family separations – R&R – Reachout and Rebuild

Baby Jesus in a Cage

David Posnett — Wed, 25 Dec 2019 01:00:43 +0000

Church Puts Baby Jesus In Cage For Immigration-Themed Nativity Scene

St. Susanna’s Rev. Steve Josoma said the Massachusetts church’s Nativity display puts a “mirror image of the world into the stable.”

from the Huff Post

A Massachusetts church is mixing faith and politics in its nativity display this year ― placing a baby Jesus figurine in a cage to provoke conversations about America’s immigration policies.

Leaders at St. Susanna Parish, a Roman Catholic congregation in Dedham, hope the display puts a Christian perspective on controversial actions toward migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border and around the world.

“We wanted to put a mirror image of the world into the stable,” parish priest Steve Josoma told HuffPost.

The traditional Nativity scene that Christians have become familiar with over the centuries features shepherds, wise men and animals huddled around Jesus, Mary and Joseph in a stable. The classic image demonstrates how people from different countries and social classes can come together in a “perfect symbol of peace on Earth,” Josoma said.

St. Susanna’s Nativity scene shows what happens when people find ways to build walls between each other, the priest said. The scene shows baby Jesus in a black metal cage, separated from Mary and Joseph. The image of Jesus behind bars is meant to represent the plight of migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border because of White House policies.

In St. Susanna Parish’s Nativity display, Jesus is placed in a metal cage while the wise men are blocked by a fence.

To the right of the scene, a fence creates a barrier between the Holy Family and the three wise men. A sign attached to the fence reads, “Deportation.” Josoma said the wall is supposed to represent the southern border and other physical and metaphorical walls that Western countries have created to keep refugees out.

Above the stable, a blue banner reads, “Peace on Earth?”

Josoma said that the sign is meant to get viewers to ask, “Is this what peace on Earth looks like?” St. Susanna’s alternative Nativity scene is the brainchild of the parish’s Pax Christi committee, a group that does outreach and education on nonviolence and peacemaking. Josoma said the Nativity scene is an “affirmation of gospel values” and not just an attack on President Donald Trump and his administration. But, he added, some of the administration’s policies are “at odds” with the message of the gospel. “Soldiers firing tear gas at the border doesn’t seem to be the way to go to bring out healing and reconciliation,” the priest said.

The display, which was set up over the weekend in time for the first Sunday of Advent, has sparked criticism from some corners. Fox News host Sean Hannity discussed the display on his show Wednesday and claimed on Twitter that Christmas is “under siege.”

ON #HANNITY NOW: CHRISTMAS IS UNDER SIEGE. A Massachusetts church puts baby Jesus in a cage to make a political statement. Watch NOW!

— Sean Hannity (@seanhannity) December 6, 2018

Josoma said that after the “Hannity” segment, he got calls from around the country accusing him of blasphemy and claiming that the parish’s take on the Nativity is inappropriate. Some of his own church members weren’t enthusiastic about the display, he said, and two people emailed him indicating that they’d decided to leave St. Susanna because of the Nativity scene.

The priest said he agreed that a cage and a wall have no place in the Nativity scene ― in fact, he says, that was his point.

“People think children in diapers getting tear-gassed is OK, but this [Nativity scene] is totally sacrilegious?” Josoma said in response to the criticism. “All we’re trying to do is put the two together.”

“What you do to somebody else is what you do to Christ,” he said, referring to a Bible passage that claims those who welcome strangers are in effect welcoming Christ himself. “You can’t separate the two.”

St. Susanna Parish’s alternative Christmas display is meant to spark conversations about the biblical call to welcome the stranger.

St. Susanna’s activism around refugees isn’t limited to its Nativity scene. Two years ago, the parish started working with Catholic Charities and two other local Christian congregations to sponsor a refugee family seeking to resettle in the U.S.

In September, the parishioners welcomed a family from Burundi to the community. Josoma said 75 volunteers are helping the family navigate their first few months in America ― doing things such as helping the family register children for school, go to doctors’ appointments and practice English.

The experience has been a “blessing” to his parish, Josoma said, and has helped his congregants feel like they can make at least a small difference in the global refugee crisis. Many volunteers are now eager to welcome a second refugee family to the neighborhood, he said.

“We don’t pretend to have the answers, but we believe working together in small communities, we can begin to address the problem,” Josoma said.

Let’s not forget the kids at the border!

The Children in the Camps

David Posnett — Tue, 16 Jul 2019 14:12:19 +0000

Submitted by Shoshana Hershkowitz

Picture drawn by child in our border camps.

I am haunted every day by the images of children in the camps. I am haunted by the pictures they draw, which bear a frightening resemblance to those in the book, “I Never Saw Another Butterfly”, drawn by the 15,000 children who were imprisoned in Terezin before dying at Auschwitz.

Mostly, I’m haunted as I go through the tasks of everyday life with my own children. As I put lotion on my son’s mosquito bites, as I go and lay down with my daughter when she wakes up from a nightmare. As I take them to swim lessons, to play dates, as they play on the street. I’m haunted by the normalcy of our lives in these abnormal times, where #NeverAgain is now.

My mind is constantly in conflict. On the outside, I am trying to give my children the life they and all children deserve, one where they feel loved, secure, and joyful. When they cry, I hold them. When they want to talk about their feelings, I listen. When they want me to notice what they’re doing, I enthusiastically cheer them on. It’s what parents do. And as I do it, I think about those kids in the camps. Those kids who haven’t had a shower, a change of clothes, a warm blanket, a hug, an adult to care for them. And as I look at my own children, I am haunted. There are tears in my eyes as I hug them, listen to them, put band aids on their scrapes, because I know that this crime against humanity is happening in my country, and here I am, relatively unscathed, privileged.

I don’t know how we end this madness. I write, I call, I protest, I donate, I organize, I vote. It doesn’t feel like enough. It’s not enough. I think we need sustained collective outrage, the kind that ended the Vietnam War, the kind that happened during the Civil Rights Movement. Those families deserve our collective outrage. Our democratic experiment requires that outrage. It’s failing, and I think we are failing it.

I think this will only end when each of us who still has a conscience that transcends our political affiliations tunes in to that twinge we’re feeling when we see those pictures. Too often, we push those feelings down, shove the discomfort away to focus on what’s in front of us. Don’t ignore the twinge. Don’t look away. Be haunted. That’s your humanity speaking to you. It’s asking you to care and to act. Because #NeverAgain is now.

Shoshana Hershkowitz

President’s Day Protest

David Posnett — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 00:57:35 +0000

Today there were protests all across America.

Donald Trump declared a #FakeNationalEmergency, an illegal power grab from an unhinged man to push his racist, dangerous policies and his vanity wall. After his announcement of a “national emergency” Donald left for Mar-a-lago to play some golf.

Together with about 50 protesters, I attended a rally in Bridgehampton in the rain. Many cars passing by, honked their horns and gave us a thumbs up sign.

Take a look at this great video https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=747733232276274

Here are some pictures:

First Hand Report on Immigrant Families in Tijuana

David Posnett — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 01:55:40 +0000

Friendship Park, along the United States-Mexico border in San Diego–Tijuana

By Lisa Votino Tarrant (Southampton)

Down in Tijuana, I befriended a 5yo little girl whose family was awaiting turning themselves over to US authorities to claim asylum. All I kept thinking was how much her and Lily would be besties. Her parents and little brother slowly grew to trust me. Me and my buddy played for hours. I waited with them every morning to see if their number was called. I was both happy and sad when it wasn’t. When my little buddy saw me she ran and hugged me as tight as she could. She was mischievous and probably one of the cutest kids I have ever seen.

Then one day their number was called. My little buddy was inconsolable and honestly if I didn’t have to convince her that this was good, I would have been a mess. I finally calmed her down and told her I needed to draw a picture on her back so she could remember me. What I was actually doing was writing her parents info and phone numbers as well as their contact in the US. She asked if I could draw a heart on her hand, so I did. And then she jumped in my arms and in English whispered in my ear “I love you Lisa.” Until that moment I had no idea she spoke any english and turned to look at her mom and saw tears in her eyes. I knew she taught her how to say it to me and we will share a bond for the rest of our lives because of that one beautiful moment. I stayed with them until they were loaded into the van to be taken away. My buddy held my hand through the fence until she had to be loaded in. Her mom ran over and asked if I would find my little buddy and help her if her and her husband are deported. All I could say was I would do my best and I loved them.

ICE has a locator website. I have the entire families’ info. You cannot look up minors under 18. I have yet to find the mother or father. As of tonight, I have no way to know where they are, if they are together or separated or how any of them are doing. It keeps me up at night. When I watch Lily fall asleep, I imagine my little buddy’s mama doing the same. We are both mothers that love our children. We both want our children to be happy and safe. I have to imagine it, because thinking of it being any other way has left me vomiting. I hope one day I find them and my little buddy and Lily can have a beach day or a city trip or anything as long as they are happy and safe.

Originally posted on FB on February 11 at 9:35 PM

Trump (and Zeldin) are creating MS13’s across America

David Posnett — Thu, 07 Feb 2019 16:22:08 +0000

On Feb 5, 2019, at 7:36 AM, Judith Hope wrote:

“It’s all about spotlighting MS13 to inflame support for his Wall. It needs to be said (often & loudly) that gang violence is largely a result of young people who have been separated from parental influence. Trump and the GOP have separated thousands of young children & youths from their families at the border, and LOST TRACK of them! They are responsible for creating future MS13’s all over America.”

I don’t know many gang members! But I know of one example (hear say info). They are a set of brothers. The younger one was born prematurely because his mother was beat up by his dad when she was 26 weeks pregnant. The mother later died of unknown causes and the father was essentially absentee, siring many children from different partners. He was a wife beater. The 2 boys (both born in this country) were picked up by the Latin Kings and taught how to become car thiefs. They both spent time in jail. They can be violent. They never had parents…

Relevant posts:

1) From Perry Gershon’s FB page:

https://www.facebook.com/perry4congress/posts/355618388366690?__tn__=-R

2) From the Dailly Beast: Mother and daughter separated at the border

3) Livestream congressional hearing “Examining the Failures of the Trump Administration’s Inhumane Family Separation Policy” – TODAY

4) Feb 10, Sunday at 12:30: Where Are The Children Protest Rally – Rt 110 and Jericho Tpke Huntington