I am listening to the Rachel Maddow Show. Richard Engel is reporting about a man from El Salvador who was deported without his daughter. He has not seen her for twenty-six days and does not know where she is. I could hear the absolute desperation in his voice. His name is Arnovis Guido. I am guessing about the exact spelling. His daughter’s name is Maybelline. She is six. Someone in this country knows where she is and we must help him find her. There are 99 children being held in Michigan by Bethany Christian Services. Is she with them? There are 700 children in New York State, is she there? We know where these facilities are located and if we can make an effort to contact the agencies in our states and tell them that Arnovis Guido is desperate to find his six year old daughter, Maybelline, perhaps we may able to relieve his agony. I know, typing here in the dark, I am in tears, yet cannot imagine his anguish. I cannot imagine the grief of this little girl, going to sleep at night without knowing where her Papa is.
We must act on behalf of this father.
We must act on behalf of all fathers.
We must act on behalf of all mothers.
We must act on behalf of all of these children.
I am growing very angry listening to politicians say how difficult this is. It’s not difficult-there are less than 2500 children. That number is smaller than the population of any large high school. We can do this. If we can raise 18 million dollars in a few short days for legal services, we can also find Maybelline. Then we move on to the next little girl or boy until they are all located.
This is our nation’s shame. We must work to undo this horror.