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9| W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,June 21,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the home- less, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door." - Emma Laza- rus, on the Statue of Liber- ty The weekend news is full of images of sobbing children, standing help- lessly apart from their par- ents. Vast halls full of chain-link fenced pens, with hard floors, full of children. When this story about the separation of asylum- seeking families began to surface, I questioned my- self - is this fake? How can this possibly be true? How could anyone use families as a pawn, in a political game? Act on an idea that separates the smallest chil- dren from their parents, ripping the family unit apart at it's seams? Create camps of young boys, in an abandoned Walmart? Quote the Bible in an at- tempt to justify this horrif- ic reality? On international television? And get away with it? But of course it's not fake. Because we know as Canadians, that misguided leaders find it all too easy to pull these horrific le- vers. We know, because it is part of our history when church and state worked hand-in-hand to strip In- digenous children out of their communities across Canada, in a despicable ef- fort to neutralize their cul- ture and assimilate them into our "preferred" cul- ture. There are similar cases in our collective history across the globe. The bot- tom line - we know that children and women are of- ten pawns in the games of power played by men in po- sitions of authority. But why is no one stop- ping it? Why aren't the Republi- cans, controllers of the House and Senate, who claim to be good - Christian folks - not calling for an end to this destructive prac- tice? It's simple. It's because they don't want to. They don't want to give up their power by doing what is right. Let's remember, these cowards also don't want to stop the slaughter of schoolchildren by standing up to the National Rifle As- sociation by implementing gun control legislation. And they are allowing the public school system to be dismantled by a woman in favour of private, for-profit education. Because, do not ever for- get this one ugly truth. There are scads and scads of people in today's Ameri- ca who are perfectly happy to see this president and his minions embrace the dark side, because it serves their purposes. They want to preserve what they per- ceive to be theirs. They want their country to be white and they want the right to defend their white republic, with their unfet- tered access to guns. They only care about themselves. - Karen Scian is the co- founder of the Talent Busi- ness Solutions, an educator and a community advo- cate. She is also chair of the Waterloo Public Li- brary Board. You can email her at bein- scian@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @karen- scian. OPINION Dark forces at work in the separation of kids from their families Some in the U.S. have forgotten the motto on the Statue of Liberty says Karen Scian KAREN SCIAN Column Nothing says summer- time like an outdoor food festival with live music, southern smoked barbecu- ing and cherry pie. That's why my family is planning to check out the 11th annual Cherry Festi- val on July 7, featuring a wide variety of vendors, a vintage car show and plen- ty of fresh cherries and des- serts like tarts, strudel, squares, jams and ice cream. Like the K-W Multicul- tural Festival this weekend (June 23-24), the Baden Corn Festival (Aug. 11) and the Wellesley Apple Butter & Cheese Festival (Sept. 29), every great festival is built on delicious food and fun activities and the Cher- ry Festival looks to have plenty of both. "The Cherry Festival has lots of kids' activities like the carousel swing, mini golf, rock climbing, an obstacle course, and a game asylum, but one of our biggest features is the Cherry Train, which cir- cles around the park," said Debbie Chapman, who is on the organizing commit- tee, when we chatted this past week about the up- coming event in Cherry Park. I told Chapman how my family likes to get to the fes- tival early before they run out of cherry pies. "Yes, I think we've got that under control now," she said with a laugh. "As our festival kept growing and growing - we have about 5,000 visitors in a day now - we were running out of pies too early in the day, but I think we've got that under wrap now. After all, we have the best cherry pies in southwestern Onta- rio." I especially enjoyed the live entertainment last summer, as local acts Acoustic Steel, Martin Wall, Mic Cillian, Taurus, the Jay Kipps Band, and my favourites, the Vaude- villians, will all be per- forming this year. "There will also be an acoustic stage, and one of our biggest attractions for the kids is Erick Traplin, who is always a huge hit," said Chapman. "The idea behind the fes- tival, organized by the Cherry Park Neighbour- hood Association, was to build community and bring people together at a time when there was per- ceived criminal activity in the neighbourhood and people didn't always feel safe walking our streets. So, this was a way to try and take back the commu- nity, and I would say we've been very successful in do- ing that, along with taking over Cherry Park for one day and turning it into a day of fun and festivities." Chapman added, "We've got a really great core of people who have helped or- ganize the Cherry Festival and other events through- out the summer like our garden parties, oven bakes, and Labour Day corn so- cial, and I think it has real- ly transformed the neigh- bourhood." The Cherry Festival at Cherry Park, with entranc- es at Strange Street and Park Street in Kitchener, runs July 7 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free admission and plenty of free parking is available. You might see me there, with my fingers stained red from cherry pie. - Marshall Ward is a freelance writer and artist. Email is welcome at mar- shall_ward@hotmail. Putting a cherry on top the summer festival season Lots of things to do in the coming weeks to take advantage of the weather says Marshall Ward MARSHALL WARD Column Really! Mike Harris Jr., who never sat as an elected federal/provincial or mu- nicipal elected representa- tive, says in local media, "Obviously I'd like to see me in a cabinet position." Either he is very naive or maybe privy to some more backroom manoeu- vring from beyond our re- gion that we are not privi- leged to at this time and it seems like just how this Mike Harris was "para- chuted" into our region. He, this Mike Harris Jr., is representing an area that was very well re- presented by MPP Michael Harris before he was "pro- fessionally" booted out. To Mike Harris Jr., you have big shoes to fill and before your aspirations and your desires to be in "cabinet," I suggest you take time to get to know the residents in your newfound constituen- cy, learn the ropes of poli- tics, follow through on meeting and putting your efforts into doing your best for your constituents, as you are on a steep learning curve for the next four years. There is an old saying that comes to mind as I read your words. It is not "what you know, but who you know," and in my expe- rience if who you know and what you know peaks ... you will be successful. You have a long way to go! You have surpassed many in the "who you know," it's the "what you know" that causes concern. As newly elected MPP Catherine Fife says, "Doug Ford doesn't know who he's messing with" and the same holds true for Kitche- ner-Conestoga residents. You will be under stiff and thoughtful scrutiny. Joyce Palubiski Kitchener Michael Harris Jr. getting ahead of himself Don't be a LitterBug! Please keep our community clean.