This is the front of a postcard that was sent to me recently by the Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project, an Arizona organization that, according to its website, "provides free legal and social services to detained men, women, and children under threat of deportation."
The artwork was provided by a FIRRP client, who has been "a victim of torture and human trafficking." Being able to create such works of beauty in the midst, or wake, of such pain and uncertainty is a gift.
Here is some more information from the FIRRP website, which accepts donations to boost its humanitarian efforts.
- "The Florence Project was born in the 1980s, when countless immigrants crossed the Arizona-Mexico border fleeing violence and persecution in Central America. Instead of finding safety, they were met with the harsh reality of detention and a confusing legal system."
- "Detained immigrants facing deportation in the U.S. do not have the right to a public defender. Without representation, many will lose their case and get sent back to the conditions they are fleeing. To some, this is a death sentence."
- "An estimated 86 percent of the detained people go unrepresented due to poverty. The Florence Project strives to address this inequity both locally and nationally through direct service, partnerships with the community, and advocacy and outreach efforts."
- "The vision of the Florence Project is to ensure that all immigrants facing removal have access to counsel, understand their rights under the law, and are treated fairly and humanely."
Obviously, FIRRP's efforts are needed more than ever in 2018.
This crisis is ongoing. We are still working with young children who were separated from their parents and with parents who remain detained, and reunification will not erase the trauma that this crisis inflicted upon countless families #frontlinePBS
— Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project (@FlorenceProject) August 1, 2018
Wait, this is the Florence where the Hermans live, right?
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