C.A.

What is being an undocumented immigrant like for you?

“Although I was a very extroverted kid, being in a foreign country made me felt out of place. I didn’t know how to act, or how to talk about things like I did in Taiwan... outside of school, my sister and I were locked in our home. We weren’t allowed to hang out with friends or stay over at friends’ houses. The reasons were always, “what if you got caught”, ‘what if you get into any dangerous situations? I didn’t know what having a community was like for much of my childhood... We wished our life could be better. But instead of falling into a pit of darkness, we continue life as it is. Because, really, what can we do besides suck it up and fight to survive?”

What does justice and safety look like to you?

“I never understood why we seek safety and protection from a group of people, agency, system, that we don’t know anything about at all. I never understood why violence is punished by violence... Justice looks like giving voice to the ones who are impacted by violence and harm...seeking accountability of the harm doer based on their action NOT by who they are. If the government never seeks to understand the challenges/difficulties of the people in society, those who are most impacted by the structure of the system, then how are they able to protect and ensure that we live safely?”