InterGen(erational) Cafés bring together members of the Encampment community for honest dialogue and shared stories, information, and resources. At our last InterGen Café, participants highlighted several areas of injustice and shared resources for coping and contributing. Of urgent concern is the injustice in immigration laws and immigrant communities. The spirit of caring community was palpable during this shared time.
Program Director Jesus Salcido set some community discussion ground rules, saying that the Encampment “… gets people together for meaningful conversations to build community. Times are hard and it’s important that we listen to each other, learn, develop empathy and be allies.” This Café featured smaller breakout groups so everyone had more time to talk — and listen.
Board member Dr. Faith Kares shared personal stories of addressing discrimination and inequity in the workplace. Several participants later said they were inspired by her encouragement to “use our voice and speak up.”
Ola, 2024 alum, said that immigration might be a contemporary issue now, but has always been a part of the daily lives of her family and community, and “weighs heavily on our hearts. I was not born into citizenship since I am an Iraqi born in Egypt. That is why I am a proponent of birthright citizenship. We have lived in the United States for 11 years and my family and I are citizens, but the people around me are still being affected.
“In the broader news, we hear about Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University grad student who is being detained by ICE and threatened with deportation. He’s a lawful permanent resident married to a citizen and is on track to become a U.S. citizen. With no evidence, the Trump administration is alleging that he is a terrorist and HAMAS supporter, which has been a very popular rhetoric of anti-Palestinian people and movements to criminalize peaceful pro-Palestinian protestors.
“There are also people that the Trump administration has removed from American soil with no due process. For example, 238 Venezuelans have been deported to a for-profit prison in El Salvador. The Trump administration paid $6 million for them to be detained for one year in one of El Salvador’s harshest prisons. The Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have both condemned this prison for crowding issues, harsh and torturous conditions, and enforced labor. These people are Venezuelan and were sent to El Salvador for a reason the administration has not given; 137 of them were detained because they are allegedly part of a gang — the Tren de Aragua — for reasons such as having a soccer tattoo or a rose tattoo. In a court filing, the government admitted that many of the 137 had zero criminal records in America, but they argued that this somehow made them more dangerous.
“The legal gymnastics don’t end there. There is a big push by some conservatives to label immigration or undocumented immigration as an “illegal invasion,” giving a strong foundation for a lot of scary things. It allows them to break peacetime rules and say they are under attack so the rules of war would apply instead. Even during the Biden administration, they wanted to put barriers in the Rio Grande River, which is a federal navigable river on federal land, and the state of Texas wanted to put barriers there. They said it was because undocumented immigrants were an illegal invasion and this also gives them a loophole under the 14th Amendment, which says that children of invading foreign soldiers do not receive birthright citizenship and are not natural-born citizens.
“I don’t mean to just scare us all with this information. An important thing to acknowledge about fear is that the first step to conquering it is information. I encourage us all to educate and inform ourselves about contemporary issues and look into whatever legal precedents the administration is attempting to push this under. A lot of legal precedents are being attacked by conservative legal minds.
“There are these red cards — I got this one on my community college campus. They come in various languages [and colors]. One side in English (directed at an ICE agent) informs them that [the holder is] invoking their Fourth and Fifth Amendment rights. The other side is directed at the immigrants themselves and tells you about your rights. I highly recommend that people who are feeling afraid or fearful for themselves or their families look into getting one. I’m sure they are available online and you can probably print one yourself.
“The message I want to leave us all with is to inform ourselves. My parents grew up during the rise and fall of Saddam Hussein, and there are a lot of scary parallels happening in America right now. One of the things that Saddam hated the most was criticism, free media — there was no freedom of speech. He hated when people organized together. Echoing Dr. Faith, the call to action for us is to get together in our communities and organize, and don’t let these stories be swept under the rug.”
While immigration was a main focus of the conversation, other social justice topics — and gratitude for the Encampment’s approach — came up in the breakout groups. Aydin Alam, 2022 alum, talked about covering issues in his EFC summer program like fake news and the need to combat misinformation and disinformation, and how are relevant this is now. He referred to Dr. Faith’s vulnerability in sharing her experience and said, “… when we are vulnerable, it opens up the floor for other people to open up and be vulnerable as well. I feel like the Encampment is fostering that environment and learning from people who have been doing that for a long time is important — it’s valuable to me.”
Tony Ubalde, 1961 alum, shared memories from his Encampment, saying that he learned how to get along — how to create a community. He said: “… I became more aware of world dynamics and the incredible beauty of everyone — such strong, powerful people living with power and sophistication.”
Vange, 2024 alum, and her friend Suzy talked about how school is depressing — that they are encouraged to not speak up and to let the racist remarks from teachers and non-native students go without responding … She said that Charles [Shapiro, 1968 alum] and Tony [Ubalde] shared their knowledge and experiences in their small group. “They also encouraged us to speak up and use our voice, as Dr. Faith did. It’s really refreshing to get that encouragement from the Encampment, since we are in a place that encourages us not to.”
Evelin Aquino, board member and summer staff, said, “it’s great to be in this intergenerational space. Someone in my group said that being in the Encampment created an ease with authenticity — for better or worse, in terms of other spaces that you move into — but I love that we are able to maintain our hearts and openness, and model that for each other.”
Roni King, 1971 alum and core member of the Alumni Outreach and Engagement Committee, said that her breakout group “witnessed for each other concerning the different thoughts about our work and performing in our work past and present. We want to understand what our role is in our jobs — to witness and be informed in any way to put out the good message — whether it be music or conversations with people at work. It’s important to be honest in expressing yourself, but to do that, safely.” She appreciated her fellow group mates, Imani and Madison, for their authenticity.
Basil Paterson (2022–23 alum) said their group focused on toxic masculinity and people being intimidated by intersexual advocacy. They also discussed conspiracy theories rather than accurate expression. His fellow alum, Jaden Banks, said it’s hard to navigate all the bigoted things safely.
The session ended with announcements about upcoming events, such as the 2025 summer program and InterGen Weekend (click for registration information).
CHAT QUOTES
Melanie Castillo (2022–23 alum): “I think one of the key things that stuck out in my group was the importance of connection and keeping in touch. Now more than anything, it is essential to talk to one another and support one another through this tough period with this current administration. Please keep in touch!”
“Excellent program! Thank you for this medicine. Love y’all!”
Reacted to “Excellent program!! …” with ❤️
Reacted to “Excellent program!! …” with ❤️
RESOURCES
Immigration Rights
https://www.ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas#item-4476
From Bob Hirsch, 1970 alum — three sources for immigration advice in the Bay Area. “I’m sure they will speak with any of our EC folks.”
Central American Refugee Center
Dolores Street Community Services
Navigating misinformation/Russian disinformation/chat bots
From Board Member Steve Davis —
The Sift – New Literacy Project: https://newslit.org/educators/sift/
Chat Migrante: https://ijnet.org/en/opportunity/chatmigrante-available-journalists-and-latino-migrants-latin-america-us
The Encampment is an intergenerational community-building organization with a profound approach to social justice education. It’s a unique space where young people (15-18) meet peers from different backgrounds, and live and learn together. Together, they find and develop their leadership and organizing skills. This community-building nourishes the seeds of democracy. You can help build support for the EFC’s work by sharing this post with your network!
Click to DONATE ONLINE or send your gift to The Encampment, P.O. Box 1210, Aptos, CA 95001-1210. Our Federal EIN is 30-0694938.
You can also support EFC to build our social media presence. Follow and “like” EFC on:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_encampment/?hl=en
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/theencampment
Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2381986793/
Bluesky: @the-encampment.bsky.social
PFSP: https://www.instagram.com/pesticidefreesoilproject/?hl=en