The Boat People
36″ x 44″ oil/canvas
Thousands have risked their lives to cross water in overcrowded boats. They risk perils at sea, predators who enslave, rob, rape, and kill. What awaits these uprooted are closed borders or indefinite detention in unsanitary refugee camps. Most people would not wish to leave their homes, but they are driven by such awful conditions that they have little option for life itself. American wars have created thousands of refugees. My painting is about our moral responsibility to end this tragedy. Will we rescue the victims of our imperial and religious wars?