Zoravik Statement of Solidarity with Refugees, Immigrants, and Asylum Seekers

Zoravik stands in solidarity with the refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers currently being targeted by the Trump administration. As a community of refugees and descendants of refugees, we condemn all forms of identity-based persecution and racism.

No child should ever be separated from their parents, guardians, or family. We are sickened by the abusive and unsanitary conditions that children and adults are being subjected to in so-called detention centers across the southern border. Furthermore, we condemn the use of raids to their homes and places of work and worship.

As a people who have experienced the trauma of displacement and the need to seek asylum, we as Armenians condemn the escalating terror and dehumanizing treatment of Latin American migrants at the hands of CBP and ICE agents. We know the impact of deportations. We know from our own history the emotional harm and the devastation inflicted upon children who are forcefully and violently separated from their families. We know that state violence on such a scale causes psychological trauma that is passed on for generations to come.

As a collective dedicated to fighting for justice for all peoples, we condemn the President and his administration for their virulently racist, anti-immigrant, xenophobic policies. We condemn all those who continue to terrorize and perpetrate violence at the border and across the country in their name. We call for ICE to be abolished, for the camps to be closed, and for all children to be reunited with their families. We call on Congress to make meaningful immigration reform a priority.

We ask all Armenians to reflect on our own traumatic history, and urge you, and your church or organizations, to take action now to help those who are fleeing oppression and seeking refuge and a safe haven in this country.

As an Armenian collective, we say:

No more raids! No more deportations! Close the camps and abolish ICE now!

In Solidarity,
Զօրավիգ
Zoravik – Armenian Activist Collective
July 24, 2019
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The following resources provide information on how to protect and support immigrants and
refugees in your community and at the border:
. Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Action Coalition (MIRA)
. National Immigration Law Center
. No More Deaths
. Annunciation House
. Kids in Need of Defense (KIND)
. Asylum Seeker Advocacy Project (ASAP)