At the Border Crossing

Hello All!  I have successfully gotten through the first week and a half of my journey.  After traveling to the Border, our brains were filled with many stories and struggles and frustrations on both “sides” of the issue of immigration.  My group stayed in a community center that had little to no heat, low functioning toilets and showers, not too good water, and no window shades.  It was a spread of air mattresses every night on the floor and with a plethora of wool blankets and under armor.  We went and were taken about by the Mission La Frontera de Cristo and visited many places each day.  I was astonished on how much all of the different organizations all knew each other and were trying to work together to make the city a better place.  The border town Agua Prieta is known as a transition town because a lot of people travel there in hopes to one day cross the border into the United States.  Our tours of the week included a drug habilitation center, an immigrant/deportee shelter, a migrant resource center, a day of only surviving on about 29 dollars a day for all of a factory working families’ utilities, an actual border patrol station in Naco, AZ, breakfast at an actual border patrol’s house, a vigil for the many people that have died just at this border, had a fabulous dinner at the local nuns’ house, a tour of the Mexican consulate, a guided hike to the actual border wall in the middle of the desert, a coffee roasting plant of Café Justo and numerous homemade dinners made by community members, and the cute quaint town of Bisbee.   As you can tell, we had a packed week.  With this busy schedule it was very hard to keep fresh and processed at all times.  There were many times when a lot of us would say that we were drained and almost mad that there were some many struggles among this issue.  One of the main arguments of the week was that it is hard to say that this is a “black and white” issue because there is a lot of gray area.  Although I agree that there are not just two sides within the debate of immigration, I beg to define “gray” differently.  Gray sounds bland and almost unimportant and unfamiliar.  The experiences we encountered this week I would say added color, added humanity into the picture that has become statistics only.  Many times this week I caught myself being confused and washed out and not completely realizing that this is an actual hardship for too many people.  Time and time again we would talk to someone and they would have a story; a story of crossing, living and working in the United States and getting caught.  Not only getting caught but many times being deported after living in the United States for all of the time that they can remember.  It is a hard thing to discuss, who should be here and who shouldn’t be here.  As our group passed in and out of the US each day with ease I could only think about a man that we met named Jose.  Jose has been brought to Pheonix, Arizona when he was just 2 and grew up there.  He continued schooling and work there and even had 3 kids there.  It only took one wrong move that would get any US citizen a fine that got him sent to Pinal County Jail to serve a year and a half in jail before being processed and deported into what was an unfamiliar native land.  As he spoke perfect English, we asked him question after question about his journey and I cannot image the thought of being separated from three kids who think that you abandoned them.  Although deported, he mentioned that he plans to cross again to make it back for his daughter’s middle school graduation.  I pray for his, and many others, journeys as they risk their lives for their loved ones.

                As we all were continuously were heart broken by their stories, I found hope in a place called Café Justo.  Café Justo is, what they refer to as “Fair Trade PLUS”.  Not only is this a co-operative that gives fair wages to all of its employees and families, it cuts of the middle man processor completely in order to cut costs down to the bare minimum.  While many farmers and factory workers strive to earn $3.50/day, Café Justo can give about $25/day for the work that they do.  Not only are they cultivating a stable work economy, they are keeping the profit in Mexico and keeping anyone that works for them in need to cross the border for a “better” life.  This gives me hope, not only because it is sparking a beautiful company, but that it makes AMAZING coffee.  If anyone you have a chance, please look up Café Justo coffee and research what they are about.  They do not even roast their coffee until you put it an order for it online to keep it at its freshest taste quality.  I see God in the eyes of these workers as they are a daily reminder of trusting the Lord.  Starting a company from scratch is not easy and what they have done is absolutely phenomenal. 

                I leave all of you with a clear sense of pensiveness.  I am overjoyed to have God open my eyes to others stories and life journeys, not to mention all the rice and beans I could ever want haha.  I believe that it is not the decisiveness that we need to strive for, but that we need more conversations and more open minds to accept our neighbors with just as much and if not more of a story than we do. 

                As for what is next, my group packs up for Guatemala tonight and heads for the airport tomorrow morning.  We will travel to Guatemala City and arrive about 9:30, about 10:30 EST.  I give all of you blessings and ask that you continue to pray for not only me but my group as we start school and live with host families in the next two months. 

Take Care and God Bless,

Kiersten

The Middle Ground

Hello All!! On Wednesday my group left Harrisonburg, VA and arrived safely in Tuscon, AZ.  It has already been such a great experience!  Yesterday we kicked off the semester by traveling to Florence, AZ to take a tour of the Florence Detention Center that holds illegal immigrants after they are caught.  Although there is more to it than that, it was such an eye-opening experience.  When we got there, we were greeted by many guards and regulations on what we were allowed to bring in and what we were not allowed to bring in.  We were all escorted into a conference room and the director began a powerpoint on the history and logistics of the center.  They currently hold around 320 men, but held about 40,000 men in the past year.  After the introduction, we actually got a tour of the base itself.  It was hard to keep myself mindful of what these men had gone through.  As we walked through the barbed wire with ease, I couldn't help but think what these men had to do everyday, that is live within barbed wire cages.  On the bright side, these men were treated quite nicely with three hot meals, 4 hours of outside recreation a day, living spaces with flat screen TVs, their own locker, the ability to receive mail, and a bed to sleep in.  To be a tad blunt, but I couldn't help but think that most men would rather be here in this detention center than in their home of fear or poverty.  After we left the detention center, we met with an EMU alum and talked about her battle to fight the detention center with the way they ran the center.  Yes, they did provide for their detainees, but they really only showed us the "positive" aspects of the center itself.  She went on to describe how this governmental organization twist many rules and take away most of these mens rights as human beings. 
As I left with these questions, I kept wondering what was fair and what was just.  Are these things the same? Are they different?  So many arguments on immigration are focused on what is right and what is wrong.  But I do not think there is a straight answer for either "side".  I do not believe that men, women, or children should be poorly treated although not legally in this country, but I do believe that the reason that they are fleeing their own countries is a tragedy.  Yes, some come simply to make money, but some literally come here in hopes of survival, not only for them, but for their families and the ones they love.  Most live in fear of being killed upon return and the harm that will be inflicted on their loved ones. 
For me, this is a devastating human rights issue that will continue to be twisted and complicated no matter what legislation comes about.  It is a struggle to keep an open-mind when all these lies fill the media and tabloids.  Either way, good or bad, right or wrong, black or white, I stand for justice.  Justice in the sense that every human being, whether American or not deserve to live on a land that they love.  That if my family and loved ones were in danger, I sure as hell would do all I could to protect them and keep them safe.  Justice that keeps this race together, unseparated in the eyes of humanity.  I am aware that this is a dream that will be hard to obtain, but it takes a start to create an end, and I have to start somewhere.

To direct my conversation elsewhere, my group is doing really well!  We are really learning a lot and will continue to be traveling in the next couple weeks.  It has been a bit odd that we are still in transition between our home and Guatemala as we find ourselves still in the US.  Therefore, as we travel to the border tomorrow (Nogales, Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Mexico) may we keep learning and having God open our hearts to the struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Take Care and God Bless,
Kiersten