Call to Action: Family Separation
Call to Action: Family Separation at the Border
Publish date June 25, 2018
Foundation Beyond Belief (FBB) is launching a Call to Action in response to children being separated from their families at the southern US border. FBB is raising funds to assist children and families with legal representation, appropriate social services, and family reunification. We expect that this Call to Action will not be a short-term effort. Thousands of children have been separated from their parents and reuniting them with their families will take some time.
FBB has carefully considered beneficiary organizations best poised for long-term support, and has chosen two beneficiaries for this response. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) and The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project (aka the Florence Project) have both worked specifically with immigrant children – improving conditions and preserving rights by providing both legal and social services. They are well situated to address the complex issues that the separated children and families are facing now. KIND and the Florence Project were both beneficiaries in Q3 2014, when FBB raised funds to support the thousands of unaccompanied children who were arriving at the US southern border after fleeing poverty and violence in Central and South America.
Ravina Shamdasani, a spokeswoman for the UN human rights office, said, “The US should immediately halt this practice. The practice of separating families amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life, and is a serious violation of the rights of the child.”
Respecting human rights, equality, and dignity are fundamental humanist values. With your help, FBB works to mobilize humanist resources to help address this undeniable human rights violation happening on US soil.
In addition to donating to support these organizations, here are a few other ways you can help:
-
Hold a fundraiser with your Beyond Belief Network team. If your team raises the most money through your fundraiser for our response, your team can choose to receive 20 t-shirts or FBB will double your donation up to $250. For more information and fundraiser ideas see this guide.
-
The Florence Project currently has job and volunteer openings.
-
KIND trains mentors and volunteers (they are particularly looking for lawyers and translators)
-
Whatever position your representatives have, contact them to voice your opinion on immigration, refugees, and asylum policies. Find their phone numbers here.
-
Join or create a protest in your local community. On June 30th, Families Belong Together protests are happening in Washington D.C. and across the country.
As this crisis continues and events develop, FBB may choose additional avenues for supporting those affected.
The Humanist Disaster Recovery program is sustained through a partnership between Foundation Beyond Belief and the American Humanist Association (AHA). We thank AHA for their generous support of our efforts.
Every single minute matters, every single child matters, every single childhood matters. – Kailash Satyarthi
The Guardian: UN says US must stop separating migrant children from parents
The Guardian: I saw a five-month-old baby in detention. The harm to him cannot be undone
Vox: The Trump administration’s separation of families at the border, explained
Vox: Nationwide protests against Trump’s family separation policy planned for June 30
Al Jazeera: UN calls on US to stop separating migrant children from parents
The New York Times: UN calls on US to stop separating migrant children from parents
NPR: What We Know: Family Separation And ‘Zero Tolerance’ At The Border