When I went to volunteer at New Sanctuary Coalition on Tuesday it was a really moving experience. The first of which I have already written my CR about and that is how through seeing how much more comfortable the children became when I talked to them in Spanish, I experienced the power of learning languages and became re-motivated to continue my study of Mandarin and Spanish. But there was another moment that stood out to me. It was towards the beginning of the night and I was sitting on the couch with a young boy. He was 13 years old which was older than all the other children and was bragging about his age. He was also taller than the younger kids bullying them by hanging toys over their heads so they couldn’t grab them. I, of course, want him to stop so I decide to put him in his place.
I stand up so I tower over him and say guess how old I am.
How old?
I am 18. Instantly I see a scared look on his face.
You’re 18?
Yes, I say.
How do I know you are not the police?
Silence.
This tough boy suddenly looks weak and young. At first, I thought he was joking but quickly realized that as an undocumented immigrant this was an everyday fear in his life.
No, I am not the police I say. I am far from a police officer. I work in an immigration law firm I tell him.
Suddenly he jumps up and pulling the toy from my hand, runs away. Everything returns to normal but I cannot get his scared face out of my head. I have always thought of police officers as a safe heaven, someone who protects me. But for that little boy, a police officer is anything but safe. I have such a privilege being born in the US. I think at LREI we speak of the many privileges we hold whether it is race, religion, socio-economic level, sexuality, gender etc. I do think we forgot to speak about a major privilege: that of citizenship.
Moving forward I am going to be more aware of the privileges I do hold and use them to make a difference. I do not have the answer to everything but the more I experience the more my world view is shapes and shifts. I am going to be like a sponge for the last 2 weeks of senior project: absorb everything I can and use that to teach myself how to be a better leader, student, friend and person.