Children are dying at the border in squalid conditions. Do you care? Does anyone? Over the past few months, I have heard people say that is to be expected and it’s the parents fault for dragging their kids hundreds of miles through the desert. People accuse the immigrants of bringing back measles to the US, despite the fact that the CDC traced most of the cases to American citizens returning from travel to Israel or Europe.
Over the past few months, I have heard immigrants being called dirty, vermins, invaders, and many other foul names. Others cry to build the wall to keep the “illegals” out. Yet, they ignore the very US law that allows foreigners to come to the US to seek asylum. While many may have entered the US illegally, American law actually allows them to remain in the country while their cases are being processed. Despite this, many are taking steps to send them back.
People say that those entering the US are bringing kids to provide them cover, and they are not really the parents of the kids. Is that why we are not allowing them proper nutrition or hygiene? Some say the kids are victims of sex traffickers who are trying to bring them into the country for profit. If that were true, isn’t that all the more reason to help these kids?
Yesterday, the media showed images of a father and his very young daughter, dead trying to come to safety in the US. Most of the immigrants are escaping wars, gang violence, and abject poverty in order to make a better life for their kids. Wouldn’t you? Or, as a parent, you would keep your child in danger? So, no these parents didn’t “drag” their children along a horrifying journey just to make political statements; they did it to reach safety and make a better life for their children. And while I write this, I know someone will call me out asking how I know the thoughts of immigrants. I know because NJ is a safe harbor state and I’ve seen some of them in my practice. I know they are not “dirty” or “infested”. The parents that I’ve seen love their children as much as anyone of any other color or nationality. They are willing to work humiliating jobs for little pay so their kids can have a better life than they did. Would you do that for your child?
Some people say having open borders will allow in terrorists. Treating immigrants as humans is not the same as advocating for open borders. True, we cannot allow everyone in the world into the US, but this gives us no excuse to violate the human rights of those who have made it. Building a wall to keep everyone out is against what America stands for. Rather, we need to have better procedures in place. We need reform, not human rights violations. We need humans to be humane again.
While terrorism is a very real concern, children dying in the custody of immigration officials does nothing to stop it. Putting children in cages and causing them to suffer is not going to stop those who wish to harm America. Rather, it may create a whole new generation of US haters. Also, human trafficking is a problem that is often under-estimated. If indeed some of these immigrants are the victims of these traffickers, wouldn’t it be better to identify and stop them?
As a doctor, I care for all people. I don’t care where someone comes from or what is the color of their skin. If they need medical care, I am going to help them. This is not happening at the border. People who need medical attention are not receiving it and as a physician, this is appalling to me.
As a human being, I have a higher responsibility to help other human beings. Children should not be dying in the custody of the authorities. They should have clean facilities and proper nutrition. They should not be forcefully separated from their parents. Those who traveled hundreds of miles in horrible conditions should not be made to suffer even more. Yes, they should enter the US legally. However, they are still humans just like all of us. And the least we can do is remember their humanity. And humans don’t treat other humans the way they are being treated.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2019 Linda Girgis, MD, FAAFP
Dr. Linda, I understand your concern but I must ask what is your specific solution to fix the issue.Do you have a fence around your house and do you have locks are your doors? Do you lock your car when you go anywhere? I think you need to go down to the wall and see what is going on in person and maybe volunteer. Don’t get your information from the National News they have an agenda. If you say ‘cages’ people get upset but if you say ‘confinement areas’ people are not upset. The logistics to treat all the people coming across is phenomenal. Did you personally hear people called all those names? I suspect not. We have many people coming in that are not being checked for diseases like Ebola and that arrive here sick. Are you saying that the medical issues they are experiencing, they are getting in the United States? As a first generation American, I understand completely about immigrants coming into this country. My father waited on Ellis Island until it was shown he and his family had no communicable diseases.
Depravity in some form has always had its popular support if the leader promises something offsetting in return. People probably learn that as kids when we designate somebody at “IT”, first in a friendly game of tag, later in the not so friendly high school cliques that define the worthiness and superiority of some individuals over others. We graduate and create new stratifications, from peerage in Europe to castes in India. Some of us go on to punch upwards, some never stop punching downwards. That seems to be a fairly consistent process as one civilization turns over to another through history. America has had its George Washington’s and it George Wallace’s, each commanding its majority in its time and place.
We also have a means of tempering this, if not eliminating it. There has not been an international war in Europe for 70 years because new norms were accepted. We have a UN where hateful contries can have the illusion of importance without causing any real trouble. In America we have elections every two years and satisfaction or dis-satisfaction changes the composition and direction of our elected leaders.
For all the turmoil, I could not be prouder to be a physician than I am right now. I know of no physician who will begrudge a patient not only expert care but resources for shelter if homeless. Our hospital has a Sister who carries meal vouchers for our cafeteria. When I need the Spanish translator I never ask for a green card and know of nobody who does. I was joking with my Rabbi this week about common tattoos including swastickas that appear in the office. The medical care just proceeds. If anyone looks like they may do better in the ER than in my exam room, I don’t even have to look up the extension. And even those who support some of these less than kind public policies are often the first to volunteer and contribute to a medical mission to alleviate the effects of a natural disaster someplace else in the world. There is some commonality to being an American physician, one that elevates what is expected of us and a desire on our part to make sure that the dignity of medicine is never compromised.