VIVA emphasizing ‘respectful and peaceful participation’
By Mike McCombs
The Island News
An Immigration Reform Protest is planned for 4 to 8 p.m., Monday, Fab. 17 – Presidents’ Day – at the Beaufort County Administration Buildings in northern and southern Beaufort County.
The group organizing the protest – VIVA, Independent Voices For a Vision of America – is emphasizing “respectful and peaceful participation.”
In a flyer sent to The Island News on Monday, Feb. 10, the group spells out the “whys” of the rally.
“Emotions are high. We’re here to show strength and unity, not intimidation,” the flyer reads. “We are heard and we are a growing community. Our voices will be heard. We are not criminals. We are your neighbors, classmates and friends.”
President Donald Trump, recently elected to his second term, has promised mass deportations of immigrants, some without regard for citizenship. Trump is vowing to end birthright citizenship, which is guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution.
Karolina Bucardo, a 34-year-old tile business owner, who also works as a hairstylist, says VIVA was formed because “we were seeing how our community is being affected.”
She said VIVA’s leadership, a small groupthat ranges in age from 18 to the mid-50s, is comprised of people that have been affected in the past by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and has seen the current situation happen before on a smaller scale in 2006, when the Latino Stand Up Movement protested the Bush Administration’s policies.
“The younger ones have seen their parents protest,” Bucardo said, “… some have seen their parents be deported in front of them.”
Bucardo said the numbers aren’t firm yet, but she definitely expects the protesters to number in the triple digits between the two sites.
Bucardo said members of the group’s leadership thought Beaufort County was a much more united community. But since Trump returned to office, she said they have seen members of their community back the same hate coming from the president.
“We are doing this for the people that cannot speak, … we’re carrying the torch for people that feel like their rights are being violated,” said Bucardo, who ideally hopes the event “would stay peaceful and respectful, and our whole community, not just Hispanics, people from different backgrounds, places, show up and support us.”
Bucardo said she is aware speaking out and taking part in political protests could make her a target, and she knows there are others afraid to be exposed and worried about the repercussions for standing up for what they believe.
But she believes strongly in what she is doing and what the group is doing and she’s already thinking about the next rally that will come.
“This protest is to peacefully show that we are here,” Bucardo said. “Our community is one of peace. We may not show up like we should have in the elections of local government, but that’s also because we never thought we would be targeted when we contribute so much to this community. We are here and we are the children of immigrant hardworking parents. We can vote and we will. We are learning that silence and not engaging in our rights is not the answer and we will be much more involved.”
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
