Adventure and hope / Betsy Yeager ; Sanctuary / Diane Elder.

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    A dear friend, a maryknoll priest, a man respected
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    in the international diplomatic community, lies at death's door,
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    observing a quest for peace, for the defense of life
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    and against terrorism as his answer to Christ's call.
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    Father Miguel, this photo's life is ebbing
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    as Minister of Foreign Affairs and the government of Nicaragua and a priest.
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    He is doing this as a prophetic prayer to put an end to the
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    policy of state terrorism inflicted on his people by the United States.
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    From a letter just received from a methodist missionary.
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    A friend, Peggy Heiner.
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    I read a young woman spoke her body taut
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    and her voice trembling.
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    She told us how she and her husband had gone on a weekend visit to his family.
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    They'd had a nice evening together and were in bed when a rain of gunfire
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    hit the house.
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    Grenades entered the room and they lived as finales.
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    Her father in law ran to where nine year old Maria was sleeping.
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    The left side of her head was severed.
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    He screamed, They've killed my little Maria.
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    The family tried to get outside as the shooting shook the house, but
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    16 year old Esteban was shot as he ran out and
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    cried, Mommy. They've killed little Maria and they've killed me.
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    I served on the first long term team of Witness for Peace
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    on the Nicaraguan Honduras border, spending months with
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    the. Warmest. Most humble, most forgiving children
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    of God I've ever known.
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    Let me read from my journal so that you, too, may share this joyous,
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    tragic, creative for Christian people.
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    December four for the trip yesterday to the new co-op
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    called El Coco, formed from government efforts of people
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    who had little farms in the mountains where the controls were attacking and
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    have sought refuge. Here was fascinating.
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    The government has built 100 basic shells of houses without houses,
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    a school and a clinic.
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    The people have moved in, formed a co-op at all levels
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    children's dining rooms, daycare centers, health care centers,
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    community grain silos, fields, crops, everything.
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    The schoolteacher is moving into the community to better integrate into people's lives.
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    They live so much better than they ever did.
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    They've learned that cooperation and working the land is of mutual benefit.
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    Amazing people who never have known each other working as though they've been
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    born together.
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    Their enthusiasm for the revolution is high, boundless.
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    We gathered together in the field that was central to the homes for a service of thanks,
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    which broke into a community sing at the end with such spirit and verve.
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    December eight.
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    Tension is mounting in Hanukkah as groups of 12 to 15 year olds
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    armed with rifles roll out of town.
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    We went to a funeral this afternoon for 214 year old soldiers killed
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    by the constant. 50% of Nicaragua.
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    It's under 15 years of age.
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    The poor young mothers were standing there so forlorn.
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    One in particular was so alone.
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    I put my arm around the.
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    In a few minutes she looked up at me for tears and said, We
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    forgive you. We forgive the American people.
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    We just pray Mr. Reagan's heart will soften.
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    This woman standing over her own child's casket
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    had no hate in her heart.
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    Only forgiveness.
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    December 16.
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    Advert. Hard to believe in this humidity so far from home.
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    Mortar fire and machine guns. Near and far.
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    These people obviously think the attack is coming.
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    One deer woman kept saying they're not bad people.
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    Are you?
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    What's the future for these people?
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    Are they just to be spent as so many past generations of Nicaraguans?
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    These young, idealistic, creative, joyous souls.
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    Just more bloody statistics.
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    December 17th.
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    Today, one of the women told me that she sees the map of Canada, the US,
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    Mexico, Central and South America as the body of Christ
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    as it's pictured hanging on the cross with Nicaragua as its heart.
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    It makes me think of their slogan that they always shout at meetings.
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    Every Christian is small in revolution.
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    Now I would say the decision between Christianity and revolution.
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    There is no contradiction.
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    This place is just like so many little towns in Latin America.
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    I feel as though I've been living here always.
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    Then I'm suddenly aware of the unified spirit, the awareness,
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    the knowledge that they have understood their deep commitment to Christ, justice
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    and peace, and will fight to the death to keep
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    what they've won honestly, openly.
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    With their own blood for their children.
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    The smell of smells is always in the air, the smell of corn being roasted
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    and ground with a few cocoa beans, Latino, which is
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    practically what they live on.
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    December 18th.
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    Now, with the one and only road to the rest of Nicaragua in the hands of the contractors,
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    the poor town is cut off and supplies very little food,
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    although there's lots of beans and black coffee, the contrary, attacking
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    the whole area. There's tents.
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    Bullets are flying and mortars are raining to
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    tragic people. Why is my government treating them in such
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    a manner?
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    December 20th.
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    There's a baby laid out on my neighbor's table.
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    It looks like a little doll surrounded by wildflowers as well
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    as little play animals.
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    Someone had put a flower in each tiny piece.
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    Children were milling around it as. As it appeared to be sleeping in its manger.
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    December 24.
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    Last night, that beautiful por el Coco was devastated by
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    weapons, helicopters and men trained by my country.
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    The conqueror attacked, burning those lovely fields, firing those
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    new little houses. The silo built so recently, murdering
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    the children and killing all the people, including the health brigade
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    workers and the teachers.
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    The entire co-op was strong.
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    We are wordless, shocked, beyond tears.
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    These people are tearful, though deeply emotionally involved with each
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    death as though it is a member of their family.
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    January.
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    I have to write this today.
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    I don't want to, but I must.
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    I was visiting a woman helping her hang up her wash.
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    Chatting about the Bible study.
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    A mortar whistled close and exploded, killing her six year old.
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    She ran, picked up the body and began running for it.
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    Tom.
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    Suddenly she realized her child's body had been decapitated.
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    She put the body down and round the head.
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    Ahead which.
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    God. God. What are we doing?
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    This is why, Father Miguel, this photo was best in his life away.
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    And a prophetic, perfect piece of dialog.
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    For six years, he struggled for peace for his beautiful people, creating
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    joy the children of God that they are now exhausted.
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    He gives his life in.
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    If I may leave my journal, I'd like to read you.
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    The Prince is.
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    Don't be afraid of your enemies.
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    Always be courageous. And this will prove to them that they will lose.
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    And you will win because it is.
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    God gives you the gift for you being given
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    the privilege of serving Christ by suffering.
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    Because God is always at work in you to make you willing and able to obey
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    His own purposes and do everything without complaining
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    or arguing so that you may be innocent.
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    And here is God's perfect children who live in
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    a world of corrupt and sinful people.
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    I'm. A little concern that we had to ask twice
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    that pictures and not be taken.
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    And it reminds me of a trial that's going on in Phenix because
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    a couple of people went to a meeting of church, people like you
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    and I for some misplaced motives.
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    It makes me wonder if there aren't one or two people here with misplaced motives.
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    And if there are, I welcome you in
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    the name of peace, and I ask you
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    to open your hearts to the healing power of this community of women.
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    Just about a year ago, I was asked if I would participate in this meeting.
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    And so many things have happened in my life in the last year.
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    I've had to revise the speech several times.
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    I was originally going to speak about refugees at Casa Romero
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    in Texas.
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    But we are all very fortunate to have
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    a woman here who will speak after me, who can speak
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    with much greater authenticity about the refugee crisis.
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    So instead, I'd like to rewrite the program a little
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    with your indulgence.
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    And talk a little bit about some of the things that have happened to me in the not
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    too distant past.
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    Perhaps to give you a clearer idea of the risks
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    that I take with my life.
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    And perhaps a better understanding of what my personal motivation
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    might be.
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    I speak to you tonight, primarily from my perspective
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    as a mother of four young sons.
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    In April, my husband began serving a five month sentence
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    for his conviction on various counts of assisting Salvadoran
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    refugees.
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    He was convicted on those charges when he was director of
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    Casa Oscar Romero, which is a temporary refugee
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    shelter for Central American refugees.
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    It's located in southern Texas.
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    In May, a month after Jack began serving his sentence, my sons
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    and I moved from Casa Romero to a nearby town
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    where we continued to live and work on behalf of Central American refugee
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    concerns.
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    I was really afraid that when Jack went to jail, I would be so
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    overwhelmed by family concerns that I would withdraw from
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    working with refugees.
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    But as always, in times of crisis, God
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    shows us new reserves of courage and strength
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    and energy. So my commitment continues.
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    And I've met several people who.
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    We'd like to think that I'm an extraordinary person because of my commitment.
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    I can assure you I am not.
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    I guess my explanation would be that
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    my commitment has evolved from and is an extension
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    of my love for my children.
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    I think as parents, we are blessed with a unique relationship
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    with our children.
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    It's a relationship of total commitment, of selfless,
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    unlimited love and concern for the protection
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    of another person.
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    And one of the.
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    The truths that I've learned from the refugees.
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    Is that this?
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    Kind of selfless. Love is the love that God intends
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    all of us to share.
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    So understanding that this love is
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    our only protection, our only liberator
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    from oppression.
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    And from hatred.
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    We can see then that the risks become much more manageable.
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    Just exactly what are the risks?
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    They can be quite a few.
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    Loss of privacy.
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    Legal. Entanglement.
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    Illegal harassment.
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    And the ultimate risk of jail.
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    My family and I have faced that ultimate risk.
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    But unlike our sisters and brothers in Central America,
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    we North Americans face that risk in relative physical
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    safety.
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    And amidst a mountain of support from friends and strangers alike.
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    And like our sisters and brothers in Central America, we face those risks.
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    With incredible grace from God, the extent of which we never could have expected.
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    This administration uses jail as a way to separate
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    us from our communities, from our support.
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    And I don't think we need anyone else to do that for us.
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    I think we create our own jails when we refuse
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    to face our own private fears.
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    In trying to face my own fears.
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    And going to jail or Jack, going to jail was one of the greatest for me.
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    I try to put life in its broadest possible perspective.
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    The broad picture here very easily shows us the risks.
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    Then our brothers and sisters in Central America face daily.
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    It shows us atrocities, which in my mind anyway have
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    far surpassed the gross horrors of the Holocaust.
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    We are witnesses to.
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    In fact, we are responsible for governments
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    whose aim is the systematic destruction of its own people.
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    And I'm talking here of civilian population.
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    People like you and me.
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    I'm talking of the terror of not knowing when you kiss
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    your child goodbye and send her to school, whether you'll ever see her again.
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    Well, where you find her in a few days on the road, decapitated,
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    eviscerated or burned beyond recognition.
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    Or the terror of knowing someone who knows someone who
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    was a victim of this kind of violence.
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    And now your mind. And it's only a matter of time before they come for you as well.
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    And the kids. What about the children?
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    How would it be for your children and my children?
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    To have seen dead bodies in the street for as long as they can remember.
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    For them to hear that daily bombs falling.
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    To know the terror of the disappearances and to wonder when it will touch them
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    personally.
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    This broader picture for me very often is outside the realm
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    of my own comprehension.
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    The horror is too great for me to acknowledge.
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    But as a mother.
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    The children.
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    They are constantly reminding me.
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    On some level, which perhaps I can't even articulate very well.
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    I understand that all children are my children.
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    That the things that I protect and hold dear for my family
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    are the things that I hold dear and protect for all families
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    that the love I have for mine extends to all.
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    And my own children.
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    How do they feel?
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    Angry sometimes. So do I.
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    But I think they have a basic accepting and trust
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    of the infinite wisdom and goodness of life.
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    They know that from time to time choices are set before us and that
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    very often those choices are not.
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    By a conscious decision that they may be time and circumstance
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    or divine providence.
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    I did not seek the refugees.
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    They literally knocked on my door.
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    But whether those circumstances are actively sought out or whether they
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    magically appear before us.
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    The choice is always the same.
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    The choice is life or death.
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    Justice or injustice.
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    Liberation or oppression.
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    The choice is not hard.
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    The difficulty is in carrying out the choice once it is made.
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    At some basic level, my children understand that God asks two things of us.
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    One that we love and serve God.
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    And to that we love one another as we love ourselves.
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    I think perhaps it could be said that we should love one another as we love our children.
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    Because to love as a parent loves a child is to risk everything.
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    And when we understand that, we also know that there
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    is very little risk that is too great in the preservation
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    and the liberation of life.
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    I would like now to introduce Anna.
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    Ana is a Salvadoran refugee.
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    She's been in the United States for three years.
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    Four years? Excuse me.
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    She is in sanctuary at Central Presbyterian Church in Massillon,
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    Ohio, which I understand is the only Presbyterian
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    sanctuary in the entire state of Ohio.
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    Congratulations to those of you, if any of you are here.
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    Ana will speak to you for a few minutes about her.
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    Own personal experience and solo.
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    I am very happy to seize the opportunity,
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    said Presbyterian woman.
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    Give to me and share with you
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    the same for this house and this reality.
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    And people. And Central American people.
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    He's very hard all the time.
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    See, I know the number.
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    But it is necessary.
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    The 6000 woman.
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    6000 mothers.
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    And I wish you understand
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    what's going on in our countries.
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    In 1980, my husband
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    was disappear.
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    He was cast to the first sign.
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    He he was talked to and I take care of him
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    because I'm a nurse and he was
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    a terrible starter for the National Guard.
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    The second time, he never go home.
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    He was consul with two Salvadorian friends.
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    My two.
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    I was looking for him in different places.
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    And I find only two bodies.
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    Decapitate.
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    Plus.
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    My husband, Fran.
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    After.
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    I was working with the doctor who was
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    symbol with some people cannot go
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    to the hospital.
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    I helped this hospital two months after
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    he was killed to.
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    I hate myself for a in San Salvador.
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    I don't want to leave my country.
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    I don't want to leave my little boy.
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    But I did.
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    Because my mum come and she says, Please
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    and you need to go out.
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    I don't have faith to go.
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    I only have in their name $80.
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    Somebody came to me.
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    My mother said, Please go.
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    And I said, Mom, no, I don't want to leave my little boy.
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    He was only eight months old.
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    I love my children with my mom.
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    I was alone for three years.
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    Sanctuary movement give opportunity,
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    be opportunity.
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    Find myself opportunities.
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    Speak for the people who don't have
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    voice. Now, honestly, I very appreciate
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    to they must can embody Presbyterian assured in my
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    Ohio chair.
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    Now continue to.
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    But we its.
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    Audience only have.
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    The only option is in the hall.
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    Are you?
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    I wish.
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    Go back to my country.
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    Many Salvadorians. Where you been, guys?
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    They want to go home.
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    I all the time homesick.
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    I really. I want to go back and I
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    want to say, please help me to go back.
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    When our country are free.
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    Yes. Peace and justice.
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    Before I finish, I want to say
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    to John Fine.
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    Ten up.
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    And say thank you in a name to my people.
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    He worked. He was a first.
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    In his congregation, the Reverend Joan Fry.
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    He opportunities saved many lives.
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    And I went to see John Tyndall.
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    Cindy, people can see you.
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    And I want to say thank you, Diane, and other
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    people who work in central movements.
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    I say my people love you
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    because they know. What's the difference?
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    You got a woman and you.
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    You are the civilians. You are my brothers and sisters.
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    And we love you very much.
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    Thank you very much.

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