Since the start of 2020, the world has faced the largest health emergency we have ever seen in the days of modern medicine. After months of being locked inside our homes, we witnessed yet another black man killed by law enforcement, repeating “I can’t breathe.” It has led to the largest nationwide protests for Black lives since the days of the Civil Rights movement. America has had enough of the hate and after months of reflection inside our homes with our families, it has changed this nation. The founders gave birth to the greatest government system in the history of the world; learning from the lessons of failed monarchies, religious empires, and militaristic societies among others. The United States of America is a country filled with the population that traces its ancestry to every corner of the world. Most of it has been Europe for the past few hundred years, but that trend has been changing. The founders realized that a system of checks and balances along with the ability to change laws to the original document would create a forever-evolving system of government. A free trade society will create wealth for all, regardless of their religious background or race. "Tears in the flag" follows the story of a twelve-year-old Arjun Singh, whose mother is forced to leave the country suddenly after an immigration officer shows up at their doorstep. Arjun must navigate his new reality as an undocumented immigrant who just recently arrived in America, juggling the cultural identities of two nations. Arjun carried with him the hopes and dreams from his father just as his father did before him. Arjun’s world turned upside down the moment his family arrived in America. He had gone from competing in the National Speed Skating Championship in Pune, a convent school student, enjoying the perks of middle class Indian society to being dropped off at a dirty apartment in New Jersey shared with four strange men, all pumping gas for the same employer. His father went from being a Bank Manager at the Bank of Punjab to pumping gas at the Swedesboro Texaco station. A turbaned Sikh boy living in small town USA after the events of 9/11 without any friends or prospects will forge relationships through perseverance. Forced to relocate every few years because of his family's circumstances, Arjun will work seven days a week to pay for his college education without a single penny from grants, scholarships or loans that he is ineligible for. Arjun will fall in love and he will lose it. After thirteen years of waiting for his citizenship, the interview to bring his mom back is scheduled for December 15, 2015, 3 days before Arjun’s sister’s college graduation. Arjun immediately books his ticket to India to escort his mom to the US embassy in New Delhi where he is met with a challenging agent, bent on putting the application on hold once again. Arjun refuses to budge and argues what reason could there be to delay the case. This story is one of the many unheard voices that have spent the last few decades hidden in the shadows, fearing repercussions if they speak out, cornered with every new legislation and administration that fails to create a solution for over eleven million people. The time for social justice is now for people like Arjun who are hiding, afraid and without a penny in unemployment or health benefits in these difficult times.
