Francie Marbury

With proposed asylum policy, Biden misses the mark

Recently, The Commons has published several stories about our community's robust welcoming of refugees and asylum seekers. Thank you!

Unfortunately, if the “asylum transit ban” currently proposed by the Biden administration had been in force for the past five years, fewer than a quarter of the asylum seekers currently supported by the Community Asylum Seekers Project (CASP) in southern Vermont today would be here.

They would likely be stuck in one of the countries they passed through on their way to our southern border. They would likely be seeking asylum in a country whose systems for supporting refugees are even more broken than ours.

The desperation and fear for their lives that caused them to flee their countries in the first place would not be diminished, and their chances of finding a safe home would be almost nonexistent.

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Blood drive in Marlboro a success

On Dec. 1, the Marlboro Alliance, the Marlboro Volunteer Fire Department, and Degrees of Freedom hosted a blood drive on the former Marlboro College campus. Our goal was to collect 26 pints of blood, and we were able to collect 27 pints! By the end of the day, we...

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Performance illuminated histories, hopes, and dreams of asylum seekers

On Saturday, Oct. 19 at the Colonel Williams Inn in Marlboro, 50 supporters of the Community Asylum Seekers Project enjoyed delicious hors d'oeuvres, time to connect, and a performance of 99 Facts About an Immigrant by Austin-based performance artist Leng Wong. Thank you to those who attended and to...

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We can help people seeking asylum in the U.S.

I am a hands-on person. I appreciate and support and sometimes participate with those who lobby, write letters, make phone calls, attend demonstrations, and raise their voices, but work that involves one-on-one connection is what really feeds me. Community Asylum Seekers Project was formed by Steve Crofter and Laurel Greene to support asylum seekers, people whose lives in their homelands are so endangered that they are willing to give up all they know for the hope of living safely in...

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