Witnessing Humanity

gonzaleztinam
4 days ago
3 min read

I have had the privilege to take some time to process what has been happening locally in Los Angeles. I have reflected on the historical and global connections that have fueled what is happening today. As the daughter of immigrants, as a friend and as a therapist, I’ve been a witness to the tremendous impact that forced migration and deportation has on individuals, families, and on their physical and mental health.

Intergenerational Trauma

Witnessing humanity is our shared collective experience in the midst of global, local, familial and personal trauma as well as triggered intergenerational trauma. For many there has been a felt sense of heaviness, grief, fear, and confusion. This has been present for folks who may be targeted, who have mixed status families and those who have ancestors who were survivors of forced migration, displacement, and deportation or both.

Intergenerational trauma occurs when the effects of trauma experiences get passed down to descendants as a result of genetic changes, epigenetics, and behavioral patterns, such as how we relate, communicate or parent in our families, without having had to directly witness or experience the traumatic event. The trauma can accumulate across generations, especially if it goes unprocessed or is not grieved. This trauma lives in bodies. This trauma lives in the land where the trauma occurred, because, yes, the land also experienced trauma and as it has held generations.

Humans Experiencing Trauma

In a society that has commodified everything including human beings, it is a surreal experience to have to remind people that those who are currently being targeted are human. This has been the goal of colonization, imperialism and capitalism. In these systems, it is beneficial to forget that humans are not their labor; that they are not political pawns or casualties. The people who have been detained are our friends, our neighbors, our family, they are loved, they are valued, they are human being filled with dreams, hope, love, determination, gifts and dignity.

They are also people experiencing traumatic events in real time. So are their families. So are the people who live under the threat of being detained, of losing their livelihoods, their families, and their lives.

The diagnostic criterion for trauma requires exposure to an actual or threatened traumatic event through direct experience, witness as it occurs to another, learning that the traumatic event happened to a loved one or family and/or experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of the event. Isn’t that what is happening now?

So yes, all of the feelings that you are having right now in response to the objectification of human beings, colonization, forced displacement and migration are both real and valid.

Healing

So how do we process? How do we cope? How do we heal? We begin by following the example of the land that has held us, and we hold and make space for our feelings. We connect with community, we ask for help, we offer help, we show up how we are, as we are and with our needs and our gifts. We are honest about what we can accept and what we can give, and we honor that. You do not need to do all the things, others will show up and do what they can and more will come and that will be enough as we witness and honor our collective humanity day by day.

The antidote is resistance.

The antidote is community.

The antidote is art.

The antidote is self-care.

The antidote is showing up with your gifts.

The antidote is survival.

Practical Resources

Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC)

Step-by-Step Family Preparedness Plan in case of an emergency detailing childcare designation, medical information, legal information and contacts.

Central American Resource Center (CARECEN)

Provides low-cost immigrant legal services and free educational services.

Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)

Provides low-cost legal services and free consultation services for immigration issues.

Asian Americans Advancing Justice (AAJC) SoCal

Provides legal aid for English-limited and low-income communities in Los Angeles and Orange County.

Inland Coalition for Immigrant Justice (IC4IJ)

Serving the Inland Empire and the city of Pomona, they run a rapid response hotline providing resources to the immigrant community, rights education and a legal services directory.

CLUE Justice

Detained Immigrant Bond Fund. They also provide education and advocacy for the dignity of workers through a livable wage and descent working conditions.