Open Your Hearts To The Children Vigil at EDC (10-12-14) : Kathy O'Leary

Kathy O'Leary of Pax Christi NJ (formerly a board member of First Friends of NJ & NY) speaks about the hardship of having to move to a different town in order to obtain the proper educational opportunity for her son; & reflects on the blessing of being afforded the right to mobility (& the right to flee persecution) whereas those who languish in immigration detention are not afforded that right.

Kathy spoke at the "Open Your Hearts To The Children" Children's Vigil To Support Human Rights - First Friends of NJ & NY's 16th Annual Vigil at The ‪#‎ElizabethDetentionCenter‬ (625 Evans St., Elizabeth, NJ, 07201 - off Dowd Ave.)

https://www.facebook.com/events/1505707183004888

The Annual Vigil is in recognition of the ‪#‎dignity‬ of each person, but especially the ‪#‎unaccompaniedmigrantchildren‬, as we stand in solidarity with our ‪#‎immigrant‬ sisters and brothers as a powerful collective voice seeking justice for those languishing in detention.

The number of unaccompanied migrant children has surged this year. Many of these children are fleeing from ‪#‎organizedcrime‬ and ‪#‎gangviolence‬, ‪#‎insecurity‬ and ‪#‎poverty‬ in their home countries. We want to ensure that the rights of children are protected, in accordance with U.S. obligations under ‪#‎internationallaw‬.

Every day, more and more children are seeking refuge in the ‪#‎UnitedStates‬. Desperate parents are sending their children to make the journey to the ‪#‎border‬ alone, and once they get here they are not wanted. The journey for anyone, let alone a child, can be extremely traumatic and the U.S. ‪#‎government‬ compounds the suffering of these children by placing them in detention under ‪#‎inhumane‬ conditions.

These children need protection, not detention!!!

First Friends is accepting ‪#‎donations‬ of toiletries, gift cards, and materials for our Stamp Out Despair Campaign

For More information or to co-sponsor contact: First Friends at 908-965-0455 / interns@firstfriendsnjny.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgOev-0Y6B4