Written by Connor Boyack.
I’ve been spending time today thinking about North and South Korea, since we’re beginning to translate The Tuttle Twins series into their language. Some of the stories of refugees have really moved me.
Can you imagine the devastation it would cause if South Korea “built a wall,” posting armed guards along the border to keep North Koreans where they are?
Can you imagine the travesty this would be to an oppressed people looking for hope? Looking for a future without constant misery?
Can you imagine how horrible it would feel for Korean refugees—rather than being welcomed with open arms and congratulated for escaping oppression—to be shunned and labeled as “illegal immigrants”?
America’s southern border has similar stories. There are families escaping the nightmarish influence of drug cartels and the devastating impact of stagnant economies. They’ve had loved ones kidnapped or killed. They are starving. They yearn for a better life.
They, too, try to escape their circumstances so as to improve them.
But they don’t have a welcome party. They are not given the socially positive label of ‘refugee.’ They are not empowered and assisted.
They are, rather, forced into the shadows. Derided. Criticized. Told to go back to their personal hell. Because “it’s the law.”
Geography does not modify justice; politics should not subvert compassion.
