I can remember it like it was yesterday! The day that I got
separated from my biological family has been seared into my memory for the last
21 years. It was a somber day. It was filled with dread, sadness, and anxiety
as I put my life possessions into black trash bags: toys, clothes, and games…most
of which I would never see again anyway. My siblings and I had no idea what fate
awaited us as we piled into the back seat of the social workers car… a woman whom
we would never see again either! Being separated from my family was devastating.
The trauma that was produced from that early experience marked my adolescence
with trust issues, problems with authority figures, and a battle with rejection
that I continue to engage in to this day. After spending about 7 years in the
Michigan foster care system, I can attest to the fact that it is an experience
that no one should ever have to endure.
My heart breaks when I view the images of children in
distress after being separated from their families due to President Trump’s Zero
Tolerance policy. I know that their separation from the people whom they love most
is the beginning of trauma that will impact their lives forever. They will
never forget the stoned faced border patrol officers who took away their
parents. They will never forget feeling the fear of not knowing whether they
will ever see their family members again. And you can be assured that these
children will never forget the sound of crying out for their mothers and fathers
to comfort them with no answer.
I ask myself, How can this happen in American? How can this present administration sanction
such inhumane practices of ripping children from the arms of their mothers and put
children in cages like animals? Have we become a nation that craves
political power and votes more than a nation that extends compassion to those
who cannot defend themselves?
In a country with such intellectual prowess, wealth, and
advancement, it seems hard to believe that a more humane solution to immigration
reform cannot be achieved that will protect US borders, uphold US laws, and
treat people with basic human rights, regardless of their ethnic background
and/or color. I implore President Donald Trump and his administration to stop
the ruthless practice of separating children from their parents through the
Zero Tolerance Policy. Give these young children the chance to grow up to live
happy and healthy lives, free of trauma imposed onto them by losing the people
whom they love most.
Sade Bradford-Bond writes
a blog that encourages people who experienced foster care at www.onlyamountain13.blogspot.com.
See more of her work at www.sadebradford.com.
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