Submitted by Christine Palm.
(July 9, 2019) — CHESTER, CT – “Lights for Liberty: A Nationwide Vigil to End Human Detention Camps” will have a local gathering in Chester on Friday, July 12, 2019 from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m. It will be held at the Chester Meeting House, 4 Liberty St., Chester, as an expression of solidarity with other Lights for Liberty gatherings across the country. The Chester vigil is one of about 75 being held nationally.
“In the face of human rights violations, silence has always been complicity,” Palm said. “We are holding this vigil as an expression of outrage over the Trump Administration’s division of families and the deplorable conditions being endured by desperate people fleeing violence, poverty and oppression in their own countries. But it is also an opportunity to gather with neighbors as an expression of deep concern and compassion for all those being detained, especially migrant children separated from their parents.”
Although Connecticut does not have any detention camps, “it is critical for people of goodwill to express solidarity with those who are suffering,” said Palm, who serves on the General Assembly’s Judiciary Committee. “We are at a turning point, where the officially sanctioned treatment of people trying to enter our country actually fits the United Nations’ definition of crimes against humanity.”
Co-sponsoring organizations include Connecticut Shoreline Indivisible, Together We Rise, ACLU of Connecticut, and The Valley Stands Up. Local and state elected officials are expected to particiate, along with various Connecticut citizens who have been to the border and witnessed the detention process.There will be a group reading of the U.S. Bill of Rights, a call to action, and communal singing.
Organizers ask people to carpool when possible, and to bring a candle, lighter or cell phone to illuminate the vigil once darkness falls.
For more information on Lights for Liberty: https://www.lightsforliberty.org/
To reach Rep. Christine Palm: Christine.palm@cga.ct.gov
