"Refugee" vs "Invader": What's Really Going On At Our Border and What We Can Do To Help

We as writers understand how much words matter. 

For example, there is a difference between calling people “invaders” and calling them “refugees”.

Pause for a moment and reflect upon the term “invader”. What words come to mind when you hear this term?

Now, do the same with the term “refugee”. 

Buried somewhere beneath all the rhetoric, news reports and politics are flesh and blood people; the people who are having heated debates on the one hand, and the people who are being argued over on the other.

I wonder if we could pause amidst all the squabbling and squawking to ask why there are so many children — without grown-ups or caretakers— showing up in our detention centers.

So far this year, 56,278 unaccompanied children have come running into our country. 

I can’t help but ask, “Where are these children coming from, and why are they here?” 

Before I share what I have learned, I would like to note that many of these children are fleeing with an adult who is not a parent. The adult and child are separated once they are apprehended coming across the border. 

Where are these children coming from? Why are they here?

There is a segment of Central America known as the Northern Triangle. This segment includes the countries El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. Many of the people “caught” trying to cross the border into our country are from this part of the world. 

One of the main reasons children are fleeing these Central American countries is because of increased violence towards women and children, including kidnapping, murder, rape and torture. Here is a very informative article: "Fleeing For Our Lives: Central American Migrant Crisis".

If your daughter were nearing puberty, and you saw the “writing on the wall”, the “ticking clock” to impending horror, would you not do everything in your power to protect her, including fleeing to another country and seeking asylum?

As an aside, these folks are not just fleeing to the United States but also to neighboring countries. They are desperate.

Other reasons children are fleeing are that they are targets of human trafficking, or because they are being recruited into gangs. 

Can we really call these little ones “invaders”, friends? 

Imagine a child showing up on your doorstep today, alone, cold and hungry. Would you really slam the door in that child’s face, trembling with terror, then begin to rant and rave about your own limited resources and this child’s desire to “take advantage” of you? Would you not help this child?

The only "side" we should be taking is the side of the victim...

My dear friends, do we not pay taxes to our government in the hopes our government will use our money well? 

Do we truly want our government to be “threatened” by refugees, mostly children, seeking asylum? Are we okay with the negative rhetoric being used to describe these suffering citizens-of-Planet-Earth?

Would we like for our government (which is, after all, “of the people, by the people, for the people”) to swivel from a defensive posture to a more welcoming, prepared posture?

Do we want our government to place these least little ones in detention centers and treat them as though they are common criminals? Wouldn’t we like for our government to better use our tax dollars in addressing this humanitarian crisis?

Perhaps refugees aren’t on your mind. Perhaps they are not a priority for you. Perhaps your mind is currently flooding with all the “in-house” needs our country would be neglecting if it used our tax dollars for immigrants and asylum-seekers.

I would like to point out one more fact. 

In 1992 the United States ratified a United Nations covenant entitled the “International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”, or ICCPR for short.

Among other things, this covenant grants children certain rights, including “the right to security of person” and “the right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. 

When our country places children fleeing inhuman, degrading, and cruel circumstances into detention camps for extended periods of time rather than welcoming and caring for them, it is not keeping its agreement to uphold their basic rights.

If we can agree on anything, let’s agree that the United States can do better. 

Let’s call our representatives and let them know what we’d like to see happen (and what we are unhappy about). If you are unsure who to call or what to say, click here for helpful information. 

Let’s either volunteer or give money to organizations currently assisting these refugees.

Here are some organizations you can give through: Ciudad Nueva, Border Perspective, SEEK, RAICES, and World Relief. While these organizations were recommended to me by a party I trust, as always, do your research before giving.

Let’s refuse to use asylum seekers and refugees as ammunition for our political canons.

Let’s research, taking some time to think for ourselves about the situation, rather than gulping down spoonfuls of whatever our favorite people are saying about the situation along the border.

Finally, and most importantly, let’s refuse to use words that harm, and instead embrace words that heal.