We Feel Safe Now

As I went about my morning routine, I poured myself a nice cup of hot black coffee and listened to the news.  My heart sank with an article about the children coming across our southern border into Texas from places like El Salvador and Honduras. There has been tens of thousands of them, hundreds every day; all of them unaccompanied.  For me, it’s not the numbers; it’s what the children said when they arrived.  That is what got to me. 

These children have crossed several borders.  They have passed through various Central American countries and all of Mexico.  They found no relief, compassion or safety.  These children have been rejected by their parents, passed along by their neighbors, ignored by their countries.  They have been harassed, reviled and neglected.  How could they allow their children to be treated so? What the hell is wrong with the Mexican people?  What the hell is wrong with the Guatemalan people?  What the hell is wrong with the people of Belize and El Salvador and Honduras and Nicaragua?  Those countries, their Governments and their people should be ashamed of themselves!  There is no excuse!

These children are now becoming political footballs here in the United States.  They are being warehoused by our government like prisoners on military installations as the debate rages on.  My hope is that as a nation, as a people, we will set a better example than our neighbors have!  The moment these children arrive to the United States they walk straight up to Border Patrol officers, not out of fear but in hope for a better life.  They are given water and food.  They are met with compassion.  They are received with open arms and hearts and the children say, “We feel safe now.”