Stand Up. Speak Up.

Several years ago, my sister and I visited the National Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D. C. There was an exhibit in the basement which I still think about quite often. It was an entire floor devoted to the question, "How could this have been allowed to happen?" It was a study of the mechanics of rounding up "the other". There were filmed interviews, photos, and recorded testimony. It was extremely powerful. It was sit down on a bench and weep powerful.

There was an interview with a woman, who watched the inhabitants of her village standing in the town square. Jews were taken and loaded into trucks, while citizens watched. One man spoke up. He was threatened. No one else did. She described how it felt to watch her father, whom she loved and respected so much, pushed into a truck. She described how it felt to have only one person defend their family, to make eye contact with villagers, and to feel their indifference.

There was an exhibit which showed card catalog files. One civil servant changed thousands of cards, so that the names were not singled out as Jewish. He did this at the risk of his own safety, and preserved countless lives.

So, now we are thinking that it is a good idea to make a record of the migrants, and refugees that we've disallowed. We're going to DNA test them. Since record keeping in regards to children taken from parents was shoddy, at best, the testing is going to "benefit" the families. And, there will be a database set up, so that criminality can be detected. Hasn't this happened before? Why is it that this is being allowed again? Apparently several European countries have tried the same tact. This practice is wrong. The fact that the United States government is even discussing a migrant DNA database is shameful. It should be a human rights violation. 

Please speak out. People who come here are escaping trauma and conflict in their own countries. They are just trying to get a better life for themselves and their families. In many cases, leaving their homeland is a matter of safety. I, personally, will not allow it. I will write to my representatives until there is no more ink. And, I do it in honor of the woman on the recording. No one else should have to experience what she did. Ever. Someone has to say something.