Remember when you got lost once? You tried to find one of your parents, the whole world felt so big for the first time. You were probably six or seven, playing at the park; you remember how terrified you were. What if you never found your parents on that day? Would you still have the same life? It sounds a bit cheesy, but unfortunately this is the reality for hundreds of kids at the Mexican-American border being separated from their parents, facing life-threatening situations.
This is how Dr. Carmen Monico began her discussion on child separation at the border with the EMU community on Feb. 13. Monico then showed some statistics about child separation: “58% have potential or actual international protection needs, 48% have been affected by violence from organized criminal actors, and 21% have survived abuse and violence in their homes,” Monico said.
These were some of the pushing factors for the families from Mexico to come to the United States and face even more horrific experiences on their journey to seeking a better life.
Monico shared a story of a child who passed away due to a lack of proper health care at the detention centers, and the mother that got her daughter taken away from her because she was undocumanted which made her “unqualified” to take care of her own child. She spoke about how immigrant women face a variety of obstacles, especially those who are undocumented. There are many women who cannot report domestic violence or any type of abuse because the police will only care that they are “undocumented.”
Monico argued that people do not do their duty to protect those women. Immigrant crises are not exclusively at the border; there are many companies taking advantage of immigrant fears and needs, making them work up to 12 hours per day, five to six days every week, with potentially dangerous work conditions. People think their voices are not strong or loud enough to be heard, so they choose to stay silent.
Monaco suggested spreading awareness to all people, and telling them what is happening at the border. She believes by advocating for the rights of others we will be able to secure our rights, too—that we need a system that will work quickly for the good of all people, not only U.S. citizens. Those kids’ most basic rights are at risk, Dr. Monico argued.
