Returned Peace Corps volunteers, like me and many others, are
being asked by FEMA to organize and help out with vaccination efforts here at
home.
With Joe Biden going full speed ahead to right
the wrongs inflicted by Donald Trump, by actually making America great again,
doesn’t Trump’s MAGA slogan now apply to him? Post-Trump Stress-Disorder
is really a thing, from which I and many others are slowly recovering.
I was only back from W Va. for 2 days before the nearby
capitol (only a few blocks away) was again under lockdown after a Capitol
Police officer was killed, another injured, and the suspect shot dead. This is still
part of the legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency and his call to his followers to
overturn the recent election results.
Another part of the Trump legacy is gun proliferation.
With so many guns in circulation, any one of us could be killed at random
at any time. Recent gun rampages have shown this to be true. Not only should
high-capacity firearms be banned for civilian use, but all gun ownership needs
to be drastically curtailed. Gun buybacks are a way to start. The odds of a
firearm in civilian hands being actually protective are vanishingly small compared
to becoming lethal instead to the owner or innocent civilians.
The recent Atlanta
shooting and several others since once again
underscore the need for drastically reducing the number of guns in circulation,
preferably limiting them to military and law enforcement, something not likely
to happen in my lifetime. Meanwhile, for young men like the Atlanta shooter,
whose surges of testosterone probably help fuel both their sex and violent
urges, may find temporary relief in massage parlors and brothels, such as the
one the shooter attacked. A mass shooter in Canada not so long ago said his
motivation came from frustrations and feelings of rejection due to his status as
an infel, that is, an involuntary celibate. Sorry guys, none of us can
bend others to our will and killing them is not the best way to do it. If the
Atlanta shooter is lucky, he will get only life in prison. And if he had not
had a gun so readily available, the 8 people he killed would now be still alive.
Sources close to Donald Trump indicate that
despite multiple investigations, it will be hard to prove any charges against
him because he has always been super careful to protect himself by leaving no
fingerprints. He doesn’t use email, doesn’t even use pen and paper, and when he
gives orders, does so obliquely, so that his underlings understand what he
wants without having it spelled out, much like a mafia boss—“Just take care of
it; you know what to do.” Apparently, that’s how he’s always operated.
Is Trump’s star
now actually fading, or is that just my wishful thinking? Since he never had
enjoyed majority voter support, it’s unlikely he can ever garner it in the
future. Now his main task is avoiding personal legal and financial trouble.
AP, Trump's Mar-a-Lago partially closed due to COVID outbreak
https://www.yahoo.com/news/trumps-mar-lago-partially-closed-211803282.html
Republicans hang tight on immigration,
opposing even the “Dream” Act, which some had previously publicly supported. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/18/us-house-immigration-bill-dreamers-citizenship
GOP leadership urging 'no' vote on Dream Act to protect young immigrants
from deportation
Why are Republicans being so obstructionist now, even on
measures they might otherwise favor? If young “dreamers” residing in their
state asked them for a “yes” vote, what reasons would they give for saying “no”?
Are they just voting “no” simply to deny Democrats “bi-partisanship?” Or to
flout their anti-immigrant credentials? Probably the real reason is Trump’s
threat to run primary candidates against them.
We’ll see next year how that plays out with voters. Meanwhile, the Biden
administration must continue to go full speed ahead while it still can. Remember
how Republicans blocked Obama at every turn?
Republicans
have been twisting facts, accusing Democrats of “rolling out the welcome mat”
for migrants clustered at the southern border. Migrants barred by Trump were
just waiting for him to be gone before pressing forward and trying to cross
over. Trump’s obstructionist policies are what created the backlog, but, of
course, politicians will invent a “spin” favoring their own position. The fact
remains that migrants will press to enter the United States regardless of who
is in charge, just as Africans will try by any means to enter the European
Union. Perceived economic opportunity is the main draw and, in the case of the
US, there is an additional “pull” factor based on a longstanding almost
mystical belief in the “promised land.” It’s like the dream some of our own
fellow citizens have about finding true love, winning the lottery, or being
“saved,” and experiencing smooth sailing forever after.
More than
14,000 children are in US custody as of March 18, 2021 [probably the majority
of
them teenagers]. https://thehill.com/latino/543929-more-than-14000-migrant-children-in-us-custody-official
However,
smugglers and parents have reacted quickly to Biden administration news that unaccompanied
minors will be quickly released to relatives in the US or to foster parents,
leading to several toddlers being found wandering in wild lands near the
border. Ecuadoran sisters ages 3 and 5 were actually observed being dropped
over a border fence.
As long as the border had remained totally
closed and no one was allowed to pass, that was understood. Now that some
waiting young people and maybe a few others have crossed over, it has created a
frenzy. Sec. Mayorkas is Cuban and speaks Spanish, so maybe he can say
the right thing, allowing bona fide asylum seekers to pass to have their day in
court without encouraging others. As said before, it’s very hard to
thread that needle.
According to Fox News, 4 "terrorist"
migrants have been picked up at the border since Oct. but they did
not actually sneak through an “open border,” rather, they were caught! If they
had not been screened at the border, they might have come in surreptitiously by
sea, under a tunnel, or over the wall. The border is still not open, as Sec.
Mayorkas has said.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/four-migrants-terror-watch-list-border
CBP
Asks for Planes to Fly Migrants to States Near Canadian Border: Report FLY UP NORTH, March 19, 2021, https://www.thedailybeast.com/cbp-asks-for-planes-to-fly-migrants-to-states-near-canadian-border-report-says [CBP is Customs & Border Patrol]
If migrants are sent near the Canadian border,
I doubt Canada would want them to try to cross over. It's a problem
without a good solution. So many people around the world have the idea
that if only they can get to the US, their problems will then be
solved. Young folks especially had that notion even during 2000-2003 when
I was in the Peace Corps in Honduras; I mention as much in my Honduras book.
I've also encountered it in other parts of Latin America and of the world,
even in places like Eastern Europe, Africa, or even Thailand, where it isn't
really feasible for folks to get here, so there it remains only a
distant dream. Maybe things will be better for some if they do manage to
cross over, or maybe not. Most will be deported. Others will struggle with
adapting and learning the language. Many others will experience
discrimination. Most will work in low-paid jobs. I've always tried to
discourage them from trying to come to begin with, stressing
the dangers and risks of deportation. I've met so many young men missing
limbs after falling under the wheels of Mexican trains. Still, if they can manage
to get here in one piece, many will embark on what they consider an adventure
and a rite of passage. They will be able to send money back to
their families. They may be able to buy a car, something impossible back
home. Our country does need more able-bodied working age immigrants though
waiting for an immigrant visa is not feasible because someone would almost
reach retirement age before it arrived, if ever. In the Peace Corps, we tried
to help people make the best of where they were living already, but, of course,
with the pandemic, the Peace Corps has almost come to a halt. I don't have a
good answer because ideas are stronger than facts.
Joe Biden needs a clearer message and a firmer hand to tackle a
mounting border crisis. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxwLswMrfRmLfWTqgQMNRJTnncxH
Mysterious new system at border keeps migrants guessing https://apnews.com/article/mysterious-new-system-us-mexico-border-immigration-1cbd87dabb52664295e50683888eb578
The
Biden administration has learned the hard way that it needs to clarify its
message both for the migrants and for the American public. Granted, that they
inherited a mess, but they haven’t improved the situation much, only for a
lucky few. This is
not a good time for Biden to visit the border as that will only increase the
mania.
As for most youngsters
traveling without adults, I don't know what more to say--these kids start out
with an adventurous spirit and sense of youthful independence. Yes, gangs,
poverty, and crime are "push" factors, but so is the tradition and
hope of seeking a "better life." The same is happening among Africans
fleeing to Europe, though the ethos has been longer lasting and stronger on
this side of the globe. If the Peace Corps can come back, that will help
somewhat, as we used to try to organize and incentivize especially young people
to improve their local circumstances, keeping them connected and involved
locally and keep them feeling hopeful about achieving something where they are
already. But it was hard work to keep them motivated and certainly a challenge to
assure that they would carry on after we had left. Their own government was no
help. I've tried to continue that incentivizing mission during my annual
volunteer visits to Honduras, but as just one person spending time there only briefly.
Still, Honduras is a relatively small country, 10 million people in 2021, so
it's easier to have an impact there, especially as I've returned every year since leaving
Peace
Corps at the end of 2003. I do know quite a few people there already and when
participating in the Operation Smile or another medical brigade, it’s not
unusual for me to run into patients who still know me by name ("Doctora Bárbara"). It
helps that I speak unaccented Spanish (so I'm told) and am not always
identified as a "gringa." I've been asked to bring a
child-sized wheelchair to Honduras "next time." I try to talk folks
out of leaving for the US, but my miniscule presence will hardly affect the
northward trek.
From Central America, few Costa Ricans try to leave
their small country (small both geographically and population-wise). But
other Central Americans do try to go to Costa Rica, especially from Nicaragua.
Because of the canal and its position as a banking hub, Panama is also
relatively prosperous and the source of few migrants.
Hundreds
of migrants set out from Honduras, dreaming of US,
https://apnews.com/article/guatemala-honduras-latin-america-united-states-1dd5b1c6f4b75f0c3eb5ffcef024f70a
State Dept Appoints
Career Sr. Diplomat Ricardo Zúñiga as Special Envoy for the Northern Triangle
https://diplopundit.net/2021/03/26/statedept-appoints-career-sr-diplomat-ricardo-zuniga-as-special-envoy-for-the-northern-triangle/
[Zúñiga is Honduran by birth, helpful for
his efforts to boost the fortunes of triangle countries and slow northward
migration.]
‘What is
happening is inhumane’: 100,000 Cubans in limbo as US visa backlog grows
Honduran president's brother sentenced to life in prison in U.S.
for drug trafficking | Reuters,
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-honduras-corruption-idUSKBN2BM39V
Salvadoran
Olympic-hopeful surfer Katherine Díaz,
age 22, was killed by lightning while out on the water. Being struck by
lightning is a metaphor for a very, very unlikely event, such as what killed Díaz. I cannot forget almost being struck
by lightning myself while in the Peace Corps in Honduras. It was a bolt so
close that it singed my hair and permanently damaged the hearing in my right
hear with its thunderclap. My balance has never been the same since.
Xia
Baolong, the head of the Chinese Communist Party's Hong Kong and
Macau Affair Office, stressed in a recent speech that all three branches of the
Hong Kong government -- executive, legislative, and judicial -- must be run by
"patriots." He also called for implementing "patriotism" in
Hong Kong's official requirement for public servants—that is, patriotism as he
and the Chinese Communist Party define it. Is this the agreement Britain signed
with China when it turned Hong Kong over? Not really!
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