Posts Tagged ‘DREAMers’

In These Waiting Rooms of History – The DREAM of U

// October 24th, 2008 // 2 Comments » // Discourse Studies, Immigration, Racism

Dream Act Now

i wait for you in this caged room
we’ve never met and yet
[you feel familiar
i feel like i've known you before]

shadows mill past me
moving slowly, drudging and digging
futures ploughed within these timeless walls
you see me waiting and yet
[i can’t get to you,
i feel stationary much like before]

what is this feeling
fluid and fragmented
but immobile by design
so close and yet so far
[you slip away again
i feel betrayed, more than before]

i tell myself that i believe in you
i tell others to understand you
[i truly do believe in you,
in the DREAMs of you]

-DreamActivist

October 24, 2007. That is the date of the stamp on our Dreams Deferred.

Categorically denied even before debate, subjected to another indefinite wait, deferred dreams have a crippling effect on morales and ambitions.

20 million — that is the estimated number of us all over the world. Picked and tucked into the battle for our lives–Sorry, you don’t get guns and armor. Thrown into the deep end of the ocean so swim or you will drown–Sorry, no swimming lessons available. Underprivileged and underclass–sorry, no financial aid available. Illegal in our homes, legal away from our land–sorry no relief available.

Like the farmer that waits for the drought to end, like the mother that eagerly waits the birth of her child, like the student that cannot wait to turn 18 and gain ‘freedom,’ like the many American people who can see no further than ‘change’ with a new Administration, we too have been in for a long haul, a long stay in these waiting rooms of history

To DREAMers across America — I know this wait is the hardest time. I know life in limbo is harsh like life in a prison, only you have committed no crime. But remember, we have the power to make this wait productive, to take this time as a test–a character-building exercise– and to end this wait. Take each defeat as a learning lesson, as a challenge to do better and get better till you beat every test.

Do not despair. Do not be afraid. Do not give up. Stay true to your DREAMs.

More DREAM Act students face deportation

// April 24th, 2008 // No Comments » // Immigration

For every Juan Gomez, Tope Awe and Maria Gonzalez, we have countless other nameless and faceless DREAM Act students facing deportation to a foreign land and life. Their stories, our stories, deserve to be documented.

Mario Munoz (28), came to the United States when he was 9 years old and has lived in the San Francisco Bay Area most of his life. But on March 19, he was put into detention together with his family and they are now awaiting deportation to Colombia.

“I knew he was illegal when I told him that I loved him so much that I could marry him tomorrow. Then he told me… and I would have married him then. I’m sorry I didn’t,” said  Kelly Luce, his fiance.

Mario is currently being held at Hernando County jail and may be deported in under two weeks.

Then we have Anya Gorlova who has been living in the United States since she was six years old. Originally from Belarus, she was sent here LEGALLY by her grandparents to live with a relative since she lost both her parents at a young age. Anya was legally adopted when she was 12 and it is now that ICE has noticed something ‘wrong’ with her immigration papers filed back in 1996. Anya is now a senior in high school and aspires to be a teacher. But her dreams might be dashed soon if she is deported back to Belarus–a country she does not know.

The icing on the cake is the story of Lino Nakwa, who has been here legally since he was 12 years old back in 1992. Originally from Sudan, Lino was kidnapped, tortured, and watched his father die before he escaped to the United States and received refugee protection. Now, 16 years later, Homeland Security wants to deport him because he may pose a “national security” threat since Nakwa received “military-type” training. Lets hope that a federal review of his case stays this preposterous deportation proceeding since time is running out for Nakwa to be eligible under the DREAM Act.

Know other DREAMers facing deportation? Share with us.