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I am an immigrant who came to America as a child in 1955. My father fought for freedom in World War II, surviving the Bataan Death March and the atrocities of a concentration camp. He risked his life for the ideals of freedom and self-determination, moving us, his family, to this country with the promise of opportunity and believing what was engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your poor tired. , your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

I also proudly call myself an Alaskan, having made my home in this remarkable place 60 years ago. In the wake of this recent election, in which a nation’s overwhelming preference was to elect Donald Trump, who promises to summarily deport people who look like me, I ask you, my neighbors: Should I- should i be afraid I ask this question not only for myself, but also for my children and grandchildren, who were born here with the promise of freedom from oppression and the protection of fundamental human rights.

My question is also to those who have recently arrived as refugees from Ukraine, Sudan, and Afghanistan, who I know are now questioning the integrity of this nation’s commitment to protect them through fundamental constitutional oaths.

The question is especially of those who voted for a president who is an insurrectionist, a convicted felon and a pathological liar who was found civilly liable for sexual abuse, who unjustly sowed fear, hatred, accusing legal immigrants like me of ” eat the cats, eat the dogs… eat the pets.” How have so many forgotten their Irish, Norwegian, Swedish, Italian, German or Polish predecessors who were fleeing dictators in Europe not so long ago and who now voted for a man who said he would become dictator on his account? first day at the office.

Equally important is the question: Do you consider me and those like me “the enemy within?” Now do I have to look over my shoulder at every turn as neo-Nazis and others boldly emerge to challenge the rule of law? I hope not.

Finally, as I slowly move forward with greater determination, intent, and a wary eye, my greatest hope lies in Kamala Harris’s concession speech, in which she graciously offered that we have “ more in common than separates us”.

Roy Corral is a longtime Alaskan and photojournalist. Lives in Eagle River.

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