ink, watercolor, colored pencil, marker; 20×16”
“For my social justice project, the topic I chose was immigration in America. It has popped up in the news a few times in the past years but suddenly went silent. My project is bringing immigration back into the forgotten minds and tell their side of their story, not the one that the media has painted. In many personal stories like my dad’s, immigrants had to pay thousands of dollars just for lawyers and to speak to a court in order to be eligible for a green card. My dad came to America because of how many gangs consumed his country and were trying to recruit him at 17. He didn’t want his family to starve or be killed so he almost died trying to make it to America. They are hated for trying to give their family and kids a better and safer life. One where they don’t have to worry about the cartel, drugs, loan sharks, and debt their country faces daily. Is it that bad for people to want their family and kids to have a safe country that they can live and thrive in? They’re not dangerous, they aren’t taking your jobs and they aren’t a burden.”
ARTIST BIO: Jay Moncadais a grade 12 student at Butler Tech School of Art studying art under art teacher Mary Catherine Ruby.