By Ashley Caseres
Poem by Ijeoma Umebinyou (eejioma oomebinyoo):
“I lost cultures
I lost a whole language
I lost my religion
I lost it all in the fire
That is colonization so I will not
Apologize
For owning every piece of me
They could not take, break
And claim as theirs.”
The passing of bill SB423 is their way of stripping our undocumented community of every piece of them that they hold dear. They started by telling this community to do things the “right way.” They started by forcing our undocumented community into slaving themselves to survive, into becoming the white man’s narrative of a “model citizen,” into “proving” that they are worthy of staying in this country.
As if being human is not enough worth to them. They forced academia and colonization down their throats, stripping them of their identity and culture, and now they want to criminalize their hard work, their sacrifices, and their accomplishments.
Ball State University now more than ever must be held accountable on ensuring the safety of all members of this campus. Our university boasts itself on its Statement on the Importance of Diversity and Inclusion, yet when its immigrant community comes out to express fear, Terry King comes out with a weak email on commitment to inclusion.
Our students want more than a 100 word email. Our students want a real commitment to their safety, to their futures, and to their education. We all want to see action from our Board of Trustees, from our Student Government, from all member of this campus. The pressure to ensure diversity and inclusion should not be placed only in the hands of student organizational leaders, and to people who fall into minority identities.
I implore Ball State University to protect our immigrant family. To ensure that their immigration status or citizenship is not what determines if they are deserving of an education or not.
You have all heard it before: the fight is just now beginning. For all of us. We cannot allow this problem to lie on the shoulders of our immigrant community. Even if this bill does not affect us directly, we must work just as hard. We must acknowledge the privileges we have as born-citizens.
The privilege of receiving financial aid for our pursuit for higher education. The privilege of not being denied an education because of our citizenship or immigration status. The privilege of not having to fear being exposed to the government and ICE because of our citizenship. The privilege of not having to fear being another body they turn into a statistic, another body they throw into a detention center to exploit for profit, another body they can criminalize and dehumanize with terms such as illegal, alien, rapist, drug dealer, and terrorist.
We must use our privilege to bring light to this issue.
For our immigrant community, I ask you to stay strong. I probably have no right to say that, because I cannot understand the fear you face. But, I ask you to stay strong, stay hopeful, and stay powerful.
I ask you to know your rights. You have the right to remain silent and not state your immigrant status to anyone. You have the right to be represented by an attorney. You have the right to report hate crimes. And most importantly, you have the right to a higher education and a future in this country.
To tackle the dehumanization of immigrants I ask of you to share your story. If you fear exposure, do not disclose your name, but share your story. They cannot deny your humanity and your struggles. As many of us have heard before, our country is a nation of immigrants. We know that. Our government knows that. This is their attempt to colonize this country once again, and must show them that we will not allow the white-washing of our country.
I want to end with a poem by Nayirrah Waheed:
If we wanted to. People of color could burn the world down. For what we have experiences. Are experiencing. But we don’t.
-how stunningly beautiful that our sacred respect for the earth. For life. Is deeper than our rage.
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