almost from childhood. The second group, <i>Poems of Exile,</i> understands certain aspects or expresses the emotions of many Cubans who today share the experience of living in foreign lands. The last, <i>Biblical Poems,</i> are the product of my interpretation of sacred texts. The Bible is a source of poetry. Its subjects are numerous: love, joy, sadness, envy, sorrow, betrayal, mercy... Wherever I found one of these passages brimming with poetry, I tried to capture it with direct poetic language, without the guise of a literary and rigid dogma.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />Our José Martí once said that we should not die without having a child, without planting a tree, or without writing a book. God has favored me with many children: that has become — for me — an intimate poetry. I have planted a few rose bushes in my garden, and every season in the breaking spring they bloom, fragrant and colorful. Only a book was I missing. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are some yellow roses we now plant in our garden, to remember papi!<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Thus here I present this very small tome of poetry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br />May God grant that a few pious eyes read over my verses, and when they linger there, readers can perceive a faint perfume. And thus, the words will not stay trapped in these pages, unopened...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-40117630005573712212016-06-08T21:06:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:35.986-07:00Losing Paradise... Perder el paraíso<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ll be off these next couple of weeks, a bit of repose after a long haul. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKBWbuy97UgnFYZjwqv5u8NRJHbQAMTYYeTriXczr89gDPAqLj1Jph58URR4SDkP90JDefhQguHOV1qi6erq3JyhaOzhb3EYLuKoX4WW0m2WrKXBBWlYV5IEoXrCPqa0D7SCuDkiY-uk/s1600/Perder_el_paraiso__2002_AcriI%25CC%2580lico_sobre_lienzo_56_x_71_cm-a69730da6d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="507" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJKBWbuy97UgnFYZjwqv5u8NRJHbQAMTYYeTriXczr89gDPAqLj1Jph58URR4SDkP90JDefhQguHOV1qi6erq3JyhaOzhb3EYLuKoX4WW0m2WrKXBBWlYV5IEoXrCPqa0D7SCuDkiY-uk/s640/Perder_el_paraiso__2002_AcriI%25CC%2580lico_sobre_lienzo_56_x_71_cm-a69730da6d.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Perder el Paraíso (Losing Paradise) by Tomás Sánchez, Cuban painter and engraver<br /><a href="http://tomassanchez.net/eng/work/paintings">http://tomassanchez.net/eng/work/paintings</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But we won the asylum case for a young refugee mom with two children from Honduras, so I think I can take a little break before beginning again on a new case: a mother with two children who escaped from the Guatemala/El Salvador border. Her husband and brother-in-law were killed, and the <i>maras </i></span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;">—</span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">the</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> gangs </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> tried to kill her son too, but their dog began to bark and saved him. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The <i>maras</i> ran off…<br /><br />But then the family got here asking for asylum, thinking our government would help after the horrors they had endured. Instead, they were split up and the young son was put in detention hell hole. The entire family is now waiting deportation orders, besides dealing with loan sharking, of course.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I tell you how the young man got out of jail? It was to the tune of a $15,000 bond,</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> set why, for what crime, you might ask? Of course he could not pay such an exorbitant fee, but when ICE threatened immediate deportation, he was so frightened, he took a shady deal from a <a href="http://americasvoice.org/blog/profiting-from-immigrants-bail-bond-company-charges-420-a-month-for-a-gps-ankle-bracelet/" target="_blank">For Profit mercenary</a> <a href="http://www.law360.com/articles/713078/ice-hit-with-foia-suit-over-relationship-with-bond-co" target="_blank">working with ICE</a>…</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />In any case, there's that old adage that we do <i>not</i> know what we have until it’s gone. So look around you at your freedoms and cherish them please. Take care of them, and help others who aren’t so lucky… </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I will be back in a few weeks, with batteries recharged!<br /></span><br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-16784237752132603502016-06-05T19:05:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:33.785-07:00PAINTING OVER GRAFFITI ON WALLS IS NOT THE SAME AS BLEACHING OUT BLOOD FROM PEOPLE’S COLLECTIVE MEMORY<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">recent publication of the second damning <a href="http://www.oas.org/es/cidh/actividades/giei/GIEI-InformeAyotzinapa2.pdf" target="_blank">GIEI report</a>, first publicized </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">i</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">n</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/23/world/americas/investigators-say-mexico-has-thwarted-efforts-to-solve-students-disappearance.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a> with subsequent</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">coverage on <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/04/24/475502300/mexico-accused-of-torturing-suspects-in-missing-students-investigation" target="_blank">National Public Radio</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">is clear evidence that the <a href="http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/02/introducing-ayotzinapa-matters.html" target="_blank">Ayotzinapa</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/02/introducing-ayotzinapa-matters.html" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/02/introducing-ayotzinapa-matters.html" target="_blank">movement</a> has endured the test</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of time by staying </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">i</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">n</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the world’s attention almost two</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">years after the forced disappear</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ance</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of the 43 </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><i>normalistas</i></span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">The </span><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">nterdisciplinary</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Group </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">o</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">f</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Independent Experts</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">responsible for </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/media_center/PReleases/2015/008.asp" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">GIEI</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> R</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">eport</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">(named such for</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">its acronym</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in Spanish</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">)</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">was</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">created by the <i><a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/" target="_blank">Inter-American </a></i></span><i><a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">C</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ommission</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">on Human Rights</span></a></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">on March 2015 to investigate what happened to the 43</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">students on</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">September</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">26,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">2014 in Iguala, Guerrero.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Guernica </i>by Pablo Picasso, 1937 <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Museo_Reina_Sofia" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" title="Museo Reina Sofia">Museo Reina Sofia</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madrid" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" title="Madrid">Madrid</a><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;">, </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spain" style="background-image: none; color: #0b0080; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;" title="Spain">Spain</a><br />
<i>Guernica</i> warns humanity against the devastation of war & suffering: aren't the forced disappearances of Ayotzinapa an annihalation of the worst sort?</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">In</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the highly competitive media industry that is always starving for new</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">stories, it</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">is difficult to keep any one single issue on people’s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">psyche among the many</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">which compete for publication for several</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">months</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">let alone </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">almost</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">two</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">years</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Y</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">et</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Ayotzinapa won’t go away</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">despite orchestrated attempts by the Mexican</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">authorities and its</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">support from Mexican media to block </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">any</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">news about </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">what</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">happened</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Only four months after the incident the <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/27/mexico-attorney-general.html" target="_blank">then Mexican </a></span><a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/27/mexico-attorney-general.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Attorney</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">General</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Jesús Murillo Karam <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/28/world/americas/mexico-officially-declares-missing-students-dead.html" target="_blank">closed the case</a> to any further investigation</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">claiming that the criminal group Guerreros Unidos had detained,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">murdered and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">cremated the 43 students</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to later throw the ashes in the San Juan River </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">because they were supposedly linked to their rival group Los Rojos</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">case is not unique among many other injustices committed against the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">people in Mexico</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">;</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">only this time</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the Mexican government picked the wrong</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">people to victimize. Cesar </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Chavez </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">his folksy style of humor </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">used</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to tell a</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">joke about a fellow who was a sharp shooter and would</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">typically boast about it.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">To his credit</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">he would sho</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">o</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">t</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">flies </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">i</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">n</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the air over and </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">over</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">again</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">without a miss</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">;</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">however</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">when he was asked to shoot a bee</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">he said he couldn’t. </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">You</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">see,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">he</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">said</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">"</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">bees are organized and the flies are not. When you mess with a bee</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">you’ll get the entire beehive come after you</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">"</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Let’s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">not forget that the <a href="http://mexicovoices.blogspot.com/2014/11/mexicos-rural-normal-schools-agents-of.html" target="_blank">teaching college </a></span><a href="http://mexicovoices.blogspot.com/2014/11/mexicos-rural-normal-schools-agents-of.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Raul</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Isidro Burgos</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in Ayotzinapa is</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">part of the patrimony remaining from the <a href="http://isreview.org/issue/74/mexicos-revolution-1910-1920" target="_blank">Agrarian</a></span><a href="http://isreview.org/issue/74/mexicos-revolution-1910-1920" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Revolution of 1910</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">n</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">spite of</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the constant attacks from the government for their activist</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">oriented pedagogy</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">17 of the 29 Normal schools remain in operation. They were built to</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">fulfill the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">legacy of bringing education to rural Mexico and have</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">continued to jealously</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">keep the post-Revolution vision of education</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">reform, along with instilling social</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and political awareness and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">civic participation among the teachers in training.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">These are the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">breeding grounds of martyrized leaders like </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucio_Caba%C3%B1as" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Lucio</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucio_Caba%C3%B1as" target="_blank">Cabañas</a> and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genaro_V%C3%A1zquez_Rojas" target="_blank">Genaro Vasquez</a> who</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in the 1970s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">took arms against government policies.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm0YUQc0EIg17WSHygeDUtAZABHNfPmO8IZsiEX5yKgWknVNWjehbjrjEMmEwUzDuxGHkoFPD19WSh5phFljl9ctFIwDX2jNjfadC6aB8CXugpnwFLns869wg_lr5fC9EsvjocYR3YZ4/s1600/remedios-varo-flute-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEm0YUQc0EIg17WSHygeDUtAZABHNfPmO8IZsiEX5yKgWknVNWjehbjrjEMmEwUzDuxGHkoFPD19WSh5phFljl9ctFIwDX2jNjfadC6aB8CXugpnwFLns869wg_lr5fC9EsvjocYR3YZ4/s400/remedios-varo-flute-2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El flautista (The Flutist) 1955 by Remedios Varo<br />
Could the flutist be equated to the 43 seeds of Ayotzinapa's student teachers? </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">activism spearheaded by the parents of the 43 missing students has</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">empowered many people who in the past remained silent to the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">violence. This</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">kind of openness, according to <a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2014/12/3/father_of_missing_mexican_student_speaks" target="_blank">Clemente Rodriguez</a></span><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/5/4/relatives_of_43_missing_students_us" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Moreno</span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">one of the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">parents</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">is extremely important for families to talk about on their own. It is</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">indicative of the political work by the Ayotzinapa movement as it</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">gives courage</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to many people </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">who</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">were afraid to talk about the violence they had endured</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in many cases</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ended up fleeing from by </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">e</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">migrating</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to the United States.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://adjunctjustice.tumblr.com/post/104988863823/the-seeds-of-ayotzinapa-spread" target="_blank">Omar Garcia</a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">a student survivor of the attack</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">was quoted after the publication</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of the GIEI report as saying</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">“</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Society</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">needs to understand that this is the first</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">time a movement led by</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">victims of such crime have the courage to unite and</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">march with their</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">head up high, to withstand each retaliation and not to buckle</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">under</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">”</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">The</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">United Nations has called on the Mexican Government to properly</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">implement a follow-up mechanism in conjunction with the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Inter-American</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Commission of </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">H</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">uman</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">R</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ights</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to keep track of the progress in the investigations</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in light of the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://mexicovoices.blogspot.com/2016/02/mexico-ayotzinapa-attorney-generals.html" target="_blank"> </a></span><span style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://mexicovoices.blogspot.com/2016/02/mexico-ayotzinapa-attorney-generals.html" target="_blank">lack of support from the Attorney General's Office</a> (PGR</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">:</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">from its</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">acronym in Spanish</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">)</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and its campaigns to discredit the </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">GIEI’s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">work and the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">results of its investigations.</span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">About the Author</span></i></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Julio César Guerrero earned a Master’s degree in both social work and telecommunications at the <i><a href="https://www.umich.edu/" target="_blank">University of Michigan</a>. </i>He spent many years teaching in the Michigan University system, where he developed ample experience in student services, classroom teaching, community organization and development, social and human services, nonprofit and human services administration, community and media relations, diversity training, outreach, and recruitment.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROjciIhC6DQcDK2eoNaxLx3XVqUtu8d_zEh9VgabCjBD9mnSTrb2PRQfC2WPQdIvw7Xorbc497WHVSoShIoehdagMxE0FcDtQ8e2mEqJ2kRzUVZFnRdbFsKJhmTKeMxE7r2l2iU7yZ88/s1600/JulioGuerreroCrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjROjciIhC6DQcDK2eoNaxLx3XVqUtu8d_zEh9VgabCjBD9mnSTrb2PRQfC2WPQdIvw7Xorbc497WHVSoShIoehdagMxE0FcDtQ8e2mEqJ2kRzUVZFnRdbFsKJhmTKeMxE7r2l2iU7yZ88/s400/JulioGuerreroCrop.jpg" width="302" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Julio Cesar & I during Caravana43 followup, Dallas, TX<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As a pioneer in bilingual community radio, he partic</span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ipated in the development of <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueM7FqgQGYk&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">KDNA</a>, </i>the first full-time Spanish language, non-commercial radio station in the United States,</span></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://tunein.com/radio/Noticias-Radio-Cadena-p308741/" target="_blank">Radio Cadena National News</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in Washington State, </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KUFW" target="_blank">KUFW</a>-Radio Campesina for <a href="http://www.workers.org/2005/us/cesar-chavez-0414/" target="_blank">Cesar Chavez</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and the </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">United Farm Workers</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in California, and </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://krzaradio.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">KRZA</a>-Radio Raza</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in Colorado. He also worked as a program director and producer for </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://kpft.org/" target="_blank">KPFT</a> Pacifica</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Radio</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in Houston, </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.kbbf-fm.org/" target="_blank">KBBF</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in California, </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://tunein.com/radio/KUAT-FM-905-s35844/" target="_blank">KUAT</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in Arizona, and </span><i style="font-family: 'helvetica neue', arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://wkar.org/" target="_blank">WKAR</a></i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> in Michigan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />Under the role of community organizer, he participated in several educational events with union workers and human rights activists throughout the Midwest and Mexico, coordinated tri-national conferences for education and telecommunication workers from Canada, US, Mexico, and France, as well as the 2010 <i><a href="https://www.ussocialforum.net/" target="_blank">US Social Forum</a>,</i> and finally coordinated some of the largest Latino workers' leadership conferences for the <i><a href="http://irlee.umich.edu/" target="_blank">Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations</a> </i>at the </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">University of Michigan.</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most recently, Julio César Guerrero worked nonstop as the national coordinator for </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caravana43</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, an international support network for the </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ayotzinapa</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> families of the 43 forcibly disappeared students in Guerrero, Mexico, when they made their tour through the United States. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Julio César Guerrero has been a frequent guest contributor to <i><a href="https://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Adjunct Justice</a>. </i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-36418180685885559512016-05-12T08:48:00.002-07:002019-07-14T14:00:35.494-07:00I Do Not Exist.... UNDOCUMENTED!<br />
I went to see the play <i><a href="http://www.theaterjones.com/ntx/reviews/20160502113313/2016-05-02/Dallas-Theater-Center/Deferred-Action" target="_blank">Deferred Action</a> </i>this past weekend, a wonderful production about the trials and tribulations of the <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/01/03/461192533/prepping-for-daca-s-last-year" target="_blank">DACA</a> movement, and the real lives it touches.<br />
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I hope the play catches on and begins to make its rounds in other cities: it is defnitely worth seeing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XCDMuiDr_Cn_PkQhPT_DvbWg5K8FR5zNebnUUmOcNWDG-Wkqx6WlzbUk_n1-Y78qp_Ohxg0f5r_aS-DH_fGd66f_BiLWf9vPlrtizIkL8gh3t6BXgcg9vjXRCdrFE9D8fT59rOH5gaM/s1600/UWD_DREAM+Voter+Campaign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0XCDMuiDr_Cn_PkQhPT_DvbWg5K8FR5zNebnUUmOcNWDG-Wkqx6WlzbUk_n1-Y78qp_Ohxg0f5r_aS-DH_fGd66f_BiLWf9vPlrtizIkL8gh3t6BXgcg9vjXRCdrFE9D8fT59rOH5gaM/s320/UWD_DREAM+Voter+Campaign.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Erik during the 2011 "I am a DREAM Voter" Campaign</span></span><span style="font-family: monospace; text-align: start;"> </span></td></tr>
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In any case, this play depicts the ongoing conflict brought on by the onslaught of deportation, and how DACA and the <a href="https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/immigration/report/2012/09/30/39567/the-economic-benefits-of-passing-the-dream-act/" target="_blank">DREAM Act</a> are trying to counter deportation's horrible effects. Millions of young people who were brought to the United States as children are now finding themselves in limbo, or their parents are in the crosshairs. Although the US government wants to deny these young people the only home they have ever known <span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">—</span> the United States <span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">—</span> they cannot call their home country their own either, because in most cases, they do not even remember it.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>When the playwright wrote the script, he interviewed members of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/NorthTexasDreamTeam/" target="_blank">NTDT</a>, the North Texas Dream Team: Erik is a proud member. While this play is a very real reminder, then, of the actual lives being spent day in and day out all across America in the living rooms of many Latino households, I have decided to introduce you today to a wonderful young writer, a DREAMer and a dreamer, a young graduate who is actually making his dreams become a reality <i>today. </i><br />
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You might not be able to see the play just yet (though you should demand that it come to a city near you!), but you can at least read a DREAMer's testimony now.<br />
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So, I leave you now with Erik's words...<br />
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Undocumented means you do not exist. You walked for sixteen years in and out of classrooms; you do not exist. You submitted your lab reports; you do not exist. You raised the college-going trajectories of underserved high school students; you do not exist. You got accepted to earn your degree in <a href="https://www.smu.edu/Lyle/Departments/ME" target="_blank">Mechanical Engineering</a> at <a href="http://www.smu.edu/" target="_blank">Southern Methodist University</a>; you do not exist.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ2k_SW7aKMS1jhSobLXwy7VJC3wyW8RMVRKHoDqYKn7HinpCjmyDDW8SmWMqK4ZCw_Jg3LrDmVvirxdNn4FPBcSGXEtk4uQPnHuQJjgbfqJ0cH7DJpfPBx9H3Y_6ljUcy62P8Kd0rX8/s1600/Thanking+DREAM+Guardians.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOQ2k_SW7aKMS1jhSobLXwy7VJC3wyW8RMVRKHoDqYKn7HinpCjmyDDW8SmWMqK4ZCw_Jg3LrDmVvirxdNn4FPBcSGXEtk4uQPnHuQJjgbfqJ0cH7DJpfPBx9H3Y_6ljUcy62P8Kd0rX8/s640/Thanking+DREAM+Guardians.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Erik Burgos thanks the DREAM Guardians at city hall while Marco Malagón looks on</span></span></td></tr>
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Growing up, you all seek for a feeling of security and belonging. If you are here as an undocumented student, however, not even your parents can protect you. You find yourself in a bizarre position. You develop and grow into the image of your surroundings to only then feel unwelcome by the same society that molded you. At times, you might feel like a product item on an assembly line. So many hard-working minds and hands went into making you what you are, to only then be discarded. If you were to be shipped off, the sender would receive you back with a label, "Return to Sender: Address Unknown."<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNkV0PvWnri3ZQ2-n6nR1SIznvCVotA5VizxAUMYXwMVCieqPdpsn9Ec7bXKcHYLzM9_iznBq3fxDwrHcLQ0vP9DbLlfjQxO1ZOQMVcPKtLOiXzOFFmXzQc0pBzs3WWbsVOzI1VRKQsI/s1600/Younger+Erik.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNkV0PvWnri3ZQ2-n6nR1SIznvCVotA5VizxAUMYXwMVCieqPdpsn9Ec7bXKcHYLzM9_iznBq3fxDwrHcLQ0vP9DbLlfjQxO1ZOQMVcPKtLOiXzOFFmXzQc0pBzs3WWbsVOzI1VRKQsI/s400/Younger+Erik.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Young Erik with Uncle Saul in 1995</span></span></td></tr>
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Where would they send you?<br />
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You do not know any other world than the one you grew up in all your life! Alternatively, you are left sitting on a dark shelf. There is never a return on investment on the time and resources poured into you by teachers, mentors and professionals: you do not exist.<br />
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As an undocumented student, you most likely at one point questioned the mere possibility of college. Not because you do not think you are intelligent enough and can make the grades, but because by your junior year in high school you begin to realize that your financial aid options are slim, or even worse, you are not made aware of any resources that can help you: you do not exist.<br />
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My name is Erik Frank Burgos-Soto; I exist.<br />
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I was born in <a href="http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/violence-is-the-norm-where-cartels-rule/" target="_blank">Durango, Mexico</a>, and I was brought to the United States at the age of two. My parents were a huge support during grade school and in the transition into college. At first, however, even my parents discouraged this notion of going to college because, after all, college is not for everyone. Nonetheless, I personally had a burning desire to break old traditions and go to college to become an engineer. My high school counselors unfortunately did not have the knowledge on how to assist me with my unique circumstances. I was involved with various student organizations but did not make it as a top ten student, which made it even more impossible, or so I thought.<br />
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I am now an alumnus of Southern Methodist University with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering and this is but the beginning.<br />
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<span style="font-family: monospace;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Erik at graduation from <i>Southern Methodist University</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Dallas, Texas, B.S. Mechanical Engineering, 2011</span></div>
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All things are possible and are only as important as the mind believes them to be.<br />
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I now exist as part of the fabric of this American Dream through what we know as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (<a href="http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/deferred-action-childhood-arrivals-resource-page" target="_blank">DACA</a>). No longer am I on the dark shelf waiting for an opportunity to use my hard-earned degree and experience. I can serve in the spirit of excellence alongside my brothers and sisters, even if it is for only two years at a time.<br />
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It is a privilege and an honor to serve the country I call home.<br />
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I am here. I exist.<br />
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<i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13px;"><b>ABOUT THE AUTHOR</b></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Erik F. Burgos-Soto is an alumnus of Southern Methodist University with a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering. Erik serves as a board member of the <a href="http://www.jkcf.org/raul-magdaleno/" target="_blank">Magdaleno Leadership Institute</a>, a movement for young men that is reshaping the culture of leadership, wherein a good leader must first be a good servant. Additionally, he is currently serving his community as President for the <a href="http://www.northtexasdreamteam.org/" target="_blank">North Texas Dream Team</a></span> to voice and protect the civil rights and higher education opportunities of all people. Erik strongly believes “There are two types of people in this world: those who can influence others to work hard for their personal dreams and those who work hard for other people's dreams. If you want to be the first type you must be both.”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Contact Information:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Erik Burgos</span></div>
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erik.f.burgos@gmail.com</div>
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www.linkedin.com/in/efburgos<br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-36996978006394013652016-05-09T10:02:00.000-07:002019-07-14T14:00:35.739-07:00The Refugee Problem under USA's Rug in a Future Without Poverty<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I have been too busy in the day-to-day to write anything much these days, but I did want to post my talk at the recent two-day conference presented by <a href="http://www.futurewithoutpoverty.org/" target="_blank">Future Without Poverty</a> and dedicated to <span style="border: 0px; color: #4ea3d0; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 1px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://untfwop.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/GSST-FWOP-Conference-Program-SP2016.pdf" target="_blank">Reducing Global Poverty Through Grassroots Sustainable Actions</a>. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 1px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">My husband <a href="http://katabrekuika/" target="_blank">Andrés L. Pacheco</a> and I have been working with refugee populations at our southern border for the past few years, and we presented some of our findings during one of these excellent sessions. I am hoping to be able to post more in the future, but at least </span>— for now — I can present my own, “The Chronic 'Refugee Problem' Under USA's Rug: Migration Along Our Southern Border." Andrés informally spoke about our process — what it is we do from beginning to end with the people we come into contact with — while I had a more formal, even if short, talk prepared. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We began to work with refugees when we went to the border to help out in McAllen, Texas, along with people from the entire city and beyond in the state and country, as well as interdenominational organizations who put aside their politics because what we were suffering at the border was a <a href="http://adjunctjustice.tumblr.com/post/97323512913/helping-with-the-refugee-crisis-at-the-border-a" target="_blank">humanitarian crisis</a>.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What we experienced there was that hundreds of thousands of families who sought refuge from the violence, corruption, extreme poverty, and displacement in their home countries </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> not only in Mexico but also in Central America and across the Atlantic </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">— </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">were being deported without due process.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the Rio Grande Valley, the surge in unaccompanied children and families has pushed apprehensions at the border to the highest number of every other region on the US-Mexico border. In 2015 alone, there were 147,000 apprehensions, according to the <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2016/04/21/roma-texas-smugglers-paradise/" target="_blank">Texas Tribune</a>; this accounted for 44% of the total number and more than double the numbers registered in the next busiest sector in Tucson, Arizona.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What awaits refugees suffering the endless pain and miles of degradation as they journey toward hope, only to arrive at a land that might not welcome them? If we were in their shoes, what might we feel? How would we react?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What can we do to counteract others' uncivil gestures?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The government states that they "deport only adults and children who have already been ordered removed from the United States by an immigration judge," but we know this is not so. Many of these families have been subjected to an “expedited removal” without their knowing what is happening; that is, they are ordered removed before they even know it or can speak to any legal party about it. Even more troubling, many have probably been denied access to a judge even when they asked for one, in violation of our laws.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">These refugees </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> because they are refugees fleeing for their lives </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> are now hiding in the shadows, sitting in detention centers awaiting deportation, or being deported as we speak.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ALL refugees are subject to expedited removal UNLESS they tell an officer they are afraid </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> "tengo miedo" </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> and they are "seeking asylum."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But they only get to see an officer IF and when they say "tengo miedo".</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK8NLl9KME9S7inSR81-8LjGrMNeADpK3FJa7Qe5urA8aNd0L4X4TlyC4zbERKHnmr_6u0MpoU61Kgv5Uwn6GSVyxfpzVDbnUPLDGSlCGBY5alDsaLuoW92OIff4EFfkTUjLyUfHj2bw/s1600/BorderPatrolTank%2521%2521.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBK8NLl9KME9S7inSR81-8LjGrMNeADpK3FJa7Qe5urA8aNd0L4X4TlyC4zbERKHnmr_6u0MpoU61Kgv5Uwn6GSVyxfpzVDbnUPLDGSlCGBY5alDsaLuoW92OIff4EFfkTUjLyUfHj2bw/s400/BorderPatrolTank%2521%2521.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Does USCIS <i>really</i> need these tankers to contain refugee women & children?<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Even when they do, however, it is no guarantee that border patrol will send their case to the <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/administer-immigration-laws" target="_blank">Department of Homeland Security</a>, since many of them seem to be hard of hearing: hence, most refugees go without a day in court.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">El Salvador is the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/05/why-el-salvador-became-the-hemispheres-murder-capital/" target="_blank">most violent</a> country on earth today, yet less than 6 percent of the Salvadorans arrested by Border Patrol are allowed a “credible fear” interview. This does not make any sense. Most are given deportation papers, sit in detention centers, or are deported. This is a deplorable average: how can it be that fewer than 1 in 50 are given a chance at asylum?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala, along with El Salvador, do not rate any better.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">What can we do to help these averages?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Since it was too far to travel to McAllen all the time to help out refugees coming in at the border, we decided we had to do something closer to home. Hence, we have been trying to change these deplorable percentages right here in Dallas.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We hold a <a href="http://www.zoltanlaw.com/Outreach" target="_blank">pro se asylum refugee clinic</a> (<i>pro se</i> means a clinic "without lawyers"), which </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> with the leadership of <a href="http://www.zoltanlaw.com/" target="_blank">Paul Zoltan</a> and in conjunction with <a href="http://www.catholiccharitiesdallas.org/programs/immigration-legal-services/" target="_blank">Catholic Charities of Dallas</a> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> is trying to give monthly workshops to help these refugees fill out their <a href="https://www.uscis.gov/i-589" target="_blank">i589 applications</a> asking for asylum. These are for the refugees who have been released either by bond or on their own recognizance, to a relative or parent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But these are lengthy, complex applications that need to be done in English, so we are in constant need of volunteers to help us.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We need to fill out all the refugees' biographic information, which can take a long time because their families can be extensive. They also need to state their myriad moves around their home country, trying to avoid violence or whatever problem they were facing; these are also time consuming. More importantly, however, we need to get to the heart of their story: why these refugees are seeking asylum, why they fear returning to their country, why they are afraid for their lives. These are always harrowing accounts, and the tales these families will tell -- mostly women and children -- are horrific.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mother & son awaiting their fate at McAllen Respite Center<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But if you are willing to listen and to help, you will find your time well-spent: rewarding and fulfilling.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">All our work is done through volunteers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am a volunteer 24/7. Paul Zoltan, the lawyer who began this project with a small group of us, maintains the clinic along with Catholic Charities. We have processed at least 130 applications since we began last year, which means that 130 applicants most likely would have been deported, or would be hiding in the shadows, but now they are not.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Though most have still not heard results of a grant of asylum and/or a stay of removal, a few have been granted asylum, though most are still in a waiting process, since the courts are so backed up. At this point in time, they are backlogged about 2 years!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BUT at least this process gives these 130 refugees, and counting, a chance to live freely for some time. And maybe, by the time their court date comes up, the laws will be changed.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We are in desperate need of lawyers, writers, translators, teachers, good samaritans — so if you can offer any assistance— please come talk to us later. We are trying to hold these immigration clinics every month now, so there is always a need for volunteers. More importantly, our idea is to expand these pro se clinics so that they mushroom in cities where refugees go, where they settle, and thus where they are likely to seek help. This is where we can service their needs, help them get started with their asylum applications. If we were to have more pro se asylum clinics in <i>other</i> cities like the one we have here in Dallas, that would be great indeed. But for that, we need to network, we need to cooperate, we need to communicate.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So come get my card. And thank you so very much for listening. If you have any questions, just ask.</span><br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-24308302470594696672016-05-01T13:17:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:34.646-07:00May Day, Things Change; Things Stay the Same...<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was looking through my old May Day activities, and I came across this letter I had written to my <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">petition</a> followers two years ago, in 2014. Back then I had a little over 4000 signatures, yet today we have 10,141. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Has that made any difference? Unfortunately, no. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Indeed, what <i>is</i> a stark awakening </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";"> when looking at this piece from two years ago </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";"> is that conditions are eerily similar, if not worse. Though more people seem to know about our conditions, more people seem to condone them too, or look the other way. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">We must not give up. We must keep fighting, struggling to make a difference, a change for the better. </span></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.gosouthmain.com/i-am-a-man.html" target="_blank">I am a Man</a>: Mural Design Artist Marcellous Lovelace<br />
Based on Civil Rights movement, Sanitation Workers' Protest March, Memphis, 3/28/1968<br />
photograph © Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">But perhaps if we become more inclusive of all sectors of society, as I have tried to do, as Vanessa Vaile from <a href="http://www.precariousfacultyblog.com/" target="_blank">Precarious Faculty</a>, as other activists like <a href="https://seanmkennedy.commons.gc.cuny.edu/" target="_blank">Sean Kennedy</a>, Adrian Tawfik of <a href="https://democracychronicles.com/" target="_blank">Democracy Chronicles</a>, and others </span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">I know</span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">have tried also, we can get more work done. Instead of looking inward, then, we need to build bridges to others; in this way, our work can make a difference. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">After all, as teachers, we are forever looking at the bigger picture. We need to keep doing that, and looking not at the microcosm of our world but at the world at large we are affecting. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besos, not borders,</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Ana M. Fores Tamayo, Adjunct Justice</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">Petition</a>: http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdjunctJustice" target="_blank">Facebook Page</a>: https://www.facebook.com/AdjunctJustice</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Blogger</a>: http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://anamfores/" target="_blank">Twitter</a>: @anamfores</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My Dear Friends and Colleagues, </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">As we celebrate this May Day, I want to tell you about the history of this petition for Adjunct Justice: we have gathered almost 4100 signatures in one year. When </span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">I began this petition, I never thought we would be heard. Many times I have been ready to give up. But many times family and friends, petitioners, former students have kept me going. And so, I realize that we have just begun to fight. Today, on this May Day, important things are happening. Though we still have a long way to go —and many more signatures to gather— we can feel good that we have a common cause. In SUNY at New Paltz, New York, educators are gathering; at the University of Akron in Ohio, adjuncts are standing together. The New Faculty Majority is becoming a more visible name. In the virtual airwaves, we are all around. So I am here, as many of us are, in solidarity. Please continue to battle with us. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">I remember when I began this petition being ashamed to talk about my paltry compensation —$1800/course, no healthcare— or being worried to name the college that reprimanded me. I remember hoping the college might see the error of its ways, that it would capitulate, that it would call me and say, “Oh no, it’s been one big misunderstanding.” But the only thing I heard was that <a href="https://www.tccd.edu/" target="_blank">Tarrant County College </a>District of Texas —</span>like most institutions of Higher Learning across the United States<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">— talked out of both sides of its mouth. It told adjuncts it could <i>not</i> do its important work without us, yet it, like most of Higher Ed, showed us our importance by paying us exploitative wages. I cannot even call that a salary: how can we call what they pay us that? </span></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Most times we do not earn a living wage.<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";"> </span></span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">A couple of months ago, I saw a documentary on poverty in America, and its migrant workers. </span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">The 1960 <em><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJTVF_dya7E" target="_blank">Harvest of Shame</a>,</em> presented by CBS, obviously introduced people that were dirt poor; poverty was a sad but immediate presence. Anyone who saw that show then, as today, was well aware of these people’s poverty. What is not so obvious —but because this is so, it is much more insidious— is the plight of adjuncts teaching across America today. We <strong>are</strong> those same poor in the <em>Harvest of Shame</em>. How can we survive on the compensation we’re given? But many of us need to. And yet, as professionals, how can we show or talk to our students about our abject poverty? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Although our adjunct positions were originally created to supplement outside incomes, or to help students see the professional viewpoint —those who came in to teach what they did during the workday— that is no longer true. For many of us, what we teach is our sole source of income. And now, with the ambiguity of the Affordable Care Act, many universities are limiting courses in fear they will have to pay healthcare. So they are in fact <strong>doubly crippling </strong>us. What was originally intended to help the poor is now being used as a loophole by universities to escape responsibility. Schools’ cutting adjunct hours because of any possible ruling has grown like a virus. Before, universities seemed to be in waiting mode, but from recent events, they now seem to have decided that things might not bode well for them, so they better cut hours while they can. Universities have been dropping adjunct course limits like flies.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">We are indeed an invisible lot. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Mainstream media is only beginning to hear about our cases, but just barely. When I spoke to my congressman a few weeks ago, he barely knew about adjuncts, and he gave me lip service. Is education not important? Moreover, the fear of retribution is palpable; it shrouds our invisibility more so. People are afraid. They will not speak out. If we do, we are dismissed. I can understand that fear. But this is why it is so important for us to speak out about adjuncts, whenever we can and in whatever way we can, to make America know about this great underclass of people —of knowledge workers, of us— who are the migrant workers of Academia, and who are being abused, who are subsisting on less and less each day. Education is crumbling, and it will be everyone’s loss in the end. </span><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Students suffer because educators suffer. How can we teach if we cannot survive? Teacher working conditions become student learning conditions. And as I have often said in the past, the most vulnerable in our society are the ones to lose the most. Poor students, like us, are the ones who will suffer most. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial narrow";">Please <strong>share</strong> our <a href="http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/better-pay-for-adjuncts" target="_blank">petition</a>!</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDqtIPdCqx3htonVuucevIF1G9NKP5AnQ6Pde-wbbk3Jf_BMf3nWoKpg2M88Jfzbeogw7I5LDs2kxzzoFKSJDvhRRp6X6we7j3ajXS6KdiAB0svMtflbKoiwBKRJ9CW1hf6meoQvJ-9Q/s1600/Camila%2527s+Painting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKDqtIPdCqx3htonVuucevIF1G9NKP5AnQ6Pde-wbbk3Jf_BMf3nWoKpg2M88Jfzbeogw7I5LDs2kxzzoFKSJDvhRRp6X6we7j3ajXS6KdiAB0svMtflbKoiwBKRJ9CW1hf6meoQvJ-9Q/s640/Camila%2527s+Painting.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self Portrait, © by Camila Pacheco-Fores<br />
published with permission of the artist<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="text-align: start;">I have ridden in your cart,</span><span style="text-align: start;"> </span><span style="text-align: start;">driver,</span></span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">waved my nude arms at villages going by,</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">learning the last bright routes, survivor</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">where your flames still bite my thigh</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and my ribs crack where your wheels wind.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A woman like that is not ashamed to die.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anne Sexton</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“Her Kind”</span></div>
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-46100015222097873252016-03-20T17:22:00.001-07:002019-07-14T14:00:36.364-07:00The Rebellion of Los Mojados / LA REBELION DE LOS MOJADOS<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">My last post was from millenials and the vote, and how important it is. Now I bring you back longtime activist and frequent contributor <i>Julio César Guerrero,</i> telling us about the Xicano vote...</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Back</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in 1954, the Mexican film</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">industry</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">released </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">an iconic movie</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> en</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">titled </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/LA-REBELION-DE-LOS-COLGADOS/dp/B00424L0AY" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">LA</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">REBELION DE LOS COLGADOS</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> Based</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">on a novel by </span><a href="http://www.btraven.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;">B.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Traven</span></a>,<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">the movie told the story of a Chamula Indian family that</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ended up</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">working as slaves in the mahogany rich jungles of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Chiapas,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">illustrating the socio economic conditions prevalent</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">during the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.mexonline.com/history-porfiriodiaz.htm" target="_blank">Porfirio Dias dictatorship</a>, which brought about the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><a href="http://www.focusonmexico.com/Mexican-Revolution-of-1910.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Agrarian</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://www.focusonmexico.com/Mexican-Revolution-of-1910.html" target="_blank">Revolution of 1910</a>. It goes without saying that when the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">movie came</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">out, things hadn’t changed that much under the reign</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institutional_Revolutionary_Party" target="_blank">PRI</a>,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">which may explain why the film begins with the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">disclaimer, "Today</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Mexico is one of the great modern</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">democracies."</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2_U_WTmGpOancrHxU24_xLV3n33jvLklHlXTFnxB8IczjVjaGQ1dss9csmU-QH2BuYZV53l7Rp4z2umq-RR0ZiiohzGO3BCfNm3y8_UdmhsHL04L2PYO6r2_ospezNNuL-FjYhoiqdY/s1600/La_rebelion_de_los_colgados.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgu2_U_WTmGpOancrHxU24_xLV3n33jvLklHlXTFnxB8IczjVjaGQ1dss9csmU-QH2BuYZV53l7Rp4z2umq-RR0ZiiohzGO3BCfNm3y8_UdmhsHL04L2PYO6r2_ospezNNuL-FjYhoiqdY/s640/La_rebelion_de_los_colgados.jpg" width="427" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Poster for film <i style="text-align: start;">La Rebelión de Los Mojados, </i><span style="text-align: start;">1954</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">The story of <i>La</i></span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px; font-style: italic;">Rebelión de los Colgados</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">is a classic depiction of brutal</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">oppression characteristic of feudal</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">times juxtaposed against the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">era of the </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">industrial revolution. The title</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">derives from the depiction of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">workers' punishment, if they did not</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">comply with the work</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">assigned. Each individual was forced to cut four</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">tons of</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">mahogany per day, and failure to comply led to punishment:</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> t</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">hey would be hanged by their limbs from a tree. By the end, the Indians</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">rebel,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">turning against the company men. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>The creative forces<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">behind the</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">production did an extraordinary job with the story’s</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">crude realism,</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">to the point that some parts of the movie were</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">censured in the United</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">States.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">Recent</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">reports of long lines of Mexican immigrants applying for</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">citizenship</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">that will make them eligible to vote in the November</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">general</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">elections in order to counteract Donald Trump's</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">presidential campaign</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">make me think of borrowing B. Traven’s</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">title to adapt it to </span><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">La</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Rebelión de Los Mojados</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;">.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">I</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">think a parallel can be made if one considers that discrimination</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">against indigenous people hasn’t changed that much since the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">last</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">century, taking into account the numerous murders of native</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">activists</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">in rural Mexico under the watch of the narco-government</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">blatant economic divide based on class and race that</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">permeates US </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">society, to the point of hearing a loud </span><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">YA</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">BASTA!!!</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">from the mere people social scientists call statistics.</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4-siI-IU3cpGWjCETEMcG1fs3L5NrlbudgazR8SeFEoYkktFnjdgBTXZHWN83ZQ-3Ccga1HSHJztviqk2pLJ3WJSXHkhsTBUwDQZNpZb2B6kBnPBdGH2AqkxIwt-vkgy5wAobCx-pCU/s1600/LynchingLatinos.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4-siI-IU3cpGWjCETEMcG1fs3L5NrlbudgazR8SeFEoYkktFnjdgBTXZHWN83ZQ-3Ccga1HSHJztviqk2pLJ3WJSXHkhsTBUwDQZNpZb2B6kBnPBdGH2AqkxIwt-vkgy5wAobCx-pCU/s400/LynchingLatinos.png" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #444444; text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: x-small;">From <i>Lynchings in the West,</i> <i>Erased from History and Photos.</i><br />K. Gonzalez-Day (2012).<br />New York Times.</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">At</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the risk of misconstruing the use of the M word, I think it’s fair</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">game as long as we use it in a positive manner to empower</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">ourselves</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and laugh back at Trump’s attempts to ridicule our</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">community.</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">La</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Rebelión de Los Mojados</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">then is about the thousands of</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Mexican nationals who have lived in</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the United States under their</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">permanent resident status and have at</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">long last decided to use</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">their collective power to turn against</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">systemic discrimination</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">through electoral politics. It is about the vast army</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">of courageous</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">undocumented workers and students who have taken the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">issue of</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">immigration reform to the streets, to the extent of</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">physically</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">blocking ICE deportation vehicles, bringing to life the</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">war-cry "NO</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">PAPERS<span style="font-family: "georgia";"> — </span>NO FEAR."</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">According</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">to a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/wapo-univision-poll-2016/en/" target="_blank">recent</a></span><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/politics/wapo-univision-poll-2016/en/" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">poll of Latino voters</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span></a><span style="font-size: 13px;">by the </span><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">Washington</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Post</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">and <i>Univision</i>, “80 percent had an unfavorable view of Mr.</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Trump,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">including 72 percent with a very unfavorable view, far more</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">than</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">for other Republican candidates.”</span><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><br style="font-size: 13px;" /><span style="font-size: 13px;">There</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">is an all-year open door for US. Citizenship applications, but</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">back in</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">2007 over one million immigrants applied in light of a fee</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">increase</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">just before the 2008 elections. Due to the present rush of</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">the new</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">wave of applications in order to factor in for the next</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">elections,</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">members of </span><i><span style="font-size: 13px;">La</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">Rebelión</span></i><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">should apply before May 1st to</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">allow new citizens enough time to</span><span style="font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13px;">register to vote.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>About the Author</i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">J</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">ulio César Guerrero earned a Master’s degree in both social work and telecommunications at the <i>University of Michigan. </i>He spent many years teaching in the Michigan University system, where he developed ample experience in student services, classroom teaching, community organization and development, social and human services, nonprofit and human services administration, community and media relations, diversity training, outreach, and recruitment.<br /><br />As a pioneer in bilingual community radio, he participated in the development of <i>KDNA</i> and <i>Radio Cadena National News</i> in Washington State, <i>KUFW-Radio Campesina for Cesar Chavez</i> and the <i>United Farm Workers</i> in California, and <i>KRZA-Radio Raza</i> in Colorado. He also worked as a program director and producer for <i>KPFT Pacifica</i> <i>Radio</i> in Houston, <i>KBBF</i> in California, <i>KUAT</i> in Arizona, and <i>WKAR</i> in Michigan.<br /><br />Under the role of community organizer, he participated in several educational events with union workers and human rights activists throughout the Midwest and Mexico, coordinated tri-national conferences for education and telecommunication workers from Canada, US, Mexico, and France, and coordinated some of the largest Latino workers' leadership conferences for the <i>Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations </i>at the </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">University of Michigan.</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Most recently, Julio César Guerrero worked nonstop as the national coordinator for </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Caravana43</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">, an international support network for the </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ayotzinapa</i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> families of the 43 forcefully disappeared students in Guerrero, Mexico, when they made their tour through the United States. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Julio César</span><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> has been a frequent guest contributor to <i>Adjunct Justice. </i></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-50577277664761083222016-02-28T12:57:00.001-08:002019-07-14T14:00:36.609-07:00Your Vote, Your Voice! <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As I cast my ballot </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">early </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">today in the voting booth, I decided to stop dawdling and write something about the importance of voting. I have wanted to post my daughter's words, because </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> as a millenial </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">— </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">she has something important to say about voting in a way I could never replicate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So an article right before Super Tuesday I thought would fit the bill. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDYSZmKFgOgoNv8HzCepEjp8k6lmgncw1Zx3WtsSEuA8Owejq6ZoEgeKEmVJcUuTwg_CYGaUK-Du_VTkdfC5JULrFngS0tD_S__DKavC2r_eFRNB_dwgFx1hi_ByitBaARIaKK3PqTB0/s1600/LassoSouthCampus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="361" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinDYSZmKFgOgoNv8HzCepEjp8k6lmgncw1Zx3WtsSEuA8Owejq6ZoEgeKEmVJcUuTwg_CYGaUK-Du_VTkdfC5JULrFngS0tD_S__DKavC2r_eFRNB_dwgFx1hi_ByitBaARIaKK3PqTB0/s640/LassoSouthCampus.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandra Karina Tovar, center, main speaker at the LASSO Conference (Latin American Student Success Organization)<br />
Tarrant County College, South Campus in Dallas, Texas</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Camila Pacheco-Fores is young, yet she is old enough to vote, and she has the privilege to do so, as many students and young professionals do. A surprising percentage, however, choose not to use that right. I am glad she has been thinking long and hard about the vote, however, and she is talking about it, discussing it with friends, and writing about what moves her. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I decided to publish this piece right before the Texas primaries because I believe that no matter how we feel about the candidates </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> whom we want to vote for or whom we think might make a good or despicable president </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> we need to remember that voting is so special: it is a privilege. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I am reminded of another young friend and colleague, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Sandra Karina Tovar, who presently works </span><span style="font-family: "\22 arial\22 " , "\22 helvetica\22 " , sans-serif;">with </span><a href="http://www.mifamiliavota.org/" style="font-family: '"arial"', '"helvetica"', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Mi Familia Vota</a>. <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She is a kindred spirit who slaves away day and night trying to register </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Latinos who can </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">vote because she believes in the process. Although she knows much more about our rights than the normal citizenry, and she tells us </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> part of her job is trying to raise everyone's awareness </span><span style="font-family: monospace; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> it becomes ironic that she herself has <i>no</i> right to vote. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">You see, she is a DREAMer; though she is <a href="http://fusion.net/story/231978/they-cant-vote-but-theyre-shaping-the-election/" target="_blank">DACAmented</a>, she cannot vote. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So she needs people like us who <i>can</i> vote to make the difference she herself cannot realize today. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sandra Karina Tovar at Univision 23 Phone Bank with María Morales<br />
#vote #votaciontemprana #earlyelections #electionworkers </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hopefully, someday, she will be able to step into that voting booth as we all can...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But today, she does not have these inalienable rights we take for granted, throwing them away, letting others steal our vote by <i>not</i> voting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Do not let the Sandra's of the world lose their voice because you did <i>not</i> vote. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With these thoughts, then, I will leave you with my daughter's words. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Camila Pacheco-Fores read an <a href="https://www.wearemitu.com/mitu-world/hillary-clinton-says-shes-like-your-abuela-twitter-says-not-so-fast/" target="_blank">article</a> about Hillary Clinton near Christmastime; she thought this piece was forced, especially around the holiday season. She made sure everyone around her knew her displeasure. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This is </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">a young woman who knows her mind. She has the right to vote, and she will clearly do so. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">But she also knows what she wants and holds dear,</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">and she is telling others to respect that right, to respect her sentiments and beliefs. As you can see, she is tomorrow's future: bicultural, bilingual, and very very proud. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">She will most definitely vote come election time; she wants all of you to vote too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In Reaction to <a href="https://www.hillaryclinton.com/feed/8-ways-hillary-clinton-just-your-abuela/" target="_blank">"7 things Hillary Clinton has in common with your abuela"</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">did you raise 8 or 9 kids, make the best arroz around, or sew me clothes when I was a kid? didn't think so. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My mother, with her granddaughters Sofía and Camila<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#notmyabuela #byeHillary</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I think I prefer to #feelthebern<br /><br />I want to follow up about mis abuelas porque de verdad they're way more bad ass than arroz, kids, and clothes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br />one of mis abuelas left her country, alone with 6 kids, to meet up with her husband who fled for his life. they never saw Cuba again because of the US Embargo. she didn't speak English, but she learned and became an ESL teacher after raising 9 kids, keeping them and us (los niños) together still.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">[</span><span style="font-size: 13px;">una de mis abuelas dejó su país, sola con sus 6 niños, para reunirse con su marido, que huyó para salvarse su vida. nunca vieron de nuevo a Cuba debido al embargo estadounidense. no hablaba Inglés, pero aprendió y se convirtió en un maestra de ESL después de criar a 9 niños, mantenerlos y nosotros (the kids) juntos siempre.]</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">mi otra abuela tambien se fue de su país (Chile to Venezuela), crío 8 hijo/as, siempre cuidó su jardín, y todavía viaja por todo el mundo. y te digo también q ella tiene unos poderes de paciencia y diplomáticos increíbles para navegar una familia con tantas personalidades fuertes </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?<br />)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So really though, Hillary Clinton is #notmyabuela and I don't think it's cute.<br /><br /><br />[my other abuela also left her country (</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Chile to Venezuela), raised 8 children, always took</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcbegYiHArmUDgRw2qmlcrd_1lm_wYeetRO5d3qIXrCTlVw4QngTd251zvumEUDlZ8zU0e4IxbfWse4D8K-8Yw_g3XOaX7qfvxKw6MhGtk6aPwv_u1QOWlcFcWqO5TAKqz5YVwcvQyZs/s1600/Mims%2526Mutti.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjcbegYiHArmUDgRw2qmlcrd_1lm_wYeetRO5d3qIXrCTlVw4QngTd251zvumEUDlZ8zU0e4IxbfWse4D8K-8Yw_g3XOaX7qfvxKw6MhGtk6aPwv_u1QOWlcFcWqO5TAKqz5YVwcvQyZs/s400/Mims%2526Mutti.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Camila picking flowers with her "mutti" in Santiago de Chile<br />
© Ana M. Fores Tamayo<br />
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care of her garden, and she still travels all around the world. and I'm telling you too that she has some incredible powers of patience and diplomacy to be able to navigate a </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">family with </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">such hard-headed personalities] </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">(</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Así que, de veras, </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hillary Clinton es </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#NotMiAbuela, y no creo que sea cuchi </span><br />
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<i style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">About the author</i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn99bQSNfRa_LQRQwegX8nYPTcD_WpPM8Clqeb_zMjGUOnxvcGdjEal7fWDozISg_6a6wuMxH2muN7yMXH2jNzlSSo5XQinIJ_8WgxFYAzAEB_MxmaepmR4H5XEhMsMTRfteQ2dFEFq4/s1600/BeautifulMims2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVn99bQSNfRa_LQRQwegX8nYPTcD_WpPM8Clqeb_zMjGUOnxvcGdjEal7fWDozISg_6a6wuMxH2muN7yMXH2jNzlSSo5XQinIJ_8WgxFYAzAEB_MxmaepmR4H5XEhMsMTRfteQ2dFEFq4/s320/BeautifulMims2.jpg" width="252" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Camila Pacheco-Fores is the daughter of Venezuelan and Cuban immigrants, raised in a suburb of Dallas, Texas. She is currently living in Mexico City working as a Fulbright García-Robles English Teaching Assistant and volunteering at a migrant organization, <i>Sin Fronteras.</i> At the end of her grant, however, she plans to return to the U.S. and work in the field of immigration in Los Angeles. Her life has been shaped by her parents' different backgrounds, their commitment to experiencing a variety of cultures, and being open to many viewpoints. It is because of this atmosphere </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> the one in which she was raised </span><span style="font-family: "georgia"; font-size: 13px;">—</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> that she wants to work with immigrants so they have the same opportunities to live in the U.S. as she has had, and to be surrounded by the many cultures that co-exist here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-6562829823166516582016-02-17T06:57:00.001-08:002019-07-14T14:00:37.649-07:00Are Refugee Children Lesser than Other Children? <span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">I have recently been posting a myriad amount of articles on the atrocities of what is going on with detention centers nationally. With the help of activists, lawyers, and too many to be named, we were able to stop the government from continuing to license </span><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2015/11/6/the_end_of_family_detention_pa" style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;" target="_blank">Berks County Residential Center </a><span style="color: #cccccc; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">in Berks, Pennsylvania, </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">Texas has decided to turn up the heat, however, to make up for this "loss." </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">It will now allow not only these notorious for profit centers to continue, but also it will allow them to become daycare facilities as well. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQIJq8e32ExYf-bojSESSFDTFRoeePZz6YtI6LtYwqRNUGxMx6d0xh0yQm1hYGVNquXLI7tyEBFzNjCRMokD0bvOKs7lWg_ZbZQ0ARWwrAJXdCu9Sms-h9Ptr1DsjjMlcKpeNcwty22A/s1600/DilleyDaycare.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhQIJq8e32ExYf-bojSESSFDTFRoeePZz6YtI6LtYwqRNUGxMx6d0xh0yQm1hYGVNquXLI7tyEBFzNjCRMokD0bvOKs7lWg_ZbZQ0ARWwrAJXdCu9Sms-h9Ptr1DsjjMlcKpeNcwty22A/s400/DilleyDaycare.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Though no one is allowed to take photographs in Dilley, ICE certainly does.<br />
How is that playing by the rules?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Virginia Raymond, immigrant lawyer, human rights activist -- ex adjunct professor -- writes to us the next steps we can take in this battle of David against Goliath, and she shows us her own example, so that we might emulate.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: #cccccc;">I urge all of us who care about our future as a free society -- comprised of diverse human beings -- to join in her call and write to any and all who will listen. </span></div>
<div style="font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: #cccccc;">Ana M. Fores Tamayo, </span><span style="color: #cccccc;">Adjunct Justice</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">---------------</span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">To all of you who spoke or wrote in opposition to the Texas Department of Family & Protective (sic) Services (DFPS) proposed rule 40 TAC 748.7, which allows ICE</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="color: #cccccc; display: inline;"> and ICE-contract facilities to apply for licensing as "residential child care." </span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">Thank you. </span></span></div>
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<a name='more'></a><span style="color: #cccccc;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">As you know, we lost the first couple of rounds of that battle. Further rounds to come. Some of you have asked what next. While smarter minds than mine will discuss better ideas, I offer the following suggestions:</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #cccccc;">1) Write to your state reps and legislators. Know that Senators José Rodríguez, Judith Zaffirini, José Melendez, Rodney Ellis, Sylvia Garcia, John Whitemire, and Kirk Watson wrote to DFPS Commissioner John Specia opposing the rule. Thank them. If you haven't written to your state rep or legislator asking why DFPS is allowed to ENFORCE immigration law rather than taking care of its business: protecting children, foster children (particularly), those people with disabilities who need its services, and those elderly who are vulnerable, please do so now.</span></div>
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</span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<span style="color: #cccccc;">2) Write to DFPS asking them to explain their rationale for the rule adoption in writing. By law, when a person asks during the public comment period, or within 90 days of adopting a rule, for the rationale, the agency must give them a written answer. Mine is below, not because it's that great, but because it might give you ideas of what to write in your own letter. (I asked questions that are beyond what they are legally required to answer. I hope you ask ALL your questions, too.)</span></div>
<span style="color: #cccccc;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
3) Stay tuned (via the <a href="http://www.statesman.com/" target="_blank">Austin American-Statesman</a> especially <a class="profileLink" data-hovercard="/ajax/hovercard/user.php?id=1136771088" href="https://www.facebook.com/andreaball2" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">Andrea Ball</a> and/or the <a href="http://www.texasobserver.org/" target="_blank">Texas Observer</a> especially via Alex Garcia-Ditta, and/or <a href="http://grassrootsleadership.org/" target="_blank">Grassroots Leadership</a>, <a href="https://www.raicestexas.org/" target="_blank">RAICES</a>, your local Unitarian church, <a href="http://www.maldef.org/" target="_blank">MALDEF</a>, <a href="http://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fendfamilydetention.com%2F&h=cAQEdq0h9AQF1tzuNbjIpJ_GV3yRbKpToFrOgmMQxtPbggQ&enc=AZNCfLxaygJxqQCguR1wNpzUqINA6sutYyqui0iyELXf-RrECGNgnt8xJT95rTIo9wiPL0SrfoNfV-NpOUDaGNsXrVppa3KbDm3p_X7CtYjKMEKaP_pUBm9S_T7Va7qODhX5rShuQx4hDe0_UWqHqWcTsQ0QtryaTiM7Iq0gsE0EoK5Oy81WPNIYnoka6OQKCEQ&s=1" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">endfamilydetention.com</a>, the <a href="http://www.childrensdefense.org/" target="_blank">Children's Defense Fund</a>, the <a href="https://www.socialworkers.org/" target="_blank">National Association of Social Workers</a>, and others) for the licensure fight and public hearings as to each specific facility. </div>
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Thank you.</div>
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<br /></div>
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*******</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-evI5DVWjKSXDAhw9lu1glTQY4GgJkeRm3ZzVz-D8lw_EYmBqDPuueNgjhjKIrOnPGD4Bkv_mSqOpY7QJi6ixeiMYa7ZEBT7j2sKRF4hGqej7iO-dBX9dPIqx0fIQAntuzyCQO9no_pA/s1600/VirginiaRaymond.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-evI5DVWjKSXDAhw9lu1glTQY4GgJkeRm3ZzVz-D8lw_EYmBqDPuueNgjhjKIrOnPGD4Bkv_mSqOpY7QJi6ixeiMYa7ZEBT7j2sKRF4hGqej7iO-dBX9dPIqx0fIQAntuzyCQO9no_pA/s1600/VirginiaRaymond.png" /></a></div>
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From: Virginia Raymond <virginiaraymond austin.rr.com=""><br />Subject: Questions about new rule 40 TAC 748.7<br />Date: February 16, 2016 at 11:51:06 AM CST<br />To: "Carmical,Audrey (DFPS)" <audrey .carmical="" dfps.state.tx.us="">, "Ge,Brian (DFPS)" <brian .ge="" dfps.state.tx.us="">, "Woodruff,Trevor A (DFPS)" <trevor .woodruff="" dfps.state.tx.us="">, DFPS CCL Rules <cclrules dfps.state.tx.us=""></cclrules></trevor></brian></audrey></virginiaraymond></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Dear Ms. Carmical, Mr. Ge, and Mr. Woodruff,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
I have a few questions concerning 40 TAC 748.7, recently adopted by HHSC after DFPS “passed it on” to the larger entity, and hoping one of you might be able to answer them.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
First, when I submitted my written comments and when I testified orally, I asked for DFPS to provide me with a written explanation of the rationale for its decision. When should I expect that response? If for some reason, my request was not clear, please also take this note as a request that I am making within 90 days of the agency’s decision for the written rationale for adoption of the rule. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Second, I have not yet seen the rule as adopted by HHSC. Did the agency adopt 40 TAC 748.7 as it was proposed, or did the agency make any changes? For instance, MANY people objected to the illogical and deeply discriminatory exemptions that would apply to ICE and ICE-contract facilities: that these facilities would not have to comply with the rules that other residential child care facilities must as to unrelated adults and children sleeping in the same rooms, opposite-gender children sleeping in the same room, and the total number of people sleeping in the same room. Does the rule as adopted have these same exemptions? </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvztxC__1AXFaRpQM3W4t_FamjXuih9tif8tjn8octvqBfsFN9HHDKrB7I3ZZdF8wCvtOeuxZnOU3YtWi8cmomwmHBM4pF8tscn4n8D_emYOV1pX4B6paH65orqc5dSEqUuLF-Foa2rM/s1600/WomenRefugeeCommission.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqvztxC__1AXFaRpQM3W4t_FamjXuih9tif8tjn8octvqBfsFN9HHDKrB7I3ZZdF8wCvtOeuxZnOU3YtWi8cmomwmHBM4pF8tscn4n8D_emYOV1pX4B6paH65orqc5dSEqUuLF-Foa2rM/s640/WomenRefugeeCommission.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Artwork at the US/Mexico border in Nogales: mothers & children fleeing violence in Central America<br />
And then they get here...</td></tr>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br />
<br />
My third question is a combination of my first two. Specifically with respect to the exemptions: is there a rationale for having different (lower & less protective) residential child care standards for refugee children than for all other children? Did your department or the HHSC consider the requirement that Texas must provide equal protection of its laws to persons within its jurisdiction, pursuant to the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution? Did you consider that part of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Plyler v. Doe (1982) that says that states must not punish undocumented children for the acts of their parents, even if or when those acts are illegal? (Of course, none of us believe that the refugees’ acts were illegal: coming to the U.S. and asking for asylum is an act protected by international law as well as by federal statute.) </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
My fourth question is where I might read the rule as adopted.</div>
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My final questions have to do with process. My understanding was that DFPS would consider the rule and all the comments, and then make a decision. I did not realize that HHSC would also have a role. Could DFPS have adopted or rejected the rule itself following the public comment period, or was HHSC action required? Do most DFPS rules go through HHSC, or was the forwarding of proposed rule 40 TAC 748.7 to HHSC an unusual step?</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Thank you in advance for your reply.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Sincerely,</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
Virginia Raymond<br />
—<br />
Virginia Marie Raymond, JD, PhD<br />
Lawyer/Abogada<br />
1006 East César Chávez Street<br />
Austin, Texas 78702<br />
512.472.6270 office<br />
512.748.0940 cell<br />
512.472.8263 fax<br />
<a href="http://www.virginiaraymond.com/" rel="nofollow" style="cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">www.virginiaraymond.com</a><br />
virginiaraymond@austin.rr.com</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: 1em;">
<br />
ABOUT THE AUTHOR<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-evI5DVWjKSXDAhw9lu1glTQY4GgJkeRm3ZzVz-D8lw_EYmBqDPuueNgjhjKIrOnPGD4Bkv_mSqOpY7QJi6ixeiMYa7ZEBT7j2sKRF4hGqej7iO-dBX9dPIqx0fIQAntuzyCQO9no_pA/s1600/VirginiaRaymond.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">Virginia Raymond is a lawyer, teacher, oral historian, and scholar. She moved to Austin in 1982 for law school and stayed, raising a daughter and two sons wtih Tom Kolker. She is currently involved in much pro bono work defending the</span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-evI5DVWjKSXDAhw9lu1glTQY4GgJkeRm3ZzVz-D8lw_EYmBqDPuueNgjhjKIrOnPGD4Bkv_mSqOpY7QJi6ixeiMYa7ZEBT7j2sKRF4hGqej7iO-dBX9dPIqx0fIQAntuzyCQO9no_pA/s1600/VirginiaRaymond.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="color: #cccccc;">rights of defenseless immigrants and refugees, too extensive to write. Hence, this is her </span></a><a href="http://www.virginiaraymond.com/purpose/people/about/" target="_blank">website</a><span style="color: #cccccc;">, where you can learn all about this formidable human rights activist. </span></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-evI5DVWjKSXDAhw9lu1glTQY4GgJkeRm3ZzVz-D8lw_EYmBqDPuueNgjhjKIrOnPGD4Bkv_mSqOpY7QJi6ixeiMYa7ZEBT7j2sKRF4hGqej7iO-dBX9dPIqx0fIQAntuzyCQO9no_pA/s1600/VirginiaRaymond.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: left;"><span style="color: #cccccc; text-align: center;"></span></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-30542485121869680552016-02-15T11:53:00.000-08:002019-07-14T14:00:35.060-07:00introducing #Ayotzinapa Matters<br />
…Ayotzi Vive because Ayotzinapa matters. <br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiQUdCOi5po40CCF9U6mSvGqcD0ASvFwA7VT3MCbzQ1dAbcYdUtwezoXWZ5-emNUf0RZp846hdMkDGd6irPctD3qd4GWGc5El2NL7XHHkEwv64jhiAXc3aYZzyOHKHZFV8Q5tponyhBQtcewY1rCaBGhTpFo8ADYVTMms-_CqX3ncoMfdSggU1SJ4nlTw=" /></div>
The collection of Ayotzinapa links and images below updates automatically from multiple sources to bear digital witness. It is also a righteous and appropriate part of <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/AdjunctJustice" target="_blank">Adjunct Justice</a></i> and the <i><a href="http://www.precariousfacultyblog.com/p/pfr-network.html" target="_blank">Precarious Faculty Network</a></i>. Ayotzinapa's "disappeared" student teachers, marginalized educators, belong to adjunct and precarious worker communitie<br />
<br />
Briefly, the horrific state violence of September 26, 2014 in the Mexican province of Guerrero has come to represent the deepest problems of an entire nation: a corrupt, violent government and military, their complicity with drug cartels, the many murders, even more unexplained disappearances, and disenfranchisement of the poor and powerless. On that day, 43 students from <i><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/news/Ayotzinapa-un-proyecto-revolucionario-20141030-0061.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Raúl Isidro Burgos</a></i>, the historic and revolutionary teachers' college in Ayotzinapa, were "disappeared" from the provincial capital Iguala.<br />
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To this date the state has failed to offer families a plausible explanation or reliable information and closed the case over strong public objections. The Ayotzinapa story is also the global reaction to these events. Spontaneous protests spread throughout both hemispheres and around the world. Fueled by the refusal to forget or be silenced, <i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/Caravana43/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Caravana43</a></i> took the families' search for justice across both hemispheres, to the U.N. in NYC and across the Atlantic to the Hague.<br />
<br />
... now visit the collection celebrating that refusal by saving and sharing stories and images of <i>Escuela Normal Raúl Isidro Burgos</i>, the Ayotzinapa 43 and their families' journeys<br />
<a name='more'></a><div style="text-align: center;">
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<img height="178" src="https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSH_a0nAVEvMZuA_k9EHVs6D-jMH7_hnlCSCFiPxzwBiPoKjLZd" width="400" /><br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="800" src="http://www.inoreader.com/stream/user/1005957380/tag/Ayotzinapa/view/html" tabindex="-1" width="670"></iframe>
<!-- Blogger automated replacement: "https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2Fayotzinapasomostodos.com%2Fwp-content%2Fthemes%2Fayotzinapa%2Fimages%2Fhead.png&container=blogger&gadget=a&rewriteMime=image%2F*" with "https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEiQUdCOi5po40CCF9U6mSvGqcD0ASvFwA7VT3MCbzQ1dAbcYdUtwezoXWZ5-emNUf0RZp846hdMkDGd6irPctD3qd4GWGc5El2NL7XHHkEwv64jhiAXc3aYZzyOHKHZFV8Q5tponyhBQtcewY1rCaBGhTpFo8ADYVTMms-_CqX3ncoMfdSggU1SJ4nlTw=" -->Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-19526977602949211102016-02-02T08:26:00.001-08:002019-07-14T14:00:33.974-07:00Refugees & Hysteria: A Modern Day Witch-hunt?<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As the new year 2016 gets under way, and we have completed our good tidings to all, I tend to wonder what might be in store for the thousands of immigrants who suffer violence and displacement from their homelands either south of us — especially in <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article54577155.html" target="_blank">Central America</a> — or <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/jan/25/wristbands-red-doors-refugees-history-rhyming-holocaust-echoes-of-past?CMP=share_btn_fb" target="_blank">across the Atlantic</a>. I wonder what awaits all refugees suffering the endless pain and miles of degradation as they journey toward hope, only to arrive at a land that <a href="http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/ignoring-health-concerns-dhs-wants-no-time-restrictions-family-detention" target="_blank">does not welcome</a> them. I wonder, if we were in their shoes, what would we feel? How would we react? What kindness might we show toward others sharing our same circumstances? How understanding might we become, if we were to suffer only one hour in their shoes?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yet we have never had to.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXA1gw8HrSIK1B9Tf4jMb5Rb9FkVv-vIg_iCyk2fLYxcZh_Ti2ohcFrXk-pt9l1yhnqP0qi4YBpQTcGH4yd2uXGzYc7tX3Zlz9keZ6sbLehYo9wCYMMfU4zkSzraAv4uAKGxPCD3-w2hY/s1600/ShoesShoesShoes%2521+sepia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXA1gw8HrSIK1B9Tf4jMb5Rb9FkVv-vIg_iCyk2fLYxcZh_Ti2ohcFrXk-pt9l1yhnqP0qi4YBpQTcGH4yd2uXGzYc7tX3Zlz9keZ6sbLehYo9wCYMMfU4zkSzraAv4uAKGxPCD3-w2hY/s400/ShoesShoesShoes%2521+sepia.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Donated shoes at the Humanitarian Respite Center in MacAllen, Texas</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">But if ever we had to suffer such indignities — like our parents, grandparents, or great grandparents did — we have most likely forgotten.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Although the <a href="http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/SALEM.HTM" target="_blank">Salem Witch Trials</a> in Massachussetts may not have been initially traced to one specific immigrant or refugee, it was a well-known fact that between <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salem_witch_trials" target="_blank">1689 to 1692</a> Native Americans had been striking out against English settlements, so that many people were displaced, and there was an influx of refugees to the area near Salem. Thus the fear that surfaced everywhere in the general population — plain folk panicking with unfounded beliefs running amok because of "witches hiding as neighbors among them" — caused innocent women and one old man to end up losing their lives, based on groundless fears.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Today, the Salem Witch Trials are a <a href="http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/salem/ASAL_DE.HTM" target="_blank">dark stain</a> in the history of our country.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">19 "witches" were hanged, 1 "wizard" was pressed to death, 4 other women died in prison awaiting trial, another 13 may also have died while waiting for their hearing — though it is not known for certain — and hundreds were incarcerated out of fear that they were witches or warlocks.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbVKGATzpoB9tnhoH9XdKTjNS5TunUdSM31Gk5qRUNOtg3lUTFSG7oGnZZB5YhlAqzf6i5Kga_vkDaoV3FlxGplNtpbPIAoa_4KLg2uxwsyWRH2tuw8n7q4HOgeGkdX0HiyACzgCtQtg/s1600/Medusa2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtbVKGATzpoB9tnhoH9XdKTjNS5TunUdSM31Gk5qRUNOtg3lUTFSG7oGnZZB5YhlAqzf6i5Kga_vkDaoV3FlxGplNtpbPIAoa_4KLg2uxwsyWRH2tuw8n7q4HOgeGkdX0HiyACzgCtQtg/s640/Medusa2.jpg" width="360" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Medusa, silk screen by Jesse Fores, 1972/1973</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">A witch, or a stranger? </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Those who imprisoned these "demon lovers" took no pity on age or sex: in fact, most held captive were women, children, and old people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Sound familiar?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We look at this time of history with shame, yet it was only 20 people who were purposely put to their death (too many to be sure, but we need numbers to compare). How many people today — mostly women and children again — are losing their lives because of this fear of the "other," the "unknown"? As of January 2014, at least <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/oct/12/obama-immigration-deportations-central-america" target="_blank">83 deportees have been murdered</a> on their return to their home country. How many more are unaccounted? And how many have been deported yet again, to never be heard from?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Many more than during the Salem Witch Trials...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yet within our own "freedom loving" country, why have <a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/politics/2016/01/07/immigration-raids-fueling-rumors-that-agents-are-targeting-schools-churches/" target="_blank">churches</a> and <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/bs-bz-raids-business-20160115-story.html" target="_blank">supermarkets emptied</a> these past few weeks, a reaction to the senseless — and often times illegal — <a href="http://www.npr.org/2016/01/05/462057211/u-s-begins-to-deport-central-americans" target="_blank">immigration raids</a> across many states? Why is <a href="http://educationvotes.nea.org/2016/01/23/students-are-collateral-damage-in-immigration-raids/" target="_blank">attendance down at schools</a> where the population is largely poor and brown? Why are activists going crazy trying to keep up with the demand for information in both languages to <a href="http://endfamilydetention.com/es/urgent-know-your-rights-ice-kidnapping-families-across-the-u-s-this-week/" target="_blank">keep families safe</a>, and to keep families together? Why does a presidential hopeful, <a href="http://thedailybanter.com/2015/07/ted-cruz-is-a-self-hating-latino/" target="_blank">Ted Cruz</a> — who seems ashamed of his own <a href="http://www.dailynewsbin.com/opinion/why-does-rafael-cruz-have-to-pretend-his-name-is-ted-cruz-to-appeal-to-republicans/21718/" target="_blank">name</a> and immigrant background — plead for a <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/07/cruz-terror-arrests-in-texas-california-prove-need-to-stop-syrian-refugees/" target="_blank">stop to Syrian resettlement</a> when these people are running for their lives?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">And then folks often wonder why <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/11/28/everybody_hates_americans_my_life_abroad_as_the_maligned_other/" target="_blank">Americans are so largely disliked</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Our reputation precedes us.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It has for a long time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I, for one, could not understand any other country seriously listening to a man like <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/02/opinion/campaign-stops/donald-trumps-appeal.html" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a>.Yet his <a href="http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-gop-primary" target="_blank">popularity is unprecedented</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How does anyone like the narcissistic billionaire bully Donald Trump ever make it this far as a presidential hopeful, and why does he have such an appeal to some in the American base? Why do trolls come out of the woodwork to follow him, and when it comes to matters of immigration, how can they say and write such nasty and objectionable untruths?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">What is it about immigration and the real need of others that brings out the worst in people? I wonder what these Trump followers are like in their real lives.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">They seem to be everywhere on paper, yet they are everywhere in the streets too, next to us, speaking to you and me. They look at me with disdain when I tell them I help <a href="http://adjunctjustice.tumblr.com/post/97323512913/helping-with-the-refugee-crisis-at-the-border-a" target="_blank">refugees seeking asylum</a>. They bombard a lawyer's mailbox because he writes a <a href="http://adjunct-justice.blogspot.com/2016/01/happy-new-year-youre-deported.html" target="_blank">cogent op-ed</a> defending refugees' rights to ask a judge for their day in court.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Where is our mercy?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Some do their utmost, however, to fight the prejudice and hysteria of fear that's taken over part of our nation.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/newsroom/release/cara-33-mothers-and-children-protected-immediate-deportation" target="_blank">The CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project</a> has been instrumental in obtaining temporary stays for 12 of 13 families rounded up in questionable immigration raids at the beginning of the year. Of the 121 mothers and children who were taken to Dilley, Texas — a sham of a place called<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"> the <i><a href="http://fusion.net/story/165837/dilley-detention-center-horror-stories-from-the-medical-ward/" target="_blank">South Texas Residential Family Center</a></i></span> — CARA won stays of removal for 12 families. This means that 33 mothers and children are now temporarily safe from persecution, since these refugees were fleeing domestic violence, or they were targeted for recruitment by <i>maras,</i> gangs that run rampant in most parts of these countries, causing violence to spike disproportionately.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Moreover, the <a href="http://www.cfr.org/transnational-crime/central-americas-violent-northern-triangle/p37286" target="_blank">criminal elements in these Central American countries</a> have taken over many government functions, so that no one feels safe; the police are as crooked as the criminals they are supposed to apprehend. Such is the case, that most recently the United States <a href="http://www.centredaily.com/news/nation-world/world/article54578160.html" target="_blank">suspended our own Peace Corps</a> mission to El Salvador, and in Honduras, we did the same in 2012, also for safety reasons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Yet we keep deporting mothers and children to places we think are not safe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Where is our logic?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Worse is thinking that what this group of lawyers has done, or other groups fighting for the welfare of immigrants and refugees, is only one small drop in the bucket that tries to improve human misery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How many other immigrants are <a href="http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/immigration/article53284315.html" target="_blank">being deported</a> daily? On this particular day, it was 121 minus 33. But on other days?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Everyday this torture keeps happening, without respite.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If we look at the letters these incarcerated mothers write to President Obama to hear their case, in either <a href="http://americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/docs/lac/7_Raid_Families_Letter_to_President_Obama.pdf" target="_blank">Spanish</a> or <a href="http://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/sites/default/files/docs/lac/Raid_moms_letter-English_translation.pdf" target="_blank">English</a>, their sentiment will break your heart:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">"We are not criminals who you have to keep locked up. We have not committed any crime and it is unjust that our children, at such an early age, know what it's like to be in a jail under guard 24 hours, when at this moment they should be in school living life with dignity like every child deserves to."</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We need to protect the most vulnerable, yet we always forget until hindsight shows us the way.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">This refugee baby fell asleep after her first safe bath in over a month of travel northward. Are we going to deport her and her 18-year old mother because we are afraid? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">© Ana M. Fores Tamayo</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">All of us look at the Salem Witch Trials, and we shudder in shame.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let us look to history then, to these same Salem Witch Trials, and make a conscious effort <i>not</i> to repeat the evil of history: <i>not</i> to repeat the evil of fear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let us find our way back to the light, and help the refugees seeking comfort at our door. We already have the shame of the Salem Witch Trials.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Let us not blacken our history any more with further ignominy.</span><br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8952450828600909677.post-54577290553147728282016-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:002019-07-14T14:00:36.797-07:00<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">On September 26th, the one-year anniversary of the forced disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa students from the Raúl Isidro Burgos Rural Teachers' College in Iguala, Guerrero, Mexico, activists and colleagues are holding a series of special events beginning on Friday, September 25th through Sunday, September 27th, as fits this somber occasion. </span><br />
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According to independent investigators from GIEI (<a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/" target="_blank">Grupo Interdisciplinar de Expertos Independientes de la CIDH,</a><a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/" target="_blank"> Comisión Interamericana de Derechos Humanos de la OEA – </a><a href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/" target="_blank">Organización de Estados Americanos</a>), it has been proven that it was scientifically impossible to have burned the 43 students in the Colula garbage dump as the government insists; therefore, it seems that if the state did not perpetrate criminal activities, then at least drug cartels were in collusion with Mexico's corrupt government. To prove such subterfuge, Mexico has not authorized experts to question their army, and access to several key security areas have been blocked by the government's Minister of Defense.</span><br />
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Thus, anger and grief among the parents is unbearable, all over again, and human rights activists are incensed and working hard to reverse what seems to be the government's toxic inertia.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the Dallas/Fort Worth region, activists have met at the <i>Puente Blanco</i> — the Continental Avenue Bridge in Dallas — every month since this painful event occurred. But on this anniversary date, events are planned for the entire weekend not only to bring awareness to everyone of all languages in the metroplex concerning the horrid circumstances surrounding Mexico, but also to show the culture and beauty of the region that is so predominant, which should likewise be celebrated.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To begin this solemn ocassion, on the eve of this anniversary date, Friday, September 25th at 7pm, at UT Arlington School of Architecture, 601 W. Nedderman Drive, Room 205, the <b>Center for Mexican American Studies</b> (CMAS) with the help of <b>Adjunct Justice</b>, will show the documentary film, <i>Ayotzinapa: Crónica de un crimen de estado/Chronicle of a State Crime</i>, with subtitles in English. This powerful film, by renowned director Xavier Robles, explores the still unsolved case of these 43 students. It weaves a compelling narrative through a tapestry of witnesses, experts, student survivors, and parents of the massacred in Guerrero.</span><br />
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Ana M. Fores Tamayo/Adjunct Justicehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02428041441452963397noreply@blogger.com0