I'm Tired

I'm tired!!!!!!!!1!!

That's about all I really have to say about that.

Anyway, week three has been very eventful in both my world and the world of immigration. In my world... I've done a lot of walking. This is definitely a side story so skip ahead if you want but I'm telling it-- On Thursday I left work early so that I could submit a visa application at the South African Embassy, which was about a $15 Uber ride away. When I get there I discover that not only do they close at 4 instead of 5 o.clock, like the website reports, they also don't accept applications after noon. Okay cool, whatever, but now I've just paid some guy to drop me off at a random address and I need to find my way home. To make the best of it I sat in the park at the Washington National Cathedral, took a trip to the Penn Quarter Farmer's Market, ate a nice "Qdoba Style" Indian restaurant downtown, watched some kickball action in the National Mall, and then topped it off listening to the Marine Band cover Patsy Cline. It was the best way I could've spent 11,500 steps.

The world of immigration never stops, and this week Donald signed an executive order that stopped family separation at the border, something that was implemented as part of his Zero Tolerance policy on illegal immigration. The outcry over the ridiculousness of the situation was so great that the administration had no choice but to eat their words. Congressmen, churches, public officials, even former First Lady Laura Bush released statements against the policy. Of course, when Donald signed the order it was framed as him showing mercy to these families, which is annoying because he literally didn't have to separate them in the first place, but I suppose progress is progress. Now the issue is what happens next, because over 2,000 children have already been separated and nobody really knows when they'll be reunited. The fight isn't over, but the executive order was broadcasted as a full win in some circles and as a result many people have started to kick back and relax, but we can't relax! We should all be tired!

Roy Koech
EYA Intern, General Board of Church and Society