The New Colossus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,

With conquering limbs astride from land to land;

Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand

Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

“Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she

With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

 ~ Emma Lazarus ~

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Our world and our lives have become increasingly interdependent, so when our neighbour is harmed, it affects us too. Therefore we have to abandon outdated notions of ‘them’ and ‘us’ and think of our world much more in terms of a great ‘US’, a greater human family.

~ Dalai Lama ~

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I want you to be concerned about your next door neighbor. Do you know your next door neighbor?
~ Mother Teresa ~

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Love Your Neighbor…

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the plight of refugees all over the cosmos is one that breaks my heart calling for bearing witness, subtle activism and taking action, sacred activism… to this end, it breaks my heart wide open to join with the American Friends Service Committee in the National Week of Action to End Child Detention…

Children belong in schools and homes, not in prison camps. But today, more than 2,000 child migrants are being held at Homestead detention center, about 30 miles south of Miami, Florida. It’s the largest detention site for migrant children in the U.S. – and it continues to grow.

Most of these children have fled violence and poverty in Central America and are seeking asylum in the United States. Many were separated from their family members or relatives after crossing into the U.S.

But instead of being released to family members or other sponsors in the community to await hearings on their cases, many of these children will spend weeks or months in detention – with lasting traumatic effects.

Now is the time to stand with migrants from Central America and other parts of the world who are seeking safety and peace. Please join AFSC, community members, immigrant advocates, and many others in demanding the shutdown of Homestead Detention Center – and in urging Congress to do everything in their power to end child detention.

may we all  be guided by an inner light  telling us that keeping refugee children in prison is an affront to the entire human race… we must do better…