Thank you to Eve for the super exciting box-try to imagine how much fun the clown noses are!

I got that newsletter acknowledgment from Sue Silverstein, who teaches art at Bishop Maginn School in Schenectady, New York. Most of her students are low-income, a good many of those refugees or from refugee families.

I‘ve never met Sue (would love to), only heard and read of her from blogger Jon Katz, and one of the things that make her extraordinary is that she could use almost any article or material to show her students how to make art from it: wooden pieces (I’ve sent), laces, old jewelry (I’ve sent), pinecones, pillow stuffing, jars, cards, and certain clothing, not to mention the more standard canvas, paints, and acrylics, etc. Periodically, I assemble articles that might otherwise be recycled or even thrown away, put them in a box, and send them to Sue.

In the last box I put in a beautiful Japanese wooden box housing a gift that I’d received, and what else? Bernie’s noses. Many, many red noses, especially those sent from Clowns Without Borders in Barcelona that his clown master, Mr. YooWho, had provided over the years. Don’t get upset, I still have two; there were simply alotalotalot of them. I fantasy that the kids could glue all kinds of paper figurines on the tips before putting them on, or else paint a silly face on each.

I haven’t written about the local immigrant community for a long time. I met with Jimena Pareja, who’s my contact with that community, and she reported that yes, they are very nervous about the election we had, especially the children, who are alarmed that their parents may be deported and families split up.

By now I’ve met many families who’ve crossed the border and have built lives for themselves even as their cases, requesting refugee (permanent) status, languish in the courts.

As a Jewish woman growing up on the Old Testament, I carry in my mind two ways of looking at things, two memes: the prophet and the king. The prophet is accountable only to God. He (it’s almost always he) doesn’t ask if things are practical or popular, his sole responsibility is to carry out God’s command. The prophet would say that God cares about immigrants, legal or not, and borders should be open. Most of the faith leaders in my area promote that, too.

The king needs to follow God’s wishes but is also very aware of the people he rules, their wishes, needs, and concerns. The king might say about our southern border: Look, I know that many of the immigrants coming here are terrorized back home, victimized by dictatorship, corruption, gangs, and poverty, and I’d like to help them. At the same time, a minimum requirement for any sovereign nation is that it define and protect its own borders.

I believe that most conscientious presidents that we’ve had, Republican and Democrat alike, swing between these two voices.

I hear both simultaneously. At the same time, I was an immigrant. My family is an immigrant family.  I am always amazed by how hard they are ready to work (Jimena herself works at 2 and even 3 jobs, and she’s completely legal), taking any job at almost any pay to support their families. Right now, it’s Saturday evening, and Antonio and his helper (which used to be his father) are busy sweeping the 2 billion leaves we have off the yard and down the precipice in front. It’s such a big job that even when Lori was healthy, she and I couldn’t do it all. Antonio is working well past sunset on a Saturday early evening and will work all day tomorrow.

When I go shopping in malls further south, men stand at every intersection with signs asking passing cars for money. From what I can see, not one is Latino. I think back to my parents. They abhorred the very idea of needing charity, unemployment, or welfare payments, they would work at everything to make just a little money.

I find the same pattern in these immigrant communities. They depend on their family and friends for help when a crisis hits: a sudden illness, an accident, family problems. The local interfaith organization gives some money, churches supply food (full Thanksgiving meals to any family that needs it), and then there’s us, you and me.

They suffer from family distress, some of which arises from the culture clash they encounter in living here. In their culture women are much more submissive, compliant, and dependent on their husbands. Here it’s different, and often the mothers and children suffer from this.

One family left the house because the father is suspected of inappropriate touching of his girls. Mother lives in one room in a shelter with 3 little children. She’s told to get a job, but one of the kids is 3 years old and there’s no childcare available. She’s never worked and has no income history of her own, so it’s hard for her to get an apartment. They left their home quickly, just the clothes on their backs, so in the summer people have helped them get summer clothes, sandals, some toys.

Now winter is here, they need warmer clothes, jackets, boots, hats and gloves, not to mention school supplies. Jimena and I talk this over: “Let’s call so-and-so, she’s good at finding supplies. Then let’s go to the Leverett Transfer Station which always has clothes, housewares, children’s toys and games, and books for free.”

Still, there’s always the need for money to get this family a place to live and to obtain childcare so that the mother could work. The days are getting shorter, the dark longer. Antonio is still working outside though now it’s completely dark. He works 7 days a week. How can he see anything? If you can help this family, please make a donation using the Donate to Immigrant Families button below. Anything you give will be a big deal for them. Thank you very, very much.