If we see harm being done to others, how do we choose to respond?  

This question is inspired by the reflections of a member of the EMM network, in response to executive actions taken by the Trump administration.  

Beth Broadway is President and CEO at InterFaith Works of Central New York (IFW), one of EMM’s affiliate organizations. In a message to IFW’s supporters, Beth framed the executive order suspending refugee resettlement signed on January 20, 2025 as “the first of 1000 cuts.” It is a measure created on the basis of false assumptions and implemented with intentional cruelty. It was created to inflict harm, spread fear, weaken resistance, and ultimately, to exclude people in a way that denies their dignity, for political purposes. As such, its implementation presents an opportunity to consider how each of us is called to respond. 

As Beth suggests, turning away from harm done to others, out of fear or resignation, is not the only possible response. In fact, many people and organizations across the country are not turning away from the harm being done by this and other policies. They are instead turning towards those in need, redoubling efforts to support our neighbors, to affirm the dignity of all human beings, and to build welcoming communities where all may thrive.  

Take a moment to read Beth’s message about what has been happening in Syracuse and across New York. And then join us – the countless individuals and organizations, including InterFaith Works, EMM and our network, the Episcopal Church, congregations and community groups too numerous to name, who are showing up with love to cast out fear, denounce cruelty, advocate for justice, and work together for the common good. 

Special thanks to Beth Broadway for writing and allowing us to repost her message here. 

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There is an ancient form of torture called “death by a thousand cuts.” The victim receives the first cut, bleeds, becomes frightened, but does not die. The second cut also causes the victim to bleed, further frightening and now weakening the victim, but death does not come. The hundredth cut adds resignation to weakness and fear. The 500th cut begins to drive the victim insane. When the victim finally receives the final 1000th cut, death comes. 

 This is the effect of the new Executive Order to halt the US Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). This Executive Order is the first of the cuts, made so publicly and with such immense disregard for the families who will remain torn apart, to the victims of war and repression who remain unsafe, and to the thousands of communities who have given our hearts, our economies, and our vibrancy to the diverse peoples of the world. 

Click Here to Read the Executive Order “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program”  

Members of my staff and I recently travelled to Albany, talking with legislators about the importance of refugee resettlement. We traveled with refugee leaders from across upstate and downstate New York, people who themselves are former refugees, and those of us who have dedicated our lives and service to them. The Executive Order is the first cut, and it is having its desired effect – the spreading of fear. 

 Ostensibly, the halt is to assure the safety of the U.S. from refugees who might come to harm us. Of course, it is well known, well documented and assured by the FBI, Homeland Security, CIA, and the United Nations that refugees who are moved out of camps to become New Americans are the most carefully screened and vetted immigrants on the planet. Of course, this unveiled language is about selectively excluding people for political purposes. Of course, we will stand firm in our resolve to continue to serve refugees and to help them become solidly planted here in our community. 

Immediately after the November election, our federal government and the refugee resettlement agencies participated in what I call “The Push” – a full-scale campaign to bring as many refugees as possible to the U.S. By mid-January 2025, the Refugee Resettlement communities, agencies, and the federal government achieved a landmark goal of settling 6,000 people in just 3 months across New York State. These were people who were fully vetted, waiting for travel documents, and many came to be reunited with their families. Our agency alone settled over 400 people during The Push, and last week  [January 12-19, 2025] we received 71 people representing 22 households! I wish that each and every one of you reading this could have been at the airport to greet them, to see the relief and joy in their faces and the faces of their family members.  

Please know that many people joined us in The Push – churches, temples, mosques all provided meals for our staff who worked 18-hour days. Volunteers set up 100+ households in the last 3 months. Our quilt shop provided 50 baby quilts. 1,858 coats were cleaned and donated by over 100 different individuals and entities. We will galvanize again and again, with your help and God’s grace. 

Listen. This is the sound of democracy working. When the cuts keep coming (and they will), our agency wants you to know, firmly, deeply, truly, that we will bandage up and keep on going, just as we have done before. One thousand cuts won’t stop us. Because OUR community is a proud resettlement city. Because OUR state holds the lantern of hope in its harbor. Because OUR nation will come back from this brink and InterFaith Works will still be here, doing its part to affirm the dignity of all.  

 

Beth A. Broadway 

President & CEO, InterFaith Works of Central New York