Page 12
July 25, 2018
MCS Still in
Business
O PINION
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG.
$50.00
A small distance/travel
charge may be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or more
$30.00 each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: 1 small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$50.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
and Hallway
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
Other Services) : $30.00
Heavily Soiled Area:
$10.00 each area
(Requiring Pre-Spray)
Area/Oriental Rug Cleaning
Regular Area Rugs
$25.00 Minimum
Wool Oriental Rugs
$40.00 Minimum
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $70.00
Loveseat: $50.00
Sectional: $110 - $140
Chair or Recliner:
$25.00 - $50.00
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services) : $5.00
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Support Dreamers and Shut Down ICE
I can relate to
refugees seeking
a better life
l ew C hurCh
Demonstrations have taken
place in 700 cities, so far, protest-
ing the so-called ‘zero tolerance’
immigration enforcement poli-
cy of the Trump-Sessions axis in
Washington, D.C. Despite this,
Trump and his loyal acolytes con-
tinue to dismiss and demonize
immigrants in general and the so-
called ‘Dreamers’ in particular.
The excellent op-ed (“Abolish-
ing ICE Isn’t Radical -- It’s Ratio-
nal,” Portland Observer, July 11,
2018 issue) by Fizz Perkal cor-
rectly points out ICE “has become
a menace.”
At Portland State, our new stu-
dent body president, Luis Balde-
ras, is a Dreamer, and we continue
to support the Dreamers, the sanc-
tuary movement, Portland’s Occu-
py ICE protest on Southwest Mac-
adam, and efforts by Sen. Kirsten
Gillibrand, D-N.Y. to abolish ICE
altogether.
ICE is now, under Trump and
Sessions, nothing more than a de-
portation agency.
A fundamental question, often
ignored by Trump supporters, is
why people decide to become ref-
ugees to start with. What would
make someone risk life, limb and
by
the safety of family members to
pick up and travel 1,000 miles or
more to look for “safe space” to
the North?
In large part, refugees run away
from harmful situations where
gang violence, an abusive spouse
or parent, or political conditions
threaten the well-being of people
on the ground. Refugees are des-
perate and afraid.
I can’t pretend to know what it
is like to flee violence in countries
like El Salvador, Guatemala and
Honduras in Central America. But
I know a little about running away
from unsafe situations.
Growing up in an abusive
household, there was a great deal
of sexual, physical and emotional
violence going on against women
and children. As a 12-year-old, I
debated with my 9-year-old broth-
er whether it was “safer” to run or
to stay and stick it out. If I ran, I
might be safer, but who would
protect my younger brother?
The first time I ran away, I took
a sack lunch and a teddy bear from
mom (who had recently passed)
and rode my bicycle down a Cal-
ifornia highway at 12 midnight.
Corralled by a patrol car that
night, I spent three weeks in ju-
venile hall, where my best friend
was Billy Simpson, also 12, who
was “in” for strangling cats. By
my actions, I did get my custody
awarded to three adults includ-
ing Bob and Nancy, who I hoped
might be safe foster parents. But
that situation didn’t last long.
On my second runaway effort, I
wanted a bigger, better plan. On a
Greyhound bus, I crossed several
state lines, from Nevada to Arizo-
na, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, and
then to Idaho. In Idaho, I spent a
month in the Sandpoint County
Jail, a few miles from the Canadi-
an border. I wouldn’t tell the sher-
iff or his wife my real name, but
his spouse did make home-made
meals for those of us lodged in his
5-cell jail.
Today, however, in Estados
Unidos, not only has the Trump
Administration targeted Dream-
ers, threatening to end the DACA
program for ASPSU president
Luis Balderas and other Dream-
ers, but we have also seen Trump’s
policies separate parents from
their children -- families that want
to stay together.
It takes a good deal of fear to
run. In addition to dismissing or
denying why refugees flee, the
zero tolerance crowd also ignores
history vis-à-vis U.S. foreign pol-
icy -- specifically, Ronald Rea-
gan’s support for Ollie North and
the Contras against the Sandinis-
ta government in Nicaragua, and
Reagan’s support for death squad
militias from El Salvador to Hon-
duras and Guatemala.
At Portland State, activist stu-
dents were able to find out more
about life in Central America
during a one-week study tour of
El Salvador. We spent two days in
the capital, San Salvador, where
we visited the church where
Archbishop Oscar Romero was
assassinated (while giving mass),
the small house where Romero
lived, the cancer hospital where
he worked, and the Archbishops
grave in the basement of San Sal-
vador’s downtown cathedral.
We also got to visit rebel strong-
holds in the mountains in El Sal-
vador, from Chalatanango, across
the Simpul River, to Arcatao near
the Honduran border. We learned
about the Simpul River Massacre,
where hundreds of Salvadorans
were cut down by Hermano Blan-
co, the “White Hand.”
Of course, we recognize the
Trump Administration believes in
“alternate facts,” not history, ipso
facto. However, not that long ago,
a predecessor to Attorney General
Jeff Sessions, John Mitchell spent
time in jail for his role in Water-
gate. Under 5 articles of threat-
ened impeachment, Mitchell’s
boss, Richard Nixon, became the
only U.S. president to resign -- so
far.
Separated children and parents,
the Dreamers and ASPSU presi-
dent Luis Balderas -- deserve our
support. Trump, Sessions, and
their ilk -- do not.
Lew Church is coordinator of
Portland Gray Panthers and got
his M.Ed. at Portland State.