close the camps
Photos: Dana Dardis.
We want to be able to say that the detention of children and adults at the southern border is unlike the United States and is a stain on our otherwise spotless record of standing up for basic human rights. But we can’t say that.
Throughout our history, the United States has fought for human rights policies in other countries, while repeatedly violating them here at home. We believe in this country and the opportunity for the people who live in it to achieve great things. However, we cannot do that without taking accountability for our shared history and taking action to prevent repeating these atrocities again. Children at our southern border, held in cages, who were seeking refuge is a perfect example of our country not learning from our past-- indigenous children stripped from their families and put in boarding schools, Japanese Americans detained for years in internment camps in WWII, Chinese exclusion camps, incarceration of citizens for profit, and the Trail of Tears are a few examples of the US history of human rights abuses. We believe we should have, long ago, used the courts and our laws to prevent such atrocities from occurring again. We should be writing international human rights treaties and enacting them, not avoiding ratifying them and refusing to engage in dialogues surrounding our past. The Trump Administration is the latest administration to implement policies which violate basic human rights and circumvent our own legal system. They have created a system to prevent asylum seekers from being able to declare their status at the border, holding children for weeks longer than the court-mandated time limits, and using baseless financial excuses to scapegoat responsibility. Instead of following legal policies, this administration is repeating history. Earlier this month, migrant children were moved to a former Japanese American internment camp at Fort Sill. We know the history of this place. Thanks to relentless and courageous reporters, lawyers, and volunteers, the general public has been made aware of all of these abuses. We plan to use the information provided to act and hold our leaders accountable until we see our values reflected in the policies of our country. That’s why, every Friday at noon starting July 5th, a group of concerned people will be gathering in front of the offices of US Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski. They must feel the pressure from us that this cannot continue, and we won’t repeat the horrors of the past. They must change the system now, free the children, reunite families and prevent further trauma. The time to act is now - please join us every Friday for a weekly protest from 12pm - 1pm at 510 L St. Anchorage, AK 99501. We will bring signs, and we need your voice.
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