Interview: Migrant Children Tell Their Stores in 'Hear My Voice'

From NPR:

A Picture Book About Children At The Border Aims To Spark Family Conversations.

In June 2019, attorney Warren Binford traveled to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility in Clint, Texas.

She ended up interviewing dozens of children over a few days, and gathered stories so shocking — of hungry, cold and sick children sleeping on concrete floors under Mylar blankets — that they became international news.

Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz, published in both English and Spanish, features excerpts of the testimonies, paired with art by award-winning illustrators who are Latinx.

Binford is hoping that Hear My Voice/Escucha Mi Voz will be suitable for families to read and talk about together.

In March, the number of migrants encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border hit a 15-year high, according to NPR's reporting. That included nearly 19,000 children and teenagers traveling without a parent — double the levels from February and the most ever in a single month.

She says the purpose is to center the narrative back on the people most directly affected — the children.

Read more here.