I thought that we should have a dedicated area to post about the migrant crisis in the US since so much is happening right now.
I think we may be entering a turning point right now regarding this horrible situation and these poor children. First the chilling photo of a father and toddler who drowned at the boarder after being turned away at the boarder was published today. That photo speaks volumes. Second, this interesting news just popped up on my news feed and I find it very well almost amazing. People are apparently tired of feeling helpless regarding how migrant children are been treated at detention centers and a group of workers at Wayfair has decided to make they voices heard.
This is a must read article and it actually makes me really proud of the workers for uniting and standing up and doing something. Here is a portion of the article from Vox.
-Employees at the home goods retailer Wayfair are staging a walkout after discovering what they believe is a large order of bedroom furniture the company fulfilled for a contractor that works with facilities detaining children near the US-Mexico border.
According to a letter signed by almost 550 employees, Wayfair has sold $200,000 worth of furniture to a nonprofit organization called BCFS. An order from BCFS was surfaced in the company’s Slack (a group chat platform) last week, and concerns began circulating when employees looked into the organization’s mission.
As per the organization’s website, BCFS “partners with government agencies, corporations, non-profits, and community leaders to develop programs and service models that combat challenges in health and human services.” In 2018, the New York Times reported that BCFS “has received at least $179 million in federal contracts since 2015 under the government’s so-called unaccompanied alien children program, designed to handle migrant youths who arrive in the country without a parent or other family member.”
The furniture, according to the employee letter, was sent to a facility opening in Carrizo Springs, Texas, that will be “outfitted to detain up to 3,000 migrant children.” These kinds of facilities have come under increasing scrutiny and condemnation as reports about appalling conditions emerge. (BCFS did not respond to request for comment as of publication time.)
The original employee letter also requested that Wayfair “cease all current and future business with ... contractors participating in operation of migrant detention camps” and to “establish a code of ethics for B2B sales that empowers Wayfair and its employees to act in accordance with our core values.”
Wayfair co-founder Steve Conine held a meeting with employees this afternoon to discuss their concerns.
An employee said someone asked Conine if the company could meet those demands, and Conine responded that he couldn’t give the answer they wanted to hear. He also reportedly said that he was personally opposed to the detention centers, though he did not agree they should be called concentration camps, to which employees responded in unison, “Yes they are.” (This whole account was corroborated by the second employee Vox spoke to, who was also present at the meeting.)
“There’s been a lot of comparisons internally comparing us to IBM in the mid-1930s, and we don’t want to be IBM,” said the employee. (IBM assisted Hitler in taking census counts, which were used to identify Jews in Germany.) “We weren’t necessarily looking to drag Wayfair through the mud. This is not the opinion of the entire group, but now that it’s out there, honestly I’m glad it is. People need to know about this.”
More can be found here. Looks like a walk-out is about to happen. I think this has the potential to spread. This is good news. The topic will stay in the news. People across the nation support this action. I believe we may see a domino effect. They are light workers.
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2019/6/25/18758860/wayfair-walkout-bcfs-border-detention
So brave. And I saw that Warren and my girl AOC have made comments as well. I'm no psychic, but can I be cheerleader? ?
Democracy Now posted a shocking story about horrific conditions in a children-only facilities. It is beyond belief. Children who haven't been allowed to wash or shower for weeks, served uncooked frozen food that is still frozen, over crowded, malnourished children, unsanitary conditions, two year olds with no diapers and babies being cared for by young children.
This is appears to be Bluebelle's prediction coming true, only it remains to be seen whether the Republican Party and its membership will have a reaction.
- "Basically, what we saw are dirty children who are malnourished, who are being severely neglected. They are being kept in inhumane conditions. They are essentially being warehoused, as many as 300 children in a cell, with almost no adult supervision.
- We have children caring for other young children. For example, we saw a little boy in diapers — or he had no diapers on. He should have had a diaper on. He was 2 years old. And when I was asked why he didn't have diapers on, I was told he didn't need it.
- He immediately urinated. And he was in the care of another child. Children cannot take care of children, and yet that's how they are trying to run this facility. The children are hardly being fed anything nutritious, and they are being medically neglected.
- We're seeing a flu outbreak, and we're also seeing a lice infestation. It is — we have children sleeping on the floor. It's the worst conditions I have ever witnessed in several years of doing these inspections."
Has anyone come across any articles explaining concrete steps we as individuals can follow in order to take a stand against the border concentration camps? Are there reliable charities we can donate to? Citizens groups we can join? I don't know where to start, and there are probably millions more Americans like me.
Some great charities that you can donate to-that have been working for years with migrant/immigration and asylum rights in the vulnerable populations in TX, CA, and FL are Raices, the TX ACLU, and newly formed Together Rising. Keep calling and mailing your reps, Nadler, and Pelosi. There is a vigil slated July 12th- called Lights for Liberty. Many of these charities are participating in El Paso, DC, NY and Homestead, FL. But there are ways to participate locally and even all by yourself. I agree we can not allow this to become just another news story in a string of horrible new stories. We can not become desensitized-these children's lives and their parents' lives depend on our ( as a nation) speaking up and refusing to go along with this atrocity.
Shawn has done a wonderful job listing things you can do. There are demonstrations on July 12 in D.C., Foley Square in NYC, and Homestead Florida. Also you can write to The Hague, since this is an international crime. I wrote to my reps and to Nancy Pelosi. I am thoroughly disgusted. I also wrote to The Hague and to Anderson Cooper and David Muir - this should be the top story. I'm glad Mueller is testifying, we all know Donald Trump is a jerk and denies raping anyone, but this needs to be tops. I believe I have listed links, etc., on Situation Unraveling for Trump, on that board.
Thank you for posting these excellent organizations which are helping people at the border
P.S. Lovendures, thank you and bless you for starting this topic.