Help fund an undocumented activist, part 2
Donation protected
Dear friends,
It's time to ask for your help one more time. To those of you who don't know me, my name is Aly Wane. I am a 42 year old undocumented activist originally from Senegal, West Africa. I have been in this country since the age of 9, and am still in the process of legalizing through a family member. While I have done some work on antiwar and economic justice issues, I have spent the past 11-12 years or so focusing on the issue of immigration and migrants' rights from an abolitionist perspective.
Like many other undocumented activists, I decided to become public about my status in 2012, as part of a wave of organizers who decided to step out of the shadows as a form of resistance, to share our voices and to shed the stigma about being undocumented with the public. In early 2016, I did a similar GoFundMe in order to fund my work. Like many undocumented activists, the overwhelming majority of the work that I do is completely unpaid (because of my undocumented status which technically does not allow me to work). I was overwhelmed by the positive reception last time, and so I turn to you again now.
When Trump was elected, many of us undocumented activists decided to continue being public about our status regardless of the risks and consequences. It is both a political stance and a strategy. The reason why I have set the goal of this campaign for 7,500 dollars is that this is what I estimate bail would cost were I to be incarcerated for my work and visibility.
In the age of Trump, I find it necessary to keep being visible and counter the mounting xenophobia as directly as possible.
But to be completely transparent, I might raise the goal at some point because this is the money that I am using to survive and make ends meet while I do this work. Even as I type these words, my computer, which is an integral part of my work, is on the fritz and might expire soon.
I've learned to live frugally over the past few years, and I promise to be a good steward of your generous donations. The most I've made in a year in my 42 years of existence has been about 6,000 dollars and thanks to some generous friends who are housing me for free, I've been making ends meet with this meagre budget.
This ask is a deliberate act of vulnerability and is part of my ethic of interdependence. My favorite saying is from the Kikuyu tribe of Kenya: "I am only well if you are well." I believe and trust in the abundance and generosity of the community. I have faith. I believe in the power of interdependence.
This money will go towards basic necessities like food but will also allow me to continue doing the work I have been doing for many years. Right now, I primarily speak and write about migrants' rights issues from an intersectional perspective. Currently my work focuses on the intersection between migrants' rights and mass incarceration. I have worked/collaborated/organized with numerous groups from the American Friends Service Committee, the Workers' Center of CNY, the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse, BLM Syracuse, The Black Alliance for Just Immigration Network, the UndocuBlack Network and others.
I am currently on the Steering Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council and am a former member of the Steering Committee of the Black Immigration Network.
I have spoken in many academic settings including Syracuse University and Harvard.
If you find the work I have done to be useful, please consider donating so that I can continue on this journey of liberation and interconnection.
May the Ancestors bless you on your own journey. Thank you for donating and/or sharing.
Peace to you and yours.
It's time to ask for your help one more time. To those of you who don't know me, my name is Aly Wane. I am a 42 year old undocumented activist originally from Senegal, West Africa. I have been in this country since the age of 9, and am still in the process of legalizing through a family member. While I have done some work on antiwar and economic justice issues, I have spent the past 11-12 years or so focusing on the issue of immigration and migrants' rights from an abolitionist perspective.
Like many other undocumented activists, I decided to become public about my status in 2012, as part of a wave of organizers who decided to step out of the shadows as a form of resistance, to share our voices and to shed the stigma about being undocumented with the public. In early 2016, I did a similar GoFundMe in order to fund my work. Like many undocumented activists, the overwhelming majority of the work that I do is completely unpaid (because of my undocumented status which technically does not allow me to work). I was overwhelmed by the positive reception last time, and so I turn to you again now.
When Trump was elected, many of us undocumented activists decided to continue being public about our status regardless of the risks and consequences. It is both a political stance and a strategy. The reason why I have set the goal of this campaign for 7,500 dollars is that this is what I estimate bail would cost were I to be incarcerated for my work and visibility.
In the age of Trump, I find it necessary to keep being visible and counter the mounting xenophobia as directly as possible.
But to be completely transparent, I might raise the goal at some point because this is the money that I am using to survive and make ends meet while I do this work. Even as I type these words, my computer, which is an integral part of my work, is on the fritz and might expire soon.
I've learned to live frugally over the past few years, and I promise to be a good steward of your generous donations. The most I've made in a year in my 42 years of existence has been about 6,000 dollars and thanks to some generous friends who are housing me for free, I've been making ends meet with this meagre budget.
This ask is a deliberate act of vulnerability and is part of my ethic of interdependence. My favorite saying is from the Kikuyu tribe of Kenya: "I am only well if you are well." I believe and trust in the abundance and generosity of the community. I have faith. I believe in the power of interdependence.
This money will go towards basic necessities like food but will also allow me to continue doing the work I have been doing for many years. Right now, I primarily speak and write about migrants' rights issues from an intersectional perspective. Currently my work focuses on the intersection between migrants' rights and mass incarceration. I have worked/collaborated/organized with numerous groups from the American Friends Service Committee, the Workers' Center of CNY, the Alliance of Communities Transforming Syracuse, BLM Syracuse, The Black Alliance for Just Immigration Network, the UndocuBlack Network and others.
I am currently on the Steering Committee of the Syracuse Peace Council and am a former member of the Steering Committee of the Black Immigration Network.
I have spoken in many academic settings including Syracuse University and Harvard.
If you find the work I have done to be useful, please consider donating so that I can continue on this journey of liberation and interconnection.
May the Ancestors bless you on your own journey. Thank you for donating and/or sharing.
Peace to you and yours.
Organizer
Aly Wane
Organizer
Syracuse, NY
