Mother of Exiles, Yearning To Breath Free

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" - 

These are the words engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in our New York harbour. That statue was the first thing immigrants and refugees saw as they arrived in the US, many of them through Ellis Island, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

These words are without doubt as relevant today as when they were written in 1883. Liberty herself is described in the poem 'The New Colossus' as "a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame is the imprisoned lightning, and her name MOTHER OF EXILES.

Representing the nation as a woman is a common rhetorical move, even as it is ironic. When Emma Lazarus wrote her sonnet, women were denied many of the rights and responsibilities the nation gives to its citizens, including the vote. They could be the mothers of the nation; they could not fully participate in the nation. 

To me, this timeless legacy is a call to action. one that means seeing each other  not as "the other" but as human beings equally deserving of dignity and compassion. We must hold onto the values symbolized by Lady Liberty’s torch—if we are to remain a becon of light for all those who hope for freedom and a better life, we must hold true to our ideals of diversity, liberty and equality. In this country all people have the right to live freely, make their own choices, and strive for a fulfilling life.