#operationredbird

worker walks up to another rez shack

to fill her apprehension quota

a baby cries inside

mother comes to the door

years of caring for others caught up to her

worker came for someone else

however

takes one look at the children

fed

unwashed

one soiled diaper

the living room is messy

 mother tries to reason with the worker

no help

a cyst on her spine

doctor’s orders

 the woman who has relentlessly tried to separate this family

conveniently there to take the older three

calls herself family

has assaulted her niece multiple times

 children are ushered into the caravan

mother looks on

anonymity is never truly anonymous

 the difference the initial contact could have made

asking

acknowledging the mother’s daily struggle

let the boys play

clean the mess long into the early hours of the morning

sleep

wake up to more mess

 deepest fears realized

fears of losing children

no child care

lack of training

lack of validation

cannot trust

 overnight “relief”

turns into two

continues onto three

now four

This poem was written in under one hour as required by one of my classes. This is 100% true and an issue that is ongoing. I type this as I have been awake for almost 24 hours, traveling to be with my family. So much isn’t adding up. When I called the worker, she stated that she apprehended by siblings because of the reasons stated above - the house was “messy”, and my siblings were “messy”. The original “anonymous” call wasn’t even about my mom, it was about my sister who was not there. While my mom was under instruction from a doctor to not do any strenuous. 

The worker came by yesterday and changed the conditions of which my mom had to comply with to bring my brothers home, and has been asking her questions such as if she is depressed, inquiring about my brothers’ developmental milestones, etc., anything that would require children’s aid to open a case file.

My mom has seven boys - a 13-year old (my cousin), and the other boys are under the age of eight. Anyone who has any experience with children will tell you that kids make a mess - especially my brothers. I was home not even two weeks ago and the whole house was scrubbed top to bottom (I know because I scrubbed it). Unfortunately, because the worker showed up late in the evening, my mom hadn’t yet given them their nightly bath, and now they are separated with no contact with each other or us.

This could have such a drastically different outcome, one that did not include retraumatizing kids who have already had to deal with so much, one that did not include separation and isolation of children who have not been separated from their mother for four days and counting (something they have never experienced before). Placements with family should have been established first. Their father should have been contacted first, not 12 hours after the fact. Apprehension should be a last resort unless it is truly required in which this case it was absolutely not.