CIN Board Member advocating for our New Neighbors at Riverton Park Methodist Church In the midst of heavy rain, and 50 mph winds last night… Over the past several months, almost 500 courageous and resilient asylum seekers, including about a hundred children and a dozen pregnant women have made their way to Washington State. They are currently living in tents in the rain and cold at Riverton Park United Methodist Church in Tukwila, who have generously provided them with space and some very basic support. Governmental leaders at the local, state, and federal level have known of this for months, but have failed to act. The majority of our new neighbors are Congolese people coming from Angola, where they had previously sought refuge. Angola has suffered five years of drought as a result of climate change, which, combined with human rights violations, had made their lives there extremely tenuous. Most of them made their way to Brazil, from which they embarked on treks of five months or longer to the U.S./Mexico border, were admitted as asylum-seekers, and then made their way to our state. There are many skilled people seeking asylum, including medical professionals, tradespeople, and a gifted Angolan artist. Coming up will be their first Thanksgiving in the United States. Like the original Pilgrims, these heroic people made their way across an ocean, only to travel up to an additional 7,000 miles to reach their destination. Many of their children are already in school. They are applying for ID cards, drivers licenses, and waiting for the opportunity to work to support their families. Some day they will be permanent residents and citizens, neighbors, taxpayers, and voters, a credit to their new communities, to Washington State, and to their country. Much needed contributions can be sent to www.cinseattle.org I can vouch for them: I’m on the Board.
David Albert
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