4A
THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TUESDAY, JUNE 19, 2018
editor@dailyastorian.com
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GUEST COLUMN
Punishing children is one step too far
I
spend a lot of my time thinking about
foster kids and their welfare. In my legal
career I’ve represented hundreds of kids
who have been removed from their parents
because of neglect and/or abuse. Some
of these kids make it home, some do not.
Whichever outcome awaits them, they are
indelibly changed.
I read a lot of scholarly articles on the
trauma associated with removal of a child
from a parent. I spend time talking to children
about what has happened to them. I read hun-
dreds of psychological evaluations of children
and their parents. I read
state, federal and case law.
I spend a lot of time
mired in the dilemma of
how best to serve children
who are first traumatized in
their home of origin and then
MARY ANN further traumatized by being
MURK
taken from the only family
they know. Remember that
these are children whose parents have been
given due process, who have been proven to
be unfit, and whose children are placed in, for
the most part, state-certified foster homes.
(A caveat here, this is not a discussion
of the merits, or lack thereof, of state foster
homes. I will say that here in Clatsop County
we enjoy the privilege of having good foster
families).
I am so troubled by the recent news
regarding the implementation of policies at
our border in which children are removed
from their parents and placed, according to
Sen. Jeff Merkley’s eyewitness account, in
cages within detention centers.
The justification for this cruel move has
been that it is a means by which to discourage
parents from entering the country illegally.
I have listened to the hyperbole of govern-
ment officials who justify the actions of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement by
telling us that really this is no different then
what happens whenever anyone is prosecuted
for a crime. In short, you commit a crime, you
get locked up, and your children are taken
from you.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
People sit in cages at an immigration detention facility in McAllen, Texas.
‘Is this really what we want this country to be?
It’s not what I want this country to be.’
I have read social media comments
and posts from people who appear to have
bought into this reasoning hook, line and
sinker. It breaks my heart, and I find myself
vacillating between tears of anger and tears
of grief.
I would like to point out some of the major
fallacies behind this thinking:
1. The majority of people entering
the country illegally are not engaging
in a criminal act. There are only specific
instances under which they could be prose-
cuted for a crime, and most will not meet the
criteria to fall within the scope of that statute.
2. We do not remove children from peo-
ple simply because they have committed,
or even been convicted of a crime. To say
that we do is nonsense. State intervention
is limited, for the most part, to instances of
abuse and neglect. Simply committing a
crime does not meet this criteria.
3. Where it is deemed necessary for the
state to intervene, they must comply with
rules and laws which ensure that not only
the parents’ rights are protected, but also
the children’s rights. It does not appear that
any attempt is being made to ensure that the
parties in these matters have been given due
process.
4. Federal law requires that when a
child is taken into care they must be placed
in the least restrictive, most family like set-
ting that will ensure the health and safety
of the child. Federal law gives preference to
relative over stranger foster care. If states do
not comply with this law then they lose the
federal funding needed to pay for services.
This is a law that the federal government
mandates. Obviously, the federal government
is not complying with this requirement — but
then, they forgot to pass a law requiring the
humane treatment of children who come into
federal custody.
5. The law that applies to states also spe-
cifically prohibits using children as pawns
to obtain parental compliance. Specifically,
contact between a child and parent cannot
be restricted as a means to punish the parent
into compliance. This is because the effect
of removing children and isolating them is a
traumatic event that will likely result in “pun-
ishment” of the child.
I ask that each of you think about how
it must feel to be a child, who after being
packed up by a parent, and taken on a gruel-
ing journey, is confronted by armed men in
uniform who don’t speak your language, and
who simply take you away to be stored in a
warehouse, in a pen. Imagine that you come
from a country where armed men in uniform
take people away, and that your experience
is that those people never return — they are
disappeared.
Imagine that you are housed with strangers
who are also scared and afraid, who can offer
you little comfort, because they have no com-
fort to give. Imagine that all the adults who
come to see you speak another language, and
can’t or won’t explain to you what is happen-
ing. You are simply left to wonder what is to
become of you.
Is this really what we want this country to
be?
It’s not what I want this country to be.
If you want to see this stopped, review the
bills that are starting to be introduced. Reach
out to those representatives in Congress
fighting to put the brakes on. Encourage your
friends, families and enemies to speak up.
Write, call, take out ads, rent billboards, do
whatever you think is best, because no matter
what their parents have done, punishing chil-
dren is simply one step too far.
Mary Ann Murk is an Astoria attorney who
practices juvenile and criminal law.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Homeless column should
have been on front page
T
he Thursday, June 14 lead story in The
Daily Astorian was “Customers line up
for new Walmart in Warrenton.” The sec-
ond lead story was “Astoria tackles final leg
of riverfront plan,” which, in reality, was the
most important story until page 4A, the guest
column by Bill Van Nostran, pastor of First
Presbyterian Church. “Don’t continue to deny
homeless problem” was front-page worthy.
I’m not a Presbyterian, and I’ve never
heard Bill Van Nostran speak, but what he
had to say, and the concise way he laid out the
problem, was an astute observation. We, and
every other community in the U.S. are trying
to avoid spending money to combat a problem
that is spreading like a wildfire out of control.
I know we have a task force discussing the
issue, but maybe what we need is a great big
billboard in the middle of town that keeps a
tally … “Five more people in Astoria became
homeless today.”
The quote at the end of the column by
J.R.R. Tolkien was spot on.
Please don’t throw away Thursday’s
newspaper until you read and save page 4A,
because it needs to be read over and over.
LARRY ALLEN
Astoria
Cannon Beach chamber
should listen to community
T
his letter addresses the Cannon Beach
Chamber of Commerce’s recent mar-
keting piece, “Directions.” The publication
was delivered to all Cannon Beach mailbox
holders, and immediately started a dialogue
among residents.
“Directions” let us know that our Can-
non Beach voices were either not heard, or
ignored, when there was public outcry to the
chamber’s narrow focus expressed in Janu-
ary’s Cannon Beach Gazette article on who
should be targeted to walk our beaches,
and enjoy our amenities, with the cham-
ber’s decision to target “affluent millenni-
als” (“New Cannon Beach logo and tagline
designed to be ‘fresh’ and ‘contemporary,’”
Jan. 9).
Now, in “Directions,” under “Target Mar-
kets,” the chamber continues their method-
ology to discriminate for particular segments
of their geographic market focus. “The“L-
BGT …” and “small group luxury travel” are
highlighted in the piece, and seemed to tag
on to January’s “affluent millennials.”
Once again the chamber needs to remem-
ber that Cannon Beach is not a place for
affluent millennials, LBGT groups, or small
group luxury travel visitors. Cannon Beach,
exceptional by so many measures, is not for
just the commercial, a certain age, sexual ori-
entation group, or a selective group of the
wealthy.
It is place for every one of us who want
to take a breath of the sea air and watch the
surf. A place to be protected for future gen-
erations, not the quick market, but sustain-
able amenities that compliment the gift of
this place.
We are not Seattle or Portland. We are
Cannon Beach. Please chamber, listen to
your community.
LOLLY CHAMPION
Cannon Beach
Pesticides are killing our bees
M
y wife and I had been bee keepers for
decades, and we are concerned that the
use of insecticides that contain nicotinoids
have led to the collapse of bee colonies, as
documented in Germany. This was evident to
us when we lost all our hives last year. They
were all young, healthy and thriving, and then
nearly overnight they all died.
We now attribute this to the use of these
pesticides. The bees collect the pollen from
plants that have taken in the poison through
their leaves or roots, take it back to the hive,
feed the queen who then dies, and so does
any other bee or larva that has been feed the
affected pollen. When there is no queen the
hive will not survive.
Please do not buy or use any product that
contains any of the following nicotinoids
ingredients: imidacloprid, clothianidin, acet-
amiprid, thiacloprid, thiamethoxam. Also
any that have fipronil or any of the synthetic
pyrethoids.
It’s sad, but so far this year I have seen
only one bee in our yard.
RICK POWERS
Astoria
We need foster parents
in Clatsop County
W
hile driving through Astoria recently, it
was encouraging to see concerned cit-
izens protest the unconscionable treatment
of children who are detained at our country’s
borders. Our values as caring community
members do not allow us to turn a blind eye
to such treatment: innocent children are trau-
matized, warehoused, and considered collat-
eral damage. Outrage is the only appropri-
ate response, and I do not want to discourage
anyone from being outraged.
Yet there is more to be done. We have 100
children in the child welfare system in Clat-
sop County today who are traumatized and
need us to be there for them, collectively and
with open hearts. It is not enough to point
fingers and proclaim that “the system” is fail-
ing those children. Unless we step up as a
community, we are failing them.
They need volunteer drivers to take them
to appointments; caretakers to help out
during the summer days when school is out;
respite providers; Court Appointed Special
Advocates (CASA); and someone to take
them in — we need foster parents for chil-
dren of all ages in Clatsop County.
Please continue to be outraged at the cruel
treatment of children all over the world —
and please consider what you can do right
here in our community to make a real dif-
ference. You can reach the Department of
Human Services (DHS) Child Welfare office
at 503-325-9179 to learn about fostering
youth; Greater Oregon Behavioral Health
Inc. (GOBHI) for therapeutic foster care
information at (503) 850-9211; or CASA at
clatsopcasa.org to learn about becoming an
advocate.
JULIA MABRY
Executive Director, Clatsop CASA
Astoria
‘Evangelicals’ don’t
all support Trump
I
certainly hope that when the news reports
that “evangelical” Christians strongly sup-
port President Donald Trump that readers
don’t conclude that refers to all Christians, of
which I am one. The word evangelical comes
from the New Testament and means “good
news” as defined and shaped by the person,
teachings and actions of Jesus.
In his lying, his praise of brutal dictators,
his disparagement of women and minori-
ties, his lack of empathy and sympathy, his
announcing that he has never asked God for
forgiveness, etc., I don’t see anything evan-
gelical in the approach of Trump. In fact,
some conservative evangelicals don’t see it
either, and are making a break.
Peter Wehner, a fellow at the conservative
Ethics and Public Policy Center, has said he
can no longer use the words Republican or
evangelical to define himself, for both words
are too closely associated with the support of
Trump.
I trust this will not be permanent. “Evan-
gelical” is at the heart of the Christian faith,
and cannot be reduced to a narrow politi-
cal usage. And, Wehner writes that he senses
“winds of change are blowing through
… the broader evangelical world” (bit.
ly/2I1UcQw).
For example, he reports that the Southern
Baptist Convention, historically conservative
and evangelical, is loosening the tether to
the Republican party and to Donald Trump. I
hope those winds will become a gale, for the
sake of our country, as well as the recovery
of that very important word, “evangelical.”
JOHN WECKER
Retired pastor, Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America
Astoria
Stop warehousing children
T
he current practice of separating thou-
sands of immigrant children from their
parents is evil; they will be psychologically
scared for life. It reminds me of Nazi Ger-
many in the 1930s.
Now the president is trying to blame the
Democrats for this “law,” while he and his
attorney general have publicly supported the
zero-tolerance rule. We the people should not
let this stand.
CAROLYN EADY
Astoria