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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 10, 2018)
October 10, 2018 The Skanner Page 3 News cont’d from pg 1 down ended in June, but hundreds of children re- main in detention, shel- ters or foster care and U.S. officials say more than 200 are not eligible for reunification or re- lease. Federal officials insist they are reuniting fam- ilies and will continue to do so. But an Associ- “ My wife and I are sick over this ated Press investigation drawing on hundreds of court documents, immi- gration records and in- terviews in the U.S. and Central America identi- fied holes in the system that allow state court judges to grant custody of migrant children to American families — without notifying their parents. And today, with hun- dreds of those mothers and fathers deported thousands of miles away, the risk has grown expo- nentially. States usually seal child custody cases, and the federal agencies overseeing the migrant children don’t track how often state court judges allow these kids to be giv- en up for adoption. But by providing a child’s name and birthdate to the specific district, pro- bate or circuit court in- volved, the AP found that it’s sometimes possible to track these children. Alexa’s case began in November 2015 un- der the Obama admin- istration, years before Trump’s family-separa- tion policy rolled out. Her 15-month separation from her mother exposes the fragile legal standing of children under the care of the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement and a flawed, piecemeal system that can change the course of a child’s life. It took 28 minutes for a judge in a rural court- house near Lake Michi- gan to grant Alexa’s fos- ter parents, Sherri and BUF Kory Barr, temporary guardianship. Alexa’s mother and the little girl’s immigration attor- ney were not even noti- fied about the proceed- ings. Based on their expe- riences with Alexa, the Barrs had become con- vinced that Alexa’s mom was a bad mother and that the little girl would be abused if she were re- united with her. “My wife and I are sick over this,” Kory Barr told the judge, who wished him good luck as he granted the foster par- ents’ request two days after Christmas. The federal system that had custody of Alexa says the state courts nev- er should have allowed foster parents to get that far, no matter how good their intentions. But each state court system, from New York to California, runs ward- ship and adoption pro- ceedings differently — and sometimes there are even variations between counties. In Missouri, an Amer- ican couple managed to permanently adopt a baby whose Guatemalan mother had been picked up in an immigration raid. That seven-year legal battle terminating the mother’s parental rights ended in 2014. In Nebraska, anoth- er Guatemalan mother prevailed and got her kids back, but it took five years and over $1 million in donated legal work. The Office of Refugee Resettlement and Beth- any Christian Services, the agency that placed Alexa in foster care, would not comment on her case. But Bethany said fos- ter parents are informed they’re not allowed to adopt migrant children. Since the 1980s, how- ever, Bethany acknowl- edged that nine of the 500 migrant children assigned to its foster pro- gram have been adopted by American families. Read the rest of this story at TheSkanner.com PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED Children Indigenous Peoples Day About hundred people marched from Westlake Park after a brief blessing and rally to Seattle City Hall to celebrate Indigenous People’s Day Oct. 8. The fourth annual celebration continued at City Hall with speeches and traditional dances and singing. Holocaust cont’d from pg 1 freely, and sleep on a mattress. The latter was realized when the war ended and he found his way to the United States. Unfortunate- ly, Wiener was the only surviving member of his family. His moving testimony came from the Oregon State Capitol last week, when he joined Sen. Rob Wagner (D-Lake Oswego) in proposing a new bill that would require all schools in the state to teach students about the Holo- caust and genocide. Since moving to Oregon in 2000, Wiener has given close to 1,000 community talks about surviving the war, during which six million Jews were exterminated. “For me, the horrific memories of the Holocaust are still fresh, the ashes from which I rose are still smoldering,” said Wiener during the bill’s informal hearing in the senate education committee. “I’m tormented by memories even as I try to carry on with my life, I’m crying in silence.” Sen. Wagner, too, told personal stories of swastikas recently ap- pearing on the bathroom walls of his local schools. What’s more, young people are moving further away from their understanding of genocide, ex- plained Wagner, who is also a board member of the Lake Oswe- go school district. “Across the country, students who are graduating from high schools are now twice as likely as a generation ago to not be able to identify the Holocaust or another genocidal incident,” he told the committee. “We are losing our history.” A 2018 survey from The Confer- ence on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany found that 70 percent of Americans “say few- er people seem to care about the Holocaust than they used to and a majority (58 percent) believe something like the Holocaust could happen again.” In his testimony to the commit- tee, Wiener said it’s imperative at this time to “divert the rivers of hatred so that another Holocaust will never happen again… Learn- ing about the Holocaust is not just a chapter in recent history, but a divine lesson on how to be more tolerant, more loving, and that hatred is eventually self-destruc- tive. Be better rather than bitter.” Yet it’s not only the inhumanity of the Holocaust that bears weight on history, Wagner reminded the hearing’s attendees. More recent atrocities in Rwan- da, Kosovo, Sudan, Myanmar and at the hands of ISIS are essential lessons in genocide too, though students are struggling to identi- fy them. Fifteen-year-old Lakeridge High School freshman Claire Samowski also joined the panel in support of the education bill. She cited the 2018 conference survey with a troubling statistic that two- thirds (66 percent) of millennials cannot identify what Auschwitz was. Moreover, 22 percent of that generation “haven’t heard” or “are not sure if they have heard of the Holocaust.” Samowski first met Wiener during a talk he gave when she was in fourth grade. Since then, she’s looked to him as both a friend and mentor. “As a student, I see bullying, prejudice and stereotyping both inside and outside the classroom every day,” said Samowski, while fighting back tears. “Learning about genocide teaches students the ramifications that come with prejudice of any kind in society.” If passed, Oregon would join 10 other states – among them, Cali- fornia, Florida, Kentucky, Michi- gan, and New York – that require some attention to the Holocaust and genocide education in their classrooms. “I trust teachers,” said Wagner, adding that his bill will not write a set curriculum for teachers. Rather, the legislation would rely on educators to partner with com- munity organizations in develop- ing social studies lessons that are relevant and age appropriate. Wagner said he has made this bill one of his priorities for the 2019 legislative session, which be- gins in January. cont’d from pg 1 starting at $1,500. For more informa- tion on scholarships, applications and deadlines, visit https://www.bufor.org/ empower-scholarships/. She also said she’s hoping to increase the organization’s volunteer corps and is mulling ways the organization can make use of its building, which is one of the few remaining Black-owned struc- tures on Northeast Alberta. Foster also said she’s stepped into BUF at a time when it’s in a growth peri- od, as opposed to a crisis-management period, so there’s room to envision BUF’s future as opposed to focusing on trying to keep it alive. “Alaiyo brings with her to BUF an “ Alaiyo brings with her to BUF an in- depth understand- ing of the Black Com- munity in Oregon in-depth understanding of the Black Community in Oregon, and the issues that exists for students of color and low-income students within our learn- ing system,” wrote outgoing executive director Kimberlee Sheng in an email announcing her departure and Fos- ter’s hiring to BUF supporters. (In June the American Leadership Forum an- nounced Sheng had been hired as its executive director.) Symone Sparrow, education pro- grams specialist for BUF, said BUF hired a consultant to recruit a new ex- ecutive director, but that the team was able to sit in on interviews. It was ulti- mately Foster’s presence and passion that made her stand out, Sparrow said. When she’s not working, Foster said, she participates in Crossfit and loves to travel and read and visit spas, as well as connect with family. Her commitment to her work is driven in part by a de- sire for her son, who is almost 16, to see his community as a place where he can grow and thrive. “Stay tuned. Definitely stay tuned,” Foster said of BUF’s near future. “I’m looking forward to the next couple of years.”