Part 2: What It’s Like to Seek Asylum w/ Ranier “Ray” Rodriguez

According to Weeze

In this second part of the episode, Weeze has a conversation with Sidewalk School’s Academic Director and Teacher, Rainier Rodriguez. Sidewalk School is an organization that educates and supports those facing displacement in the Matamoros Tent City, a refugee camp. Having been granted asylum in January 2020, Ray takes us through the experience of what it was like to go through the process, detailing what people are forced to endure.

ABOUT WEEZE

Louiza Doran, known and referred to as Weeze, is a cis-het Amazigh* female identifying human who uses she/her/they/them pronouns. She’s known as a coach, podcast host, advocate, agent of change, strategist and educator (to name a few) but is ultimately a compassionate provocateur that is out to help folks uncover their path of possibility.

ABOUT RAY

Rainer “Ray” Rodriguez is a Cuban English professor/ Interpreter who worked as a professor at the technical university in Havana. After suffering from political persecution and discrimination with no other option, he left to Panama and crossed 2500 miles through Central America to reach the Southern border of the USA. In Matamoros, he worked with many organizations helping asylum seekers and worked at the Sidewalk School since the beginning teaching and being the Academic Director of the school. He was granted asylum in January of 2020 when he moved to Washington DC and continues working with the school.

IN THIS EPISODE, WE TALK ABOUT

• Ray’s journey as an asylum seeker from Cuba and what the process looked like.
• Living in Mexico, taking daily trips to the border to eat and wait to be called, court dates, being in unsafe environments, the lack of infrastructure around being able to work and earn money, and more.
• How going to the border as an asylum seeker to get food led him to meeting Felicia.
• How Ray was able to be a translator between the American organizations and Central American asylum seekers, so folks could get what they needed.
• Dismantling the narrative of asylum seekers being uneducated, criminals, and liars who only want to come to America to steal jobs.
• How the process is designed to create hurdles for people to actually win any asylum case.
• The tone of aggression, disbelief, trauma, and lack of resources people have when going to court.

CALL TO ACTION

• Educate yourself about what is happening with asylum seekers before you just donate. Investigate, see who’s behind the organizations, and then support.
• If you have the education that can help others, maybe you can speak another language, volunteer your time.
• Donate to Sidewalk School: https://www.sidewalkschool.org
• Purchase Mel’s artwork: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SidewalkSchool

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

• https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-fFpzorlE3lCC4DwKN7Gz8XRy4l6inl3/view?usp=sharing

FOLLOW WEEZE TO STAY ENGAGED

Website: https://www.accordingtoweeze.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accordingtoweeze

The Academy (it’s like Patreon): https://www.accordingtoweeze.com/the-academy

FOLLOW RAY TO STAY ENGAGED

Website: https://www.sidewalkschool.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thesidewalkschool

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/r4ystackhouse

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thesidewalkschool/

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/SidewalkSchool

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/sidewalkschool