THE DAILY POSTCARD: BorderX Work in progress, “Eisegesis”

Below is the first page of “Eisegesis” a story I wrote for the BorderX Anthology, all artwork (including pencils, inks and coloring by the incomparable Rodney C Jacobsen and lettering assist from the magnificent Dan DeMille, my publishers and collaborators at Valor Comics. BorderX is an anthology of miscellaneous literature, written to bring awareness and aid to the plight of migrant children that are incarcerated in detention centers for illegally crossing the border. Originally, I was to commission to write a 1 page story based on the verbatim testimony of an incarcerated child. My approach, at first, demonized the current system and the current administration. After doing some research and soul searching, I realized that I did not want to write this girl’s story from a slanted and politicalized point of view. I decided to show her whole story from her point of view and from the point of view of average American citizens viewing her story from afar. The publisher of BorderX and I came to the conclusion that a one page story wouldn’t be enough space. He gave me as much space as I needed. Rodney, Dan and I were able to it, I hope, in 3 pages.
“Eisegesis” tells a story by using a Honduras girl’s complete testimony. Her name was redacted to letters and punctuation-NLQD. Her six year old brother’s name was also redacted.
While the conditions in the detention center are bad, they don’t come close to the horrible and terrifying conditions which NLQD and her brother fled. She emphasized to those prosecuting her case and the translators, “I do not want to go back to my country.”
So, instead of criticizing everything and not offering a solution, I wrote this piece as honestly as I could without being polarized. I’m also providing a link where readers can learn more about BorderX, and donate, time, money and talent. The last I heard, we are approaching 5k of 10k through charity funding.
I am supposed to try to raise at least $70 through my own solicitations of my friends, family and my social media contacts. I am giving BorderX that $70 from my own pockets. I am not comfortable soliciting funds for anything directly. But, I am going to do it anyway. Here’s a link to where to contribute.
I am just honored to receive a chance to write a piece that I find important in my heart, and to work with my good friends that feel the same way.