"Illegal Immigrants"

It's really amazing what years of conditioning does for your perception. Even after all this humanitarian work, i did not realise that i still harboured the perception that illegal immigrants are somehow criminals. Bad people. People that have broken the law, just like thieves and rapists and drug pushers.

That is, until, you put a face to it. Those faces, squatting on the concrete floor, waiting patiently for their turn to see the doctor. Indians, Bangladeshis, Afghanis, Myanmarese, Iranians, Nigerians, Indonesians...

People with names and a wife and kids back home. Ordinary people. People like us. Pople fleeing harm or looking for a better future for their families.

They are not criminals. The only crime they did was not having a passport, or overstaying their visa. There is nothing illegal or illicit about them.

They bleed, just like you and me. Honest. I saw them. I looked into their eyes.