We Are Here To Stay

We Are Here To Stay

YA nonfiction
"The book you are holding was supposed to be published in 2017
with full color portraits of the young people interviewed for it.
Since that time, executive action regarding DACA recipients has been
in flux, making it risky for many of the participants to reveal their
identities. Their images, names, and other identifiers have been
withheld to protect the inspiring people who share their stories in
these pages."
Flip through Susan Kuklin's We Are Here To Stay: Voices of
Undocumented Young Adults. You'll see something jarring. Many pages
are blank except for slim black frames and sometimes a quote. That is
where pictures of the narrators of the stories would have been.
However, thanks to a certain president [hint; rhymes with dump] they
live in danger of being deported from the country they have lived in
most of their lives to nations they may not even remember, let alone
be able to navigate.
Fortunately we can read their stories. Nine young people
courageously share their precarious experiences in the United States.
Some are also able to recount their former lives and passages.
"When I say good morning to my parents, I'm never sure that I
will be able to say good night to them. I'm afraid to go to school,
because it could be the last time I see them for awhile...It happened
to some of my friends--their parents get deported and they are left
alone."
Can you imagine having that fear constantly hanging over you as
a teen?G (from Mexico) arrived in America at the age of five. His
parents wanted to escape violence and give their children a better
life. At the time he wrote those words he was an honor student and
Eagle scout. His father had held down a responsible job (and paid
taxes) for twelve years. His dad had to drive to work. Any day a
profiling police officer could pull him over and, discovering he had
no papers, start the deportation process.
"...We had to give up whatever valuables we had; otherwise they
were going to kill us. We didn't have jewelery, but my sister had
some money. I was scared because we'd heard from the other people who
tried to cross about the pandillas who rape girls and sometimes kill
men."
Innocent girls should not have to experience that level of
terror. Evil humans aren't the only peril they face. When the United
States decided to close its border with Mexico they walled and
militarized the safer border spots, intentionally driving refugees
including unaccompanied children to have to brave the deadliest areas
where they repeatedly encounter corpses, skeletons, and crosses.
"...In the last twelve years, between 133 and 247 bodies have
been found each year. And imagine, that's only the people who were
found."
But enough of this review. Get the poignant and powerful volume
from your local library or bookstore. Read these young people's
stories and share them with your friends and family members. There is
an excellent list of books, films, and websites for all who want to
learn more.
On a purrrsonal note, I hope you had a good weekend. I did.
Halloween was actually awesome! I'd decided that since it would be a
quieter, less social Halloween it would be a deliciously decadent
one. I started the night before by putting my more scholarly books
aside in favor of thrillers. In the morning instead of cereal or
toast I cooked a package of cherry filled frosting decorated crescent
rolls. I ate half. Then I had the rest for lunch. Deliciously
decadent. When I did my walking I noticed it was actually warm and
sunny. So I spent the afternoon reading outside and eating candy.
Delightfully decadent. I continued the reading party inside. I gave
candy to the trick or treaters. Eugene came back from hunting. I
finished my devilishly decadent day with a nice before bed beer.
Sunday Eugene and I went for a ride. He got subs for lunch so I
didn't have to cook supper. Today is raw and blustery. I saw snow
when I took my walk. (Jules)
Forget candy. My treat or treat was tuna. (Tobago)
A great big shout out goes out to the goblins, large and small, who
managed to celebrate this pandemic Halloween.
Tobago and Jules Hathaway



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