"Policia! Policia!"

Just as we arrived at Paragon Camp last Thursday night, the Beaufort County Sheriff's Department car pulled in behind us. This is a fairly common sight. More often than not, the officer will ask us why we are visiting the camps--at least until he gets used to seeing us. These encounters with the police are always friendly.

Therefore, we were a bit surprised when the officer drove past and came to a stop only to be meet by a group of excited children. We discovered that the officer comes to the camp on a regular basis to pass out candy and to let kids know that the police department is there to help when there is a need.

I asked the officer if I could take his photo with a group of migrant children as he passed out the candy. He said that it was against department rules to have his picture taken. It would have been a heartwarming photo.

He called the children by name as they squealed in delight as he passed out the candy. The smiles were present on the faces of the children and the face of the officer who obviously enjoyed passing out the treats.

So many times, a police car in a migrant camp can be a scarey or threatening sight for migrant workers and their families. There is so much misinformation with regard to the "new" migrant laws and rumors and of  workers  being stopped and treated disrespectfully by law enforcement up and down the East Coast. There are numerous stories of arrests and deportations throughout migrant season. While some of these stories may be true, it was absolutely  heartwarming for us to see this BCSO officer passing out candy to a group of joyous children as night began to fall on one of the many migrant camps on St. Helena Island.

May we all create positive memories for those whom we encounter in our lives regardless of social or economic status.