I see a child split in two. Holding a grasp onto two distinct worlds through language and nonverbal interactions. Praying in Spanish. Understanding love and compassion through the same language. The language is the connection to his elders, to those that granted his life. The language that connects them with one another, and connects them through music and telenovelas.

On the other side, the different viewpoint comes through the English language. The side that provides an educational world. A language that accesses safety in a country that sees a monster in the child’s other self. The English language reaches a universal level and commodity. As its high value increases and is seen as morally situated, the boy is seen as dirty, violent, and as a criminal. He begins to dissolve slowly. Losing touch with words.

The loss of words means the loss of a language. It means losing a piece of oneself. The split child has lost its other half. The half that makes him whole. Creating a loss with prayer, love, compassion and family ties. It is an extinction. It a state of amnesia. An inability to create continuous memories.

If the child does not receive the validation he needs, he will continue to undergo the cultural genocide many groups have faced throughout the history of humankind.