Would You? By: Dr. Judi Bachay

Dear Mrs. X, You and I are both born in the United States. You told me that parents who cross the border with their children are selfish and irresponsible. Do you remember after childbirth that moment when you gazed at your perfect, tiny, beautiful newborn and a flood of love surged through your body? Was it so overpowering that you felt like a lioness? You committed from that minute on to protect your cub from any harm. Maternal love is like that, both powerful and universal. You try to be the best mother that you can to this child. We all do. What would you do if you could not feed this child because there was no food to be had? What would you do if your husband had been killed after torture because he defied the extortionists? What would you do if the gang members, complicit with the police tell you that you must pay them or give your 10 year old child to them so that he can have a career in the gang selling drugs and committing crimes? What would you do after they show up at his school in full view of the police and tell him that they will kill both his mother and himself if he does not submit? What would you do if he returned home after school beaten and bruised whimpering their demand? Would you? Risk the perilous journey through desert and river, carrying your child? Walk for miles with the threat of rape and violence? Ride a train stuffed with humans so hot it feels like an inferno? Would you suffer the humiliation at the border as you ask for protection? Would you? If you have the courage and strength born of a mother’s love, I think you might.

This post was originally published at "STU Karnes Project", a blog coordinated by Donna Nasimov. (https://stukarnes.wordpress.com)