On this blog, we used to post information about our visits to the border at Roxham Road, USA side. Since the closure of Roxham Road on Friday 24 March 2023, we're attempting to keep a log of the info we have about refugees who have been returned to the US. We're also now posting blogs about our personal experiences at the border. Sur ce blogue, nous avons affiché des informations sur nos visites à la frontière, Roxham Road, États Unis. Depuis la fermeture de Roxham Road le vendredi 24 mars 2023, nous essayons de tenir un répertoire des informations que nous avons cueillies sur les réfugiés qui ont été renvoyés aux États-Unis. De plus, nous postons maintenant des blogs sur nos expériences personelles à la frontière. |
One of my great joys is to walk in the woods. Over the years, they have become so familiar that I can recognize a branch that fell since my last visit, or how the trees change season by season, year after year. In recent years, especially since the closing of Roxham Road, there have been new changes in the forest.
A single glove in the snow, ... A jacket hanging from the bough of an apple tree, ... A blouse draped over wild raspberry canes, ... Empty water bottles nestled in fallen leaves, ... A full backpack so carefully packed but abandoned when it became too heavy for the journey. ... Most heartbreaking of all, a sports bag containing a few items of clothing and a tiny pink newborn-sized snowsuit. ... These are reminders that the forest that brings me such joy is also the setting of the dangerous crossings for vulnerable people. The swampy peat bog full of leaning cedars where I marvel at Labrador tea, jack-in-the-pulpit and vibrant green moss must be terrifying at night, disoriented and cold, lurching as your shoes suddenly sink into the deep mud between tangled roots. It is a reminder that happiness and desperation can walk in each other's footsteps without seeing each other. By sheer luck, I was born in a country that is prosperous, stable and safe. Others were not so lucky and are walking through the dark woods towards what they hope will be a safer future. In these uncertain times, the best we can do is lean in to our compassion, resist the pressure to dehumanize those who have been forced into hiding, and remember the bodies and hopes and dreams that occupied these discarded clothes. We must remember that these people are forced into obscurity by government policies motivated by political showmanship rather than effectiveness or moral courage. Joy
1 Comment
Wendy Ayotte
2/4/2025 02:14:47 pm
A moving and true account of our reality at the border.. Thankyou..
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AuthorThe earlier border visit reports were written by the volunteers who were at the border on that day, the later updates about the situation in the US are an attempt to keep a log of what we find out through our own visits in the US, or through contacts in the US. Archives
January 2025
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