distortedLens: All Comments

Immigration is the great unifier of man and womankind: before letters, phone calls, social media. It is hard to read this and not place oneself within the greater context of our social, political and human realities. I can't help but wonder if we need to reshift our focus from freedom, self-determination, and materialism to something more humane. Perhaps if we can all agree upon a definition of what a human is and what a human is not, travesties such as these can be averted. Bravo to you, Ms. Mengiste. You have given us a tale we can apply to any context in the world, to that member of our family who has risked everything for something more, for their right to be human. I think what many of us forget, the billions of us, is that this is a universal construct. We are all complicit, but we are also all in possession of real power that can make a difference. I hope this story, essay, moment in our collective history, is shared with all of those who refuse to see the power they have to make real changes in this world.