She needed what he poured out
A 7-year-old Guatemalan girl who crossed the southern border into the United States illegally earlier this month died of dehydration and shock after being apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol in New Mexico.
The girl and her father were part of a group of 163 people who surrendered to Border Patrol officers on the night of Dec. 6, south of Lordsburg, N.M., according to The Washington Post, which first reported the story.
It seems slightly stupid to say a girl of 7 crossed the border illegally. Children of 7 don’t have that kind of autonomy, and she was with her father.
Anyway. She died. She died of dehydration.
Eight hours after the girl and her father were taken into custody, she began having seizures and her body temperature was measured at 105.7 degrees by emergency medical technicians.
The girl “had not eaten or had any water for several days,” Post reporter Nick Miroff told NPR’s Morning Edition on Friday.
Now, this:
https://twitter.com/i/status/1073416128456728576
Nobody wants that little girl to be dead, but, come on, this is manipulative and dishonest.
The video of the guy pouring out the water she needed is time stamped 2013/01/08. So is this Obama’s fault then?
The girl apparently arrived in horrible shape, severely dehydrated by her trip to the border of the U.S. Note that no U.S. personnel would have been pouring water out in Mexico.
If they didn’t give her food and water once she was taken into U.S. custody I’ll join in the condemnation, but the stories I’ve seen either say food and water was available or that it normally is and they’re assuming it was in this case.
When she started having medical issues they flew her to a hospital and did all they could to save her life.
Skeletor, have you really never encountered anyone who couldn’t be arsed to go into their camera’s menu to select the correct date? Almost everyone I know who did bother to change the date also turned off the time stamp. The time stamp isn’t necessarily evidence of the actual date that a photo was taken for that very reason.
Anyway, they were in custody for eight hours before she started having seizures, more than enough time to ensure that a dehydrated little girl had plenty to drink and to eat.
A civilised country would be trying to rescue these people, not treat them like criminals. But then again, a civilised country would not have funded war in the refugees’ home country, causing them to have to flee in the first place.
Holding people in custody without access to water is, obviously, dangerously inhumane. The GIF might be from 2013, but the policy continues, the first comment below explains that. Leaving supplies of water for immigrants is treated as a prosecutable offence.
“Almost everyone I know who did bother to change the date also turned off the time stamp.”
That’s weird. When I remember to set the date I always set the time as well. Why would I not? Not that it makes the border patrol any less culpable, of course.
Skeletor, OB’s post has nothing in it blaming that particular person for the girl’s death. Rather, it seems clear to me that she was blaming the anti-human mentality exhibited by that guy and those like him, who pour out water placed their specifically to prevent death by dehydration for immigrants. He knew perfectly well that the water was there out of humanitarian intent, and he – and so very many conservatives – opposes such succour.
Sigh.
Yes, Skeletor, I know the guy in the clip is not pouring out water that could have saved Jakelin Cali. He’s pouring out water that could save people other than Jakelin Cali, and it’s a vile thing to do.
Why do you think it’s so important and urgent to expostulate at me for sharing the tweet rather than talking about the substantive issues?
Normally people react to protect children in distress. Even the children of enemies in war. This is barely distinguishable from straight up war crime behaviour.
I was surprised a few days ago to see one of the Bundy’s (the old man I think) criticising Trump (who he otherwise supports) for his treatment of asylum seekers. Maybe a result of his Mormon background. But this is my point, protective behaviour towards small children is deeply ingrained in us. Anyone capable of indifference to the suffering of children, when it’s in their face, is almost universally reviled. It’s a very low bar to fail to jump.
So the question that crosses my mind is this. Just what sort of people are being employed as border patrol guards, when at least some of them fail at very basic decent human behaviour 101?
That’s an interesting point. A relevant fact is that in the selection process at Auschwitz (and other camps) all young children were selected for the gas. That instinct to protect children must have been stamped out very early.
I’m guessing the sort of people who don’t see the immigrants as adults and children but merely current and tomorrow’s criminals.
Just as with the Holocaust, they probably believe that they are just solving future problems.