From detention centers on our southern border to South Asia, our fellow human beings are in crisis due to policies and ideologies that rob them of their dignity - and for many people, their lives.
But what is driving these situations? Central Americans fleeing violence in their home countries for a better life, Uighurs put in re-education camps in China, Rohingya intentionally driven out of Myanmar, the Occupation of Palestine, the “civil” wars in Syria and Yemen, the crises in Kashmir and Assam - all share the common ideology of ethnonationalism.
Ethnonationalism is rooted in the idea of racial superiority, in America and around the world. Yet our reaction to the resulting atrocities depends on our personal connection to them, which ends up creating borders around the issues themselves.
As people of faith, shouldn’t we be as outraged about what’s happening to people at detention centers like Otay Mesa as we are about people in other parts of the world, and vice-versa? Shouldn’t we passionately protect human rights both at home and abroad?
This panel will focus on the rise of ethnonationalism here and around the world, the situations that have resulted, and how we can be more impactful in our work to protect each others’ rights across communities.
Panelists
JUSTIN CONNOLLY
Senior Director
Human Rights Watch
DR. MUQTEDAR KHAN
Author
Islam and Good Governance
DR. YUSEF SALAAM
Writer / Poet / Criminal Justice Reform Advocate
Member of the Exonerated Five
DR. JULIE SIERRA
Internal Medicine Physician, Associate Professor of Medicine, UCSD