July 18, 2019
LIGHTS FOR LIBERTY VIGIL 12 July 2019, Hamden CT US
ECPC co-founder/executive committee member and child psychiatrist in the Yale Child Study Center, Dr. James F. Leckman, joined in the chorus of speakers including openers Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn) and Office of Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz (Conn), Ben Florsheim representing Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn), associate research scientists Amanda Dettmer (vigil organizer) and Megan Goslin (Yale Child Study Center), Dr. Marietta Vazquez (Yale Pediatrics), and more in bringing attention to the plight of migrant children who have been separated from their parents and held in detention camps at the US-Mexican border.
[Read the New Haven Register article Hamden vigil for migrants Friday 1 of 700 worldwide]
Held on the steps of the Hamden town hall, the candlelight vigil, co-sponsored by the Yale Child Study Center, Yale School of Medicine’s Department of Pediatrics and the Unitarian Universalist Society of New Haven, drew hundreds of concerned area residents of all ages who together sang lyrics to Woodie Guthrie’s infamous song “This Land is Your Land”, backed by spirited local band, Little Silver.
Dr. Leckman’s personal and professional commitment, and call for action are reflected in his speech transcipt below.
Speech transcript
James F. Leckman - Thank you, Amanda, and thanks to everyone for joining us this evening. Thanks as well to Lights for Liberty for initiating multiple vigils across CT, across our country, as well as around the world.
As the grandson and great-grandson of immigrants and as a native of the Southwest - Albuquerque, New Mexico to be specific, I am horrified at what is happening at our southern border and across our country. A recent New York Times article focused on just one detention center in Texas where hundreds of children are being held in overcrowded cages with no beds to sleep on, inadequate nutrition, and no way to clean themselves. They documented that infections were spreading, and the children have no access to adequate medical care. They are frightened and fearful – for good reason! This unfortunate reality has been ongoing for years and not just in this detention center, but in multiple sites across our nation.
[Read the NYT article Hungry, Scared and Sick: Inside the Migrant Detention Center in Clint, Tex.]
I encourage you to take a look a compelling video prepared by the Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) that was posted online earlier this month.
[Read the report by the PHR and Asylum Network “There Is No One Here to Protect You” Trauma Among Children Fleeing Violence in Central America]
From my perspective, the most troubling part of this reality is the separation of children, especially young children, from their parents. In my day-to-day work, I am focused on the health and well-being of children. As a scientist and researcher, I know for a fact that bio-behavioral systems that underlie the development of the parent-child attachment and the social bonds within families are ancient and deeply rooted in our mammalian evolution. While our brains have evolved to adapt and respond to a wide range of early experiences, it is clear that the quality and timing of early environments shape and mold a child’s future potential.
As a nation, we are not only harming these children and families in the present moment, we are also setting the stage for an unfortunate future! Unless we do something now, many of these children will never reach their full developmental potential.
Sadly, there is also evidence that early exposure to the high level of stress that children like these are experiencing can contribute to increased rates of violent crime and the perpetuation of intergenerational cycles of poverty and inequality.
[Read the ECPC Brief Contributions of Early Childhood Development Services to Preventing Violent Conflict and Sustaining Peace]
As a physician, I took the Hippocratic Oath upon entering medical school. The oath includes the phrase… ”First, do no harm.”
As we know, many of these families are fleeing the toxic stress in their countries of origin, and we are only making it WORSE.
As a nation we can do better. We must work together to address this catastrophe.
Let’s work together to make a positive difference. It is our moral obligation.
► For more event coverage, please visit the Yale Child Study Center on Facebook.
♥ A special note of appreciation goes to Amanda Dettmer, PhD, Associate Research Scientist in the Yale Child Study Center, for her event organization and dedication to the cause.