From our neighbors up North
February, 2025
This month we are sharing a reflection from a comrade at Plattsburgh Cares, in memoriam of the life of Ana Karen Vasquez-Flores, 33, of Mexico, who crossed from the Great Chazy River in darkness in the dead of winter to seek refuge in the United State. She was found in a different section of river on Dec. 14, 2023. (Please note that the memorial in the photograph is NOT on public land.)
From one of our neighbors up north:
“It is brutally sad. We must remember Ana and we must continue to honor her and all the others who died because of horrific immigration policies that serve no one but those who profit from the suffering of others including our governments.
That may be a radical statement but it fits the time we are in. I am grieving the unnecessary deaths and suffering and the generational trauma that will and has occurred. I am fearful of the dismantling of our democracy and the fallout across the world.
I’m doing everything I can to perform daily acts of resistance from making daily phone calls to my elected officials, organizing to flip the House seat (Elise Stephanik- NY21) to a democratic candidate (such a narrow margin in the House that this will make a difference) in a very large coordinated effort with Indivisible, and most of all, continuing to provide emergency support to immigrants in our area as well as food bags for all those who are hungry, a number that keeps growing every day.
As I say every time we fill the bags (now close to 200 bags every month), we have to stay focused on what we can do as opposed to what we cannot. Thank you all for being such important partners in this good and heartfelt work.
Plattsburgh Cares is located at what was formerly the most traveled point on the northern border, when Roxham Road was open. With the closure of Roxham Road in March of 2023, people have been forced into a wider range of dangerous crossings.
Plattsburgh Cares mission is to assist immigrants, migrants, and other vulnerable people in our community to achieve their goals safely and responsibly with compassion, justice, and respect for all. We are responding to a humanitarian crisis. We are non-partisan. We offer assistance to all those in need in Plattsburgh, locals and travelers, regardless of their status. Our only goal is to keep people safe and make sure their basic needs are being met until they can get to their next safe place. We have a website, www.plattsburghcares.org, and we are dependent on donations and grants to support our mission.
Written by our friend at Plattsburgh Cares