Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Derechos Humanos. Mostrar todas las entradas
Mostrando las entradas con la etiqueta Derechos Humanos. Mostrar todas las entradas
miércoles, 13 de junio de 2012
Undocumented and Unafraid: Tam Tran, Cinthya Felix, and the Immigrant Youth Movement
www.undocumentedandunafraid.com
lunes, 11 de junio de 2012
Sin Documentos y Sin Miedo
Crecer, florecer y dar frutos es el destino de toda semilla que cae en tierra fértil.
Los jovenes indocumentados en su mayoría llegaron aquí siendo menores de edad. Hicieron de esta tierra "su tierra" y en ella encontraron un suelo fértil para sus sueños. Desafortunadamente, los estudiantes cayeron como semillas en tierra árida. Sus sueños fueron truncados al enfrentar la realidad de no poder tener licencia para manejar, permiso para trabajar, libertad para viajar, y tener que vivir con el miedo a ser deportados. Dentro de todas estas limitaciones persiguieron un sueño mayor: El de estudiar y graduarse, esperando que al final de sus estudios esta patria les iba a ofrecer la oportunidad de quedarse.
El libro "Undocumented and Unafraid" Sin Documentos y Sin Miedo narra la historia de Tam y Cinthya, graduadas de UCLA, quienes demostraron un gran compromiso por abrir las puertas de universidades para nuestra juventud indocumentada. Tam Tran incluso dio testimonio en el 2007 ante el congreso para que aprobaran el DREAM Act:
"Without the D.R.E.A.M. Act, I have no prospect of overcoming my state of immigration limbo; I’ll forever be a perpetual foreigner in a country where I’ve always considered myself an American."
http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/May2007/Tran070518.pdf
Lamentablemente, ellas murieron trágicamente en un accidente automovilístico en el 2010. Pero sus esfuerzos dieron paso a que los estudiantes indocumentados, amigos y seguidores, se organizaran para enfrentar esta realidad e iniciaron un movimiento estudiantil para lograr que las leyes amparen sus sueños.
El libro es una reseña de los estudiantes activistas, los niños y niñas indocumentados que crecieron y perdieron el miedo; quienes salieron de las sombras y tomaron las riendas y dirección de sus vidas. El esfuerzo colectivo en "Undocumented and Unafraid" lo convierte en un libro que inspira, transforma y empodera.
viernes, 19 de agosto de 2011
Secured Communities Programs - WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW!
As immigrants, we must learn to identify discrimination. The Secured Communities program of DHS does not permit local police officers to enforce federal immigration laws:
The below video is part of a training for law enforcement officials. "What Law Enforcement Needs to Know" YOU SHOULD KNOW:
- Stop a person to ask about immigration status.
- Take someone into custody to ask about immigration status.
- Make decisions based on a persons race, ethnicity, or ability to speak English.
The below video is part of a training for law enforcement officials. "What Law Enforcement Needs to Know" YOU SHOULD KNOW:
jueves, 30 de junio de 2011
Carta Abierta - ¡Sin Tapujos!
30 de junio de 1961
"¿Cuáles son los derechos de los escritores y de los artistas, revolucionarios o no revolucionarios? Dentro de la Revolución, todo; contra la Revolución, ningún derecho." -Fidel Castro Ruiz.
30 de Junio de 2011
Raul Castro, Presidente de Cuba
General Abelardo Colome Ibarra, Ministro del Interior de Cuba
Yoani Sanchez, fundadora de Generación Y
Compañeras y compañeros, hermanos Latinoamericanos todos:
Las palabras del Comandante Castro que arriba cito son parte de un discurso pronunciado hace 50 años, sin embargo esto no es cosa del pasado.
¡Esto es hoy!
Nuestra compañera bloguera, Yoani Sanchez de Generación Y ha sido invitada a la conferencia de BlogHer en San Diego, CA, para recibir el premio de Bloguera Activista Internacional, sin embargo no puede viajar sin el permiso que otorga el gobierno Cubano, el cual le ha sido negado 15 veces. ¿Será por revoltosa o por contrarrevolucionaria?
Toda revolución ha respetado la dignidad del ser humano. Inclusive el Comandante Castro lo declaraba en el mismo discurso del 30 de junio de 1961:
"¿Quiere decir que le vamos a decir aquí a la gente lo que tiene que escribir? No. Que cada cual escriba lo que quiera. Y si lo que escribe no sirve, allá él; si lo que pinta no sirve, allá él. Nosotros no le prohibimos a nadie escribir sobre el tema que quiera escribir. Al contrario: que cada cual se exprese en la forma que estime pertinente, y que exprese libremente el tema que desea expresar. Nosotros apreciaremos su creación siempre a través del prisma y del cristal revolucionario: ese también es un derecho del Gobierno Revolucionario, tan respetable como el derecho de cada cual a expresar lo que desee expresar."
Y yo pregunto con todo respeto al gobierno Cubano ¿Qué pasó con defender los derechos del pueblo? Por que la libertad de caminar por el mundo y expresarse libremente son derechos, como tambien lo es encerrarse en el silencio. Acaso no comprenden que la comunidad internacional ha respetado a Cuba, amado a Cuba, y aprendido de Cuba a través del blog de Yoani? Por que no ha sido a través de los libros, ni la televisión, ni los personajes del periódico. Los premios que se le han otorgado a Yoani reconocen las vivencias de ese pueblo, anécdotas refrescantes que se hilvanan en la memoria colectiva. A esta me uno, me uno la familia de LATISM y a los millones de lectores de Yoani para solicitar la Carta Blanca, el bendito permiso.
Seguimos siendo los hilos que forman el mismo tejido que nos cobija. Y ese tejido merece llevar los colores y texturas de cada uno. Expresarnos como somos, como sentimos y pensamos -sin pelos en la lengua como decimos los salvadoreños.
¿Qué somos si se nos quita la identidad? ¡Nada!
¿Quiénes somos si nos limitan la expresión de nuestro ser? ¡Nadie!
¿Qué es una sociedad sin memoria colectiva? Una sociedad sin historia que guíe su conciencia. ¡Una sociedad muerta!
Muy Agradecida,
Soylamar
jueves, 27 de enero de 2011
Stateless Children... in America?
Imagine if children were punished for the mistakes of their parents. Imagine if they were denied the right to belong to the place where they are born. Now, imagine those children becoming victims of neglect and abuse without legal right to protection. Just imagine them uprooted, displaced, exploited, without identity or nationality… such is the fate of stateless children.
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) made a compassionate statement regarding stateless children: “Through no fault of their own, stateless children inherit a trying reality and an uncertain future. They are often denied access to basic health care and education. They cannot travel freely or access justice when necessary. As they grow older, they face significant barriers to basic freedoms like marriage, land ownership, employment, voting, or even opening a bank account”. The setting was 2007, U.S. Congressional Hearings held by the Chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the place in question: Buthan. In case you are unaware, in Bhutan children do not have a right to Bhutanese nationality if they are born to parents who are not Bhutanese citizens. In case you haven’t heard, some groups of people want the USA to mimic Bhutan.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Current attempts to alter the US constitution would in effect deny birth right citizenship to a child born to an undocumented immigrant. Institutionalizing this discrimination in our system would place social and economic barriers for their development and growth. Where is our sense of compassion and dignity?
According to the International Report on Stateless Children, lack of citizenship has the devastating results of denial of basic necessities such as health, education, safety, and justice. Citizenship is a fundamental building block to other human rights—it is “the right to have rights.” These are international standards that aim to place children as a priority in the world. Assistance should be provided for those countries without a birth registration process and protections of minors. “Pressure should be placed on countries that do not grant children citizenship for political, economic, social, religious or cultural reasons” the report concludes (Youth Advocate Program International by S. Aird, H. Harnett, & P. Sha).
Since 1989, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognized the child’s right to citizenship. The Convention declares that children should not be victims of discrimination. Pursuant to Article 2 the Convention "applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis."
The sense of identity, who you are and where you belong are rooted in your birth place. The Convention spells it out "Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country)” and be allowed to take the steps to registration and preservation of identity, name, and nationality. The U.S. prides itself in being a leader in this world, a self-proclaimed defender of human rights. BEWARE: Leadership carries a greater responsibility, setting the example that others should emulate. Not adhering to national and international law challenges our credibility and our ability to influence others. If nothing else, consider that our children will be entrusted with the future of this nation, will bear the burden of our mistakes, and will further the prospects of our own humanity. Why aren’t we outraged at these attempts to take away their citizenship?
Children don't choose where they are born or where they live but should be protected wherever they are, be it Bhutan or the United States of America. We must defend the most vulnerable members of our society. If we don’t stand up for our children, who will?
Reina Valenzuela
Sources:
http://www.refintl.org/content/us-congress-holds-briefing-stateless-children
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
http://www.childtrafficking.com/Docs/yapi_stateless_children_1.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_protecting.html
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (TX) made a compassionate statement regarding stateless children: “Through no fault of their own, stateless children inherit a trying reality and an uncertain future. They are often denied access to basic health care and education. They cannot travel freely or access justice when necessary. As they grow older, they face significant barriers to basic freedoms like marriage, land ownership, employment, voting, or even opening a bank account”. The setting was 2007, U.S. Congressional Hearings held by the Chair of the Congressional Children’s Caucus and the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, the place in question: Buthan. In case you are unaware, in Bhutan children do not have a right to Bhutanese nationality if they are born to parents who are not Bhutanese citizens. In case you haven’t heard, some groups of people want the USA to mimic Bhutan.
The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution says that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. Current attempts to alter the US constitution would in effect deny birth right citizenship to a child born to an undocumented immigrant. Institutionalizing this discrimination in our system would place social and economic barriers for their development and growth. Where is our sense of compassion and dignity?
According to the International Report on Stateless Children, lack of citizenship has the devastating results of denial of basic necessities such as health, education, safety, and justice. Citizenship is a fundamental building block to other human rights—it is “the right to have rights.” These are international standards that aim to place children as a priority in the world. Assistance should be provided for those countries without a birth registration process and protections of minors. “Pressure should be placed on countries that do not grant children citizenship for political, economic, social, religious or cultural reasons” the report concludes (Youth Advocate Program International by S. Aird, H. Harnett, & P. Sha).
Since 1989, the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognized the child’s right to citizenship. The Convention declares that children should not be victims of discrimination. Pursuant to Article 2 the Convention "applies to all children, whatever their race, religion or abilities; whatever they think or say, whatever type of family they come from. It doesn’t matter where children live, what language they speak, what their parents do, whether they are boys or girls, what their culture is, whether they have a disability or whether they are rich or poor. No child should be treated unfairly on any basis."
The sense of identity, who you are and where you belong are rooted in your birth place. The Convention spells it out "Children have the right to a nationality (to belong to a country)” and be allowed to take the steps to registration and preservation of identity, name, and nationality. The U.S. prides itself in being a leader in this world, a self-proclaimed defender of human rights. BEWARE: Leadership carries a greater responsibility, setting the example that others should emulate. Not adhering to national and international law challenges our credibility and our ability to influence others. If nothing else, consider that our children will be entrusted with the future of this nation, will bear the burden of our mistakes, and will further the prospects of our own humanity. Why aren’t we outraged at these attempts to take away their citizenship?
Children don't choose where they are born or where they live but should be protected wherever they are, be it Bhutan or the United States of America. We must defend the most vulnerable members of our society. If we don’t stand up for our children, who will?
Reina Valenzuela
Sources:
http://www.refintl.org/content/us-congress-holds-briefing-stateless-children
http://www.unicef.org/crc/files/Rights_overview.pdf
http://www.childtrafficking.com/Docs/yapi_stateless_children_1.pdf
http://www.unicef.org/crc/index_protecting.html
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