Here is my take on the separated children issue, currently debated
in the US.
Refugees from South and Central America enter the USA illegally.
The parents get put in jail, and are thus separated from their children
who are not. The crying children end up - at least temporarily -
in caged enclosures, to the consternation of the world community.
Wy are the parents jailed to begin with; they are in no sense convicted
criminals. They are individuals in a non-legal residency situation; they
have not been processed by Immigration. No matter how the US structures
its immigration process to deal with such cases, if at all, there is no
ground for this approach to refugees.
The parents and children stay together; everybody gets a bath, bottled water
et tout le reste. That is the humane minimum...
☺ ☺ ☺
On the Immigration side of the question, there is one aspect that is rarely talked about.
Yes, in coming to America or to another developed part of the world, there is a fair amount
of learning to be done. One needs to adjust to a technologically advanced, puralistic
society. But, for many, there is also a fair amount of un-learning involved.
Many of these immigrants are coming from mature civilizations, and are lovely
people because of it. Everyday life, getting around, getting work, dating, are rougher
practices in a modernist world. Canada encourages some cultural autonomy, the US
does not.
* * *
A factor in this debate is the distinction between those who demand immigration
status at the border, and the illegals found to have infiltrated US soil. This reflects
the larger distinction, applicable to all countries, between their own immigration rules,
and the need to accept true refugees fleeing dangerous Regimes, governed by
International agreements. It is the latter which is creating difficult situations.
Germany, for instance, found itself having to absorb millions of people because
they were refugees. In effect ridiculous numbers, and Angela Merkel is paying
the price in her current difficulties forming a government. More broadly, populist
governments are cropping up everywhere, and bashing 'right-wing' voters in the
press isn't helping clarify things. Indeed, it is inviting voters to think of themselves
as already on the Right.
We live in a connected world, and this creates positive feedback loops for behaviors
that succeed. Climate is changing pretty fast, and one can expect large numbers to
be climate displaced. We might gain from having a new look at our understandings.
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