“The only thing more powerful than hate is love.”
This was a powerful statement made by Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl, and it is one that we all need to learn from – especially now. ICE raids continue to plague our cities, bringing violence, fear and anxiety into our neighborhoods. It has become so dangerous that people are afraid to come out of their homes to go to work and school. Now, more than ever, it is important to unite as a society and be a help to others in need. Constantly watching the violence on our streets through the news or social media platforms is devastating, and it could lead to some of us feeling helpless as we sit on the other side of the screen not knowing what to do. Thankfully, there are ways to help. Even if they are small acts, they matter!
- Peaceful Protests
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Protesting is a way to make a stand and bring unity to communities. Protests, especially large ones, make a statement and turn heads to what is being protested. It’s a start to a change. When I joined a protest at my university, I felt such an overwhelming feeling of support due to how many people showed up with their signs, traditional hairstyles, and jerseys. It felt comforting that so many people were willing to stand together against injustice. The unity was felt! The amount of people that showed up drew the attention of various news outlets and spread like wildfire, and that’s exactly the purpose – to make our voices heard. Head to the nearest protest if possible. Showing up matters!
- Call Your Representatives
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If you can’t attend protests due to work or school, there are still other ways to make your voice heard and contribute to political change. Calling your representatives is your right as a citizen, and it takes less than five minutes to leave a message. There is a website called 5calls.org where you can find out who your local representatives are, along with their phone numbers. It also provides a script if you feel anxious about making phone calls. It takes five or less minutes of your day to take action, so please do!
- Provide Mutual Aid
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Supporting affected families can be extremely helpful. Some of the ways to do that would be joining support groups that help with delivering food, groceries, or other supplies to families that are afraid of leaving their homes. For example, in my community there were people who offered to drive children of affected families to school in order to avoid ICE. If you have the resources to offer these services, it would be of great help to those affected by the raids.
- Share Crucial Information
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Spreading important information that can save someone from these raids is very important. Whether it is on social media, community groups, or by word of mouth, it could be immensely helpful. This crucial information could be knowing what to do when ICE appears at your front door (the use of the fourth amendment), finding out where ICE has been seen in your neighborhood, and knowing how to protect yourself when you are out and about. Personally, when my mutual friends share where ICE has been around the neighborhood, I am able to share it with my family, and they share it with their friends, and so on. A good website for this is stopice.net, which sends live updates of ICE sightings.
- Donate
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If you aren’t in the position to go out and help, you can still donate to organizations to help out immigrants during these times, either with legal matters or sanctuary support (for example, nilc.org). If you have the resources, it’s easy and is from the comfort of your home.
What’s happening in the U.S. today has only gotten worse since it began. It’s not normal to be hunted for the color of your skin, for the accent you carry, or for where you come from. It’s not normal to separate families from each other. We all carry a voice with us. United, we can make ourselves heard – by showing support to those affected, by showing resilience, and by supporting each other during difficult times. Spreading love instead of hate sounds like something from a fantasy story, but it has an impact.