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We really need to deconstruct what we mean when we say we are dealing with a "humanitarian crisis" along our southwest border.
Almost everyone now uses that phrase at every possible opportunity. So what exactly are they talking about?
Some thoughts.
Almost everyone now uses that phrase at every possible opportunity. So what exactly are they talking about?
Some thoughts.
For many people, the humanitarian crisis at the southwest border is literally what they've been seeing along the border:
Kids in cages
Overcrowded USBP cells
Families being jailed
Families being separated
Families sleeping under a bridge
Children dying in our care
Kids in cages
Overcrowded USBP cells
Families being jailed
Families being separated
Families sleeping under a bridge
Children dying in our care
While Stephen Miller--whose nativism and white nationalism form the basis of his simpatico relationship with Trump--may have enjoyed seeing pictures of suffering children and families, most people were repulsed.
vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/s…
vanityfair.com/news/2018/06/s…
For others, the humanitarian crisis is the unfathomable level of violence with impunity and economic and food insecurity in our region that is forcing people to leave their homes in search of safety, food, shelter--a future for themselves and their children.
On the threats that many women in Honduras face today, everyone needs to read this piece by @SLNazario, understanding that it deserves a flashing trigger warning. nytimes.com/interactive/20…
On the ways in which climate change and environmental degradation are making an already difficult life effectively unlivable for many people in the Western Highlands of Guatemala, this piece by @JonathanBlitzer floored me. newyorker.com/news/dispatch/…
Finally, the Trump admin always pairs the phrase "humanitarian crisis" with "national security." You'll notice Trump's remarks in February and March never actually mention any humanitarian crisis. Head fake.
February: whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…
March: whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…
February: whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…
March: whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…
In January's Oval Office address he DID use the phrase "humanitarian crisis," but it was in service to the same racist, fearmongering tropes he's been peddling for 3+ years. npr.org/2019/01/08/683…
The point is, let's be more precise about what we're talking about and let's demand more from policymakers, journalists, and others who use the phrase "humanitarian crisis" without articulating what exactly it is that they are talking about.
Because if you mean the humanitarian crisis unfolding in the streets of San Pedro Sula, where women are mutilated and killed with no meaningful opportunity for protection or security, you can't believe that turning people away from our border is an acceptable response.
If you believe the humanitarian crisis is evident in the cries of children separated from their parents at the border, you can't possibly think the Orwellian notion of "binary choice" is somehow a more moderate and reasonable policy solution.
