I wanted to address this because I have a few questions/concerns. I was contacted about this project to see if I wanted to participate. I'll be honest, I thought it was due to my expertise in child development, trauma, & immigrant students, but it was interest in my family story https://twitter.com/BermudezWrites/status/1358827469277564931

this interest came from my presentation on salvadoran childhoods & mentioning my family's migration story.

I was explained that this would be an oral history project describing our migratory experiences particularly my siblings.

I asked "what is the benefit for participants? how will we be compensated for our story? I was told that it was unethical to compensate people for their stories. I said "as a researcher it is unethical to not compensate people for their data"

Compensation doesn't have to equal money btw. It can be access to resources. It can be a therapy session. It can be anything. but to get nothing for re-living traumatic events? idk...

I was also told that not every story was going to be published but again no compensation.

Now there are university students recording these stories, but no indication of IRB approval/process. How can I trust they are taking the ethical steps when using university labor to conduct research? Oral history is qualitative research btw

I mentioned how describing trauma lead people to re-live their trauma. How are we making sure they are okay afterwards? I know if my siblings have to remember their trauma it's going to effect our family process for a minute. Me picking up the pieces for a story w no compensation

I understand wanting to record our experiences, but we have to make sure we are re-traumatizing our own people just for white audiences to "humanize" us somehow. I want to give a benefit of the doubt tho so here are my questions

-How are you compensating ppl for their stories?
-Are you working w trauma experts to be sensitive & least traumatic as possible?
-Is there IRB approval? Are students being compensated for their labor?
-Are you receiving any additional funding that can be redistributed?

btw I'm not the only one questioning the execution

Also mention of DC but not MD or VA? VA has the biggest afro-salvadoran community in the US but y'all never care to know that lmao

another question: who will own the data afterwards? will LA Times own our family stories?

also i'm concerned that no indigenous salvadorans are leading this project? I am Afroindigenous from El Salvador with a PHD in developmental psychology & expertise in longitudinal methods/statistics. why am I only being included to collect my data and not for collaboration?

Forgot to mention that there might be a curriculum developed by EB & a uni to teach about our history in schools after the project is done? The details weren’t clear so there are long-term goals w this project that aren’t being said either