I administered a speaking test via Zoom tonight to a new ESL student who is a refugee from anti-Muslim violence and "ethnic cleansing" in a country in Asia. He will start in our Basic Literacy class, as he has only a few words of English presently. He was able to answer the question, "Do you work?" "Yeah," he said. When I asked him, "Where do you work?" it was more English than he knew and he could not respond.
It struck me how tough this mild mannered young man must be. Via text messages I exchanged with his roommate before the test, I gathered that he works full-time during the day. He is living in Chicago, getting to and from his job on public transit and working all day. This, after fleeing for his life from his birthplace. I tried to put myself in his position – torn from my country and in a large Asian city where I can only understand a dozen words of their bewildering language. Such circumstances could really break a person; I am not at all sure how I would fare. And yet here he was, registering to take English classes at night online.
One of the things he was able to communicate to me was his name. Out of concern for his privacy, I can't say it. I will say, however, that it is an English language word, with an altered spelling, that refers to a tool of survival that many creatures possess. It signifies strength. He is exactly the type person that Donald Trump, Steve Bannon, and Steven Miller are seeking to prevent from having refuge in the US.
Theirs is a level cruelty, stupidity and evil that beggars belief.
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