Dear John,
I know what it’s like to live under a government that uses fear to control people. To feel like you’re being watched. To weigh every word, for fear that speaking out could put you or your loved ones in danger. To worry that the organizations and causes you have dedicated yourself to will be dismantled before your very eyes.
I never imagined I would feel the beginnings of those same fears here in the United States.
Over the past few months, I’ve attended rushed goodbye parties for colleagues whose visas were revoked without explanation, witnessed friends cancel long-planned visits to their home countries, consoled the staff at partner organizations who had to dramatically reduce staff or suspend operations, and watched in utter horror as the U.S. government detained 238 Venezuelan migrants and transferred illegally them to a mega-prison in a third country known for cases of torture and human rights abuses.
This is a climate of fear that I thought I’d left behind in my home country, yet here we are.
Though I worry about the future of the United States and of many people I hold dear, WOLA gives me the strength to continue to hope.
WOLA has seen what resilience can do. We’ve witnessed the end of regimes once thought untouchable, peace processes emerge after decades of conflict, and rights reclaimed against incredible odds. This organization, which I am proud to lead, has witnessed the last 50 years of the pendulum of history and has risen to the occasion every time.
Change is possible, and resilience means believing in that possibility. WOLA will be there, watching for every opportunity to advance human rights and social justice whenever the moment demands it.
I am asking you to become part of our resilience, as we cannot do it alone. Join us in refusing to look away. Please recommit to human rights and social justice and give generously to WOLA today.
In solidarity,
