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.”