There are people now on the verge of deportation, now in the last days of Trump and, perhaps, we are not yet sure, on into the age of a new administration whose commitment to asylum is not yet fully known.

Art by Melissa Bowen Rubin

What’s Next? Postcard Campaign

Postcard #1 - End MPP

Mail December 15-18

This first postcard in a series is being sent to Joe & Jill Biden, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi and Alejandro Mayorkas (nominated to head Department of Homeland Security).

Image: Sidewalk School for Children Asylum Seekers, Matamoros

The closer they come, the harder it is to look away. That is why we place so many hurdles in the way of people who take to their feet and begin the long, slow march to save their lives. And the lives of their children.

Day 16 of 16 Days Of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign #16Days #OrangeTheWorld #GenerationEquality #RatifyILO190

For our final post of these 16 Days, we leave you with this general information, resources, statistics and this reminder: "When it comes to statistics relating to violence against women and children it’s important to know that you don’t have to be a math expert to understand the numbers. You simply have to be willing to recognize that each statistic represents a woman, child, or family — a life — torn apart by violence and abuse."

Day 15 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

The health of immigrant women in detention suffers. In the case of the women forced to have hysterectomies at the Irwin Detention Facility in Georgia the threat to their reproductive health came from the doctor assigned to care for them.

Day 14 of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign #OrangeTheWorld #RatifyILO190 #generationalequality

"Latin America and the Caribbean account for 14 of the 25 deadliest nations in the world for women. There is rarely justice. As many as 98 percent of gender-related killings go unprosecuted in Latin America, according to the United Nations."

Day 13 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

When I think about violence against women the acts that come to mind are rape, physical violence and verbal abuse. There are forms of abuse that may, on the surface, not look like violence but they are. I witnessed one of these subtler acts of violence at the El Paso airport last year.

I know we are all wondering how things will change for people waiting and arriving at the southern border. We have been promised an immediate end to MPP, the remain in Mexico policy that has stranded thousands who have been kept, impoverished, in limbo, in camps and scattered along the borderline. The line protected by guns and fortifications to defend the wealth of a nation against those seeking sanctuary.

Day 12 of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women#16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence#OrangeTheWorld #RatifyILO190 #generationalequality

In the midst of busy days caring for the mamas and 5 new babies that have been born in recent weeks, Haznos Valer writes: We hope the stories we share from Haznos Valer will lead people to greater empathy and a call to action. Gender-based violence against women has severe and maternal health consequences. In Ciudad Juarez, under MPP, women are even more vulnerable to gender-based violence in many ongoing ways and specifically in the area of maternal health.

Day 11 of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #OrangeTheWorld #generationalequality #RatifyILO190

Sarah Towle is a London-based US expatriate author who has been sharing her journey from outrage to activism one tale of humanity and heroism at a time on Medium. She joined the Witness at the Border vigil in Brownsville/Matamoros and shares here information on Rainbow Bridge Asylum Seekers.

Day 10 of 16 Days of Action Against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #OrangeTheWorld #generationalequality #RatifyILO190

Dr. Yolanda Layva, an acclaimed associate professor at the University of Texas El Paso, is a Chicana historian and writer who was raised on the Texas border. She listens compassionately to and documents the history of people on both sides of the border. She also stood witness outside the gates of Tornillo and gave voice to the children imprisoned there through their art at the exhibit, Uncaged Art, at UTEP (https://tinyurl.com/y55sb2cpl). Today she shares some of her impressions, observations and experiences.

Day 9 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

Jenny Sevilla with Austin Border Relief grew up on the border and regularly travels back to volunteer. She shares some of her experiences working with asylum seeking women.

Day 8 of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

#16daysofactivism2020 #OrangeTheWorld #RatifyILO

Before MPP, in my volunteer work at an immigrant shelter in El Paso, I welcomed women after their release from the hieleras, described in the article below.

Fight for immigration system change won't stop with new president. A report from KHOU in Houston, Texas. Photos by Allan Mestel.

Day 7 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence The Official 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign

What is the human cost associated with the produce in your grocery cart?

The #MeToo movement gained traction in 2006 and we saw many high profile examples of sexual abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace. One group of women largely missing and not represented in this movement is farm workers. Women make up 28% of the agricultural workforce.

The battle lines are going to shift. But the battle is far from over.

As long as borders are used to defend the unjust and unequal distribution of the world’s resources, we will find those borders and highlight the injustice we see. As we have learned, the border is everywhere. Sidelined as many of us have been by our vulnerability to the disease that is ravaging the land, we can still choose to see.

Day 6 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence @16dayscampaign

Day 5 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence @16dayscampaign

Women held in detention are subjected to all forms of abuse. At the Irwin County Detention Center the medical abuse reported by a whistleblower is horrifying.

Day 4 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence Against Women

#16days #orangetheworld #generationequality #ratifyILO190

Longtime witness, Maryellen Dunn, reminds us that "We Are All Interconnected" as she relates her experiences along the Texas-Mexico border with asylum seeking women forced to await their "day in court" in very dangerous border cities and a woman who has dedicated her time and talents to providing shelter and compassion. She recalls the woman that implored, "Please don't forget us."

Day 3 of 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence @16dayscampaign

Femicide is a major issue in Mexico.