009 — We Stay Because We Matter | Talon Z. Gray

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Ningún ser humano es un alienígena;
No human being is an alien;

todos estamos hechos del mismo polvo y caminamos bajo el mismo sol.
we are all made of the same dust, walking beneath the same sun.

Two legs,
two feet—the walking motion is the same.
You see?
There’s no secret species.
Just people.

Una nación que extiende su mano a los desesperados no puede,
A nation that extends its hand to the desperate cannot,

con la misma mano, empujarlos al fuego.
with that same hand, push them into the fire.

You cannot open the door just to slam it shut again.
That’s not rescue—it’s entrapment.
If I relied on your offer of safety,
and you changed the rules later—how is that justice?

Ofrecer santuario y luego arrebatárselo no es justicia, es traición.
To offer sanctuary and then snatch it away is not justice—it is betrayal.
We didn’t come to exploit.
We came to survive.
You cannot betray a promise and then call it law.

Si la palabra de país significa algo,
If the word of a country means anything,

debe significar esto:
it must mean this:
la protección no puede ser temporal cuando el peligro es permanente.
protection cannot be temporary when the danger is permanent.

How can I return to a burning building just because your paperwork timed out?

Y en cada mesa donde compartimos pan y palabra,
And at every table where we break bread and speak from the heart,
recordamos que la humanidad no tiene fronteras. 🕊️
we remember: humanity has no borders.

Still, we carry names.
We carry stories.
Our faces are not blank.
Our pasts have weight.
And that is why we stay.
Not to disappear—but to matter.