A Number So Big You Can't Even Imagine....

SCOTUS just ended Temporary Protected Status for 350,000 Haitians, almost the same size as the population of Honolulu, Hawaii.

Photo by Tingey Injury Law Firm on Unsplash

During the pandemic I saw a social media post that has stuck with me these past six years, (which says a lot considering almost all my waking hours were spent online). It was about the term Psychic Numbing, coined by social scientist Dr. Paul Slovic from the University of Oregon, whose research shows that as the number of victims grows, (from natural or manmade disasters) the human brain struggles to process the large statistics emotionally.

Instead of feeling deeply, the victims become abstract numbers, which stifles the emotional response needed to motivate action. Dr. Slovic discovered that one of the best ways to combat indifference is to tell individual human stories, reminding the world that behind every number is a human being.

I only have my story to tell.

I’ve lived most of my life with the privilege of feeling safe, and the reality is that my white skin still provides me a level of safety that Black and brown people never had.

But I don’t feel safe.

Life-altering loss had cracked my heart wide open. I thought my capacity to empathize with mass suffering had been quartered. Instead, it continues to multiply.

---

Last night I cried.

Okay, I sobbed.

I suppose that isn’t earth shattering news considering the five year anniversary of my husband’s death is next month, but that isn’t the reason I woke up this morning surrounded by half a box of snotty tissues.

Since my own loss I’ve been able to connect on a deeper level with others who are grieving. This time, my tears were in response to the 350,000 Haitians whose Temporary Protected Status (TPS) had just been ripped away by the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision. Political violence and devastating natural disasters had driven them from their country in search of a safe place to rebuild their lives. They thought that place was America. So did I.

People with TPS came to the U.S. legally. They did it “the right way.” Haitian immigrants integrated into communities and became good neighbors. Local industry says they are reliable, hard working people, more so even than their American counterparts. Like most people, they want to live peaceful lives, knowing their children are safe.

I still feel their collective shock and fear. I hear children and adults crying as they grapple with what comes next. Will ICE be dispatched to round them up, put them in “detention” centers and board them onto planes bound for a dangerous place they no longer call home?

My heart aches.

How is yours doing?

I’d love to hear from you.

With love,

Amy