How can one look at the picture of Alberto Martinez Ramirez and his daughter, Valeria, lying face down in the mud, on the banks of the Rio Grande, and not be moved to action?
The photo, both horrifying and tender, will haunt me for a very long time. Even in death this man appears to be protectively holding his child, her little arm still clinging to his neck. He never let her go. He loved her. He wanted a better life for her.
Their bodies will be returned to El Salvador. Time will pass and this photo will fade from memory. We cannot let this happen. The time has come for us to do what we must do.
The present occupants of the White House must be replaced. We have a chance to become a country that treasures all creatures. A place where there is no such thing as an illegal human.
Please vote! As for me, I will never forget that photo. It will be a daily reminder of the atrocities that are perpetrated when racism, homophobia, misogyny and xenophobia become the norm.
Donna Burridge-Vohar
Easthampton