Borderlands Trip: "No More Deaths"

We arrived in Tucson and were greeted by John Fife and Gene Lefavbre. John and Gene are retired Presbyterian pastors who started the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980's and provided sanctuary to Central Americans fleeing Civil War in El Salvador and Guatemala. They have a long history of getting into trouble! They are AMAZING people and I learned so much from them. They're pretty darn funny too. =)

The "No More Deaths" camp is in Arivaca, south of Tucson and north of the border. Each day we divided into patrols and hiked the trails to deliver water and food. Volunteers date the water and this helps them know which trails are being heavily used. The area is enormous...over hundreds of thousands of square miles. No More Deaths services about 180 square miles.

One of the volunteers had brought tags that were made by migrants who have successfully crossed. We tied the tags around the water. Each tag had a different message on it. For example, one tag read (in Spanish) "You are beautiful and strong. Remember this when people here tell you that you are less."

There were many difficult moments on the trip, but an especially difficult one was visiting Josseline's shrine. Josseline was a 14-year-old girl from El Salvador who was trying to get to Los Angeles to reunite with her mother and grandparents. She was traveling with her 10-year-old brother and along the way, she fell behind and could travel no further. Her brother made it safely and the family contacted "No More Deaths" to plead for help in finding Josseline. She was finally found, three weeks after she separated from the group, and the coroner discovered she had survived alone for two weeks. She was 14 years old, and she died alone in the desert. Since recovering her body, a shrine has been erected and all NMD volunteers carry her picture in their pockets.

One of my favorite moments in camp was our dinner on Tuesday night. The "No More Deaths" camp is located on the land of Byrd Baylor, a famous author of children's books. She came for dinner and we enjoyed Pad Thai and fried rice, brought to us by a Buddhist monk who brings meals every week to the camp. Our guests of honor were the three migrants who were resting and rehydrating in the NMD camp. It rained most of the time we were in camp, but let up for dinner, and in fact, there was an enormous rainbow to entertain us at dinner. Byrd read us one of her articles, and we laughed, sat by firelight, and dined on Pad Thai. My heart was full of joy.

Unfortunately, the next day when we returned from our morning patrol, we were greeted by Border Patrol agents who had raided the camp. The migrants who had been recovering were taken and deported. Gene was held in custody for over 2 hours and it looked like Border Patrol might arrest all of us for "harboring migrants."

The Saturday before we came to camp, NMD volunteers had finally convinced a migrant staying in camp that he needed to seek medical help. He was in the early stages of renal failure and the volunteers told him that if he didn't get to a hospital, he would die. He finally agreed and as he was being wheeled into the ambulance, Border Patrol intercepted and took him away. I think this recent incident helped us avoid arrest. Plus, we think Border Patrol knew it would be a media nightmare if they arrested 12 seminarians!

After our time in Arivaca, we drove to Altar, Sonora in Mexico. Altar is a staging area for migrants and is about 60 miles south of the border. Most migrants are coming from Central America or southern Mexico so Altar is where they rest before crossing the border. The Center we stayed at gives migrants a place to sleep, eat, shower, get clean clothes, and receive medical care. Enrique, the coordinator of the center, gave us a tour and one of the group members asked him why he does what he does. His response? "Mateo 25." (Matthew 25: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.")

One of the migrants I met in Altar is named Martin. Martin is from Honduras and migrated to the US 7 years ago to work. He recently returned to Honduras to see his two girls (now 9 and 10 years old) and to bury his mother. He told me his daughters wanted desperately for him to stay, but there is no work and he must return to the US if his daughters are going to eat.

There are so many more stories to tell. I don't pretend to be an expert on Border issues and the more you learn, the muddier the water gets. It is a complex situation. However, here's what I believe to be true:

*The US needs to revisit NAFTA and take responsibility for the greed and self-interest that has contributed to the economic crisis in Mexico. Since NAFTA passed, the US has flooded Mexico with products that drove down prices and caused farmers to lose their land. Farmers who had supported their families by growing and selling corn could no longer afford to do so.

*In 1994, the US initiated a Border Policy that tightened security in major US cities along the border and forced migrants to cross through the deadly Arizona desert. The American people were told that migrant deaths would result, but it was "collateral damage" for ceasing illegal border crossings. The policy has not been effective and has been recognized by the international community (UN) as a violation of human rights. Let me repeat, the international community condemns our current border policy!

*Over and over we heard the familiar rhetoric "They choose to come here and it's their fault if they die in the desert." I met dozens and dozens of migrants who did not choose to illegally cross the border. To apply for a visa or work permit would take 7-15 years and there's no guarantee of approval. Most of the migrants I met couldn't afford to wait 7 years. It was cross or starve.

I don't know what the solution looks like or should be. What I DO know, is that in the meantime, I salute "No More Deaths" for taking Matthew 25 seriously.