Family Separation Policy

There are few things that have disturbed me as much as the news in America over the past week. 2,000 children have been separated from their families, now kept caged in converted abandoned shopping centres and halls.

Their crime? Their parents trying to get into the US to seek better lives. Whether for genuine asylum or for economic migration, who knows. To be honest, who really cares? I don’t.

Put yourself in their shoes for a minute. Children, some have been described as babies, in a strange, foreign country. Away from their parents, away from their culture and potentially their language, crammed in with other children who are equally scared and in fear. They must be terrified. It just makes me feel sick.

In all the photos that I have seen, I have only seen young boys. What has happened to the girls? Where are they? Are they safe?

I have so many questions haunting me. What safeguards are in place for these children? Who is in charge of looking after them, and are the ‘carers’ in appropriate number to look after them? What background checks have they had? What are the children sleeping on? I’ve seen mats and space foil blankets, is this what keeps them warm and comfortable at night? Are they being given clean clothing? What happens if they fall over, or get sick? What about the children with ongoing health (physical or mental) needs? What sanitary conditions are in place, do they have showers, bathrooms? Who is feeding them and what are they being fed? What counselling and support services are there in place? These children are so intensively vulnerable and high risk. How are they getting their basic human needs met?

How are they going to find their way back to their parents? How have they been documented? What support are the parents getting? Where are they?

How many more times is Trump and his Administration going to do something overly outrageous, while the world watches? Where does it end? Why has no other world leader stood up and said that this policy is abhorrent? Why isn’t this being shouted from rooftops? Why isn’t the media having this front and centre? History is watching, but we are blind. We need to stop just watching, we need to take action.

Trump is still apparently visiting the U.K. next month. If this ridiculous charade goes ahead, we need to all be there and stand up for those who have no voice. We need to stand up and say that this is not acceptable in a tolerant, acceptable, loving society. I believe that love wins, but how much hate do we have to see before this is put right, and what cost are we as a society paying while we are waging the war?   

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