Three days ago I learned about Grannies Respond/Abuelas Responden.  I read the website and tears welled up – which is not typical for me.  I thought, “Here is a group of elders who are putting their hearts and spirits into action.” 
 
“Over six days, beginning July 31, the caravan will journey more than 2,000 miles, onboarding other “grannies” along the way. They will host rallies in strategic political districts in cities along the way to protest the Trump administration’s zero tolerance policy for immigrants and asylum seekers.

Beginning with a rally in New York City, Grannies Respond will make stops in Reading and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Louisville, Kentucky; Montgomery, Alabama; New Orleans, Louisiana; and Houston, Texas; before finally reaching a detainment facility in either McAllen or Brownsville, Texas.” So read the story in YES! Magazine.

I decided to join them.  I hate bus rides.  I sit up front so that I won’t get nauseous.  My back hurts after driving in the car for a couple of hours.  The bathrooms smells.  So, why am I doing this?

This year I have challenged myself to “live as though the truth was really true”

“Old Farts” Group Protest Results in Arrest of 6 at ICE in Philadelphia”
 
As a group of elders we wanted to call attention to what was happening to the three thousand children that had been forcibly taken from their parents when they entered the United States from our southern border.  We were appalled that our government would harm children in this way.  Have you ever witnessed a children or a parent that have lost each other in a public place?  The child is crying, the parent is near hysteria with fear.  Imagine if they were not able to find each other.  Imagine if they were in a strange country, where everyone was speaking a different language.  Could you imagine the fear?  The terror?  

These families have survived the arduous journey to come to the United States – in most cases fleeing situations in their home country where their lives have been threatened, relatives have been killed, children or women taken as hostages or been raped.  These parents are not coming here for the “good life” – they are coming to the U.S. seeking asylum.
 
As a grandmother and mother of five children my heart went out to those parents and children.  I know that this treatment is inhumane, uncaring and unethical – because we don’t use children to further political agendas. These policies of putting families, with young children, into detention, and of separating families at the border must stop.
 
I was not alone in my concern.  Friends invited me to a meeting, where they were discussing how to bring attention to this issue.  There had been many protests at the local ICE -- Immigration and Customs Enforcement – office, and we wanted to keep up the pressure.  We decided to arrive early, stand in front of the door with a banner, and not allow anyone to enter or leave.