Double post

Shooting to kill or shooting or stop at a border most certainly happens in different places around the world. Two examples off the top of my head are at the Israel-Egypt border where Egyptian forces will shoot Sudanese and other African refugees trying to enter Israel. Another example was at the Gaza border earlier this year when dozens of Palestinians were shot trying to cross the border. US border patrol has shot people on the southern border, including people who weren’t actually in the US when they were shot. I completely agree with your point that no one should be shot for trying to cross a border. The above examples all horrify me. But I still don’t think the situation on North Sentinel Island is in any way analogous to any other border situation on this planet, except possibly with some other groups of “uncontacted” people. The rules are different around North Sentinel, India makes sure people know that, and Chau knew that. The fact that he paid a huge bribe to get there shows he knew he was doing something wrong.

I also don’t think this situation can be used as an analogy for any other because it’s so unique. The legal ideals we use in the rest of the world don’t apply here in any way. There are very few places in the world where the rules are so very different as they are on North Sentinel Island. Not only was it illegal for Chau to do this, it was immoral in every way. I cannot see any way in which this could possibly be given a moral explanation. Unjustifiable in every single way. While I don’t think the exact label of terrorism fits here, partly because I don’t think what happened can fit in well with worldwide notions of law, I do think Chau was using a violent action to promote his religious belief. He’s certainly not the first people to do that, but he’s being eulogized by those who are more likely to agree with that belief. As a member of a denomination that sends missionaries (almost) all over the world, I’m dismayed that anyone would try to justify this in any way. This is not something Christianity wants to support.

I’m really bothered by this on so many levels. Even if he were just an adventure traveler, it’s still despicable. He put far more people than himself at risk. He bribed a group of people with a large sum of money to do something illegal and dangerous, and now they’re in serious trouble. He put the lives of the Sentinelese at risk. This is unjustifiable.

It does make sense. I hope you have a wonderful day today to balance out a bit of the sadness. You’re not at all ungrateful for missing your family.

I love this story in every single way.

Goblin Valley in Utah Patrick’s Point in California Pretty much anything on the Oregon Coast

I bake four loaves at a time and put them in the freezer, except for the one we’re currently eating. That one goes in a bread bag, like you buy bread in at the store, that I reuse many times without washing it. I just shake the crumbs out of the bag. I often move to very different climates and this system is the only one that has consistently worked for me. The bread bag keeps it from drying out, but isn’t so airtight that moisture gets trapped in there (and not washing the bag every time helps to avoid moisture too).

It’s been a little warmer than it should be here, but mostly normal. The highs are in the upper 70s or low 80s now. Leaves don’t change color here, but the air quality unfortunately gets worse as it gets cooler. Some mornings I can’t see across the Nile to Roda Island because of the pollution. I’m hoping for rain soon.

I actually wasn’t trying to switch or change HeighHo’s concern, but address what I thought that concern was in relation to the original post. That’s why I asked for clarification and I appreciated that it was given. I missed the sleazy part since that was edited in later. I responded to what I quoted (and I didn’t edit anything HeighHo said). I’m not sure why pronouns referring to me are in quotes, or why my board name is being put in quotes and misspelled. Amira isn’t my real name, but I don’t think many of us are using our real names here.

I personally hope that every asylum seeker is allowed to enter the US at a designated border entry and is given a credible fear test. That’s the best way to handle this particular situation too. But the original question was about US law. Whether an entry was documented or not doesn’t matter, legally, although I understand why some are concerned about it. To me, the way to handle that is to make the inprocessing at border points more efficient so no one feels that they need to try to enter elsewhere.

US asylum law allows undocumented people who have been in the US for up to a year to claim asylum. In fact, it’s important to allow that option because we don’t want to deport anyone to a life-threatening situation. Is that your only concern with what I posted? A good place to learn about US asylum law is the US government website about it. https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-asylum/asylum

Here are two stories about people I personally know who have fled their homes as refugees or asylum seekers. The first is a Chaldean Christian from Iraq. She fled with her brother and his family to Jordan in the 1990s because her brother refused to serve in the Iraqi military anymore under Saddam Hussein. As Christians, they also faced an uncertain future in Iraq. Their life in Jordan was very difficult because Jordan hosts so many refugees and asylum seekers. Up to 1/3 of Jordan’s population are refugees or asylum seekers and it is impossible for Jordan to support them. My friend (who I met in Jordan in 1997) ended up returning to Iraq in the 2000s after the Kurdish north became somewhat safer and more autonomous because life in Jordan was too hard. She applied to be resettled in both the US and Australia but her applications were denied. My husband was able to see her again in Iraq a couple of years ago, 19 years after we first met her, and it would be impossible for me to describe everything she and her children have been through. The second story is about a South Sudanese man who has fled his home multiple times. When he was about 10 in the early 1990s, he walked from southern Sudan to Khartoum with his grandmother. On the journey, he saw children taken by hyenas at night and feared the same would happen to him. I will never forget listening to him talk about that experience as a child. He lived in Khartoum for a few years and then moved on to Egypt where many Sudanese have taken refuge. Sudanese in Egypt have a very difficult life and rarely can get legal permission to work, but for many it’s the only viable place to live. Then in 2011, South Sudan became a country and many South Sudanese, including my friend, returned home with so much hope (and since Egypt had just had its own revolution, many South Sudanese felt Egypt was not a good option anymore), but civil war broke out. My friend was put in prison for years, for no reason, and finally escaped back to Egypt where he cannot support his family because of Egypt’s economic and political difficulties, but at least he is safer. There literally is no place on this planet right now where he has a legal right to live and work safely. He has not seen his mother in 27 years. These are just two examples. I have talked to Salvadorans in the US, Afghans in Kyrgyzstan, Syrians in France, and Nicaraguans in Mexico who tell the same kinds of stories. Things are very dangerous in some parts of Central America right now. People don’t flee their homes unless they can’t live there anymore. Claiming asylum in the US is a last, desparate attempt because the vast majority of Central American asylum claims are rejected in the end. But when your children are not safe, you do whatever you can to make them safe.

Refugees are supposed to stay in the country where they registered as refugees until they are either resettled in a third country (they don’t get to choose which country) or can return home, if either of those options ever becomes a possibility. Asylum seekers are different though. They can choose where they try to claim asylum, even if it’s not the first country they fled to. It is not always a viable option for asylum seekers to claim asylum in the first country they come to. Many Central Americans have claimed asylum in other Central American countries. Costa Rica, for example, is hosting a large number of refugees and asylum seekers from Central America. There are a number of groups who support asylum seekers all over the world as they are trying to find safe places to live. Pueblos Sin Fronteras is one of the more prominent groups supporting the Central American asylum seekers in the news right now, but there are others too, including many religious groups helping individual asylum seekers.

Asylum seekers aren’t getting around established US laws, but instead they’re using their right to claim asylum in the US. Almost anyone has that right, although it doesn’t mean they will be granted asylum. US asylum laws (and those in many other countries) are heavily influenced by what happened to so many people, especially Jews, in WWII who were automatically denied asylum in safe countries. It is important that we fairly evaluate asylum claims. There is no cap on asylees, as there are with refugees, because we never would want to stop people legitimately in need of safety from being granted asylum simply because a quota was reached. The only way to claim asylum in the US is to be physically present in the US. Refugees are in a different legal category and have a different entry and approval process. This is a group of asylum seekers, not refugees, so they need to present themselves in the US and claim asylum. Under US law, asylum seekers are supposed to be allowed to present themselves anywhere in the US and claim asylum. They do not have to be at an official border crossing. After claiming asylum, they should be assessed to see if they have a credible fear of persecution in their home country. If they do, they will be allowed to continue their asylum claim which takes some time to adjudicate because of the paperwork they need to provide to show they aren’t safe at home. US laws allows them to stay in the US while their claims are being processed - they almost have to because leaving the US before their claim is decided on can void the claim. There are very few humanitarian options for entering the US. There are a few types of humanitarian visas, or someone can go through the very long and difficult process of entering the US as a refugee, or someone can claim asylum. Asylum claims are the most practical option for people facing significant violence in their home countries in Central America.

Agreeing with the knee scooter. I’ve broken my foot twice and a knee scooter wasn’t available in the countries I lived in and I coveted one.

I’d fly my entire family to the country I’m living in and we’d all explore and hang out together for two weeks. We would rent a big house to stay in and hire someone to cook and grocery shop for us the entire entire so we wouldn’t have to spend time on that. I love the city I live in and the only improvement would be to have my sisters here with me.

We had about 65 pieces of candy and ran out near the end.

Sure. And I’ll try to clear out some messages.

You can edit the name though, to make it clear it’s not a functioning club.

I don’t think so. It’s not an option in my club’s settings.

I left in case you can change the settings if no one else has joined.

I don’t think you can change the status after you create the club, or at least I never figured out a way to do that.

Yes, I’ve been reading about that. I’m so glad Colombia has kept its borders open and allowed so many Venezuelans to enter, but it’s sad how little support Colombia is getting, and only a small percentage of Venezuelans are legally registered as refugees so they don’t get as much UN help either. It seems that some countries like to talk about supporting refugees where they currently are living, but it doesn’t happen. And it’s especially important in countries like Colombia that already have millions of internally displaced people from recent crises. I hope Colombia gets the support it needs.

And when you do, you can get a personalized voting sticker. https://www.fvaptraining.com/FVAPIVoted/