Day 204 in Mexico
For me, being in Agua Prieta and getting to interact directly with people risking their lives to cross the border was the most resonating, deeply moving experience in our time at the border. Nevertheless, the second part of our trip also promised to be an exciting one, especially for me. If you’re reading this, you obviously know me well enough to know that I went to college in Tucson; it’s been my home for the past four years, but going to Tucson has always felt like going home. Mine was a unique situation this year, in that YAGMS don’t get to go home during their year of service, except in cases of family emergency. Suddenly I was put in the position of going home, without really going home. As my coordinator put it, our trip to Tucson was in no way an “immersion in Katherine’s life,” it was part of our border immersion. We were going to be there for only two days, and they were very busy days, so I didn’t have time to catch up with old friends. Obviously I was excited to be going back to a city I love, even for such a short time, but I had my share of trepidations. I didn’t know if I would be able to fully concentrate on border issues, often very somber, in a city that, for me, provokes feelings of familiarity, comfort, and nostalgia. I didn’t know if I was going to feel bad about not being able to see people while I was in town. I thought it actually might be pretty hard for me to leave Tucson after two days; who’s to say I wouldn’t want to go back to Mexico at all?
As promised, our time in Tucson was a busy one. Though I was hit with those moments of nostalgia and fond memories, we were so involved with activities that I felt pretty focused (most of the time). We spent our whole first day on patrol with the Samaritans, volunteers from Tucson or Green Valley that go out in the desert, put out water for migrants, hike trails, look for any people in distress, and generally provide any sort of assistance necessary for anyone they encounter. We split into two groups; our Samaritan guide, an older, chain-smoking gentleman with dubious driving skills, was not exactly what I had in mind. Our time with him was also different than I expected; there was very little hiking trails, but there was a lot of driving around southern Arizona for a morning and afternoon. To his credit, he did tell some interesting stories about his life and his time with the Samaritans, and we got to see some interesting things. We made our way down from Tucson to Sasabe, the most inactive border crossing I’ve ever seen, and then over to Arivaca, where we got to see the No More Deaths camp. No More Deaths is another Tucson-based border activism group, and they decided that it was too inefficient to always be leaving for Tucson to go scouting for migrants, especially in the deadly hot summer months. So they set up a camp in the foothills around Arivaca, and during the summer people camp there, all week, every week, for months straight. It eliminates travel time and maximizes time spent looking for people, many of whom would likely die if they weren’t found. Southern Arizona summers are extremely hot to be camping, but at the same time are so much harsher for people trying to cross, often with improper clothing and insufficient water supplies. The day perhaps wasn’t all I had hoped for, but it was interesting to learn more about what the Samaritans do, and how they’re out there helping. However, it ended on a very positive note. Although I didn’t get to see anybody else while I was in Tucson (if you’re reading this from Tucson, sorry I didn’t tell you I was in town! I’ll see you in July J) my country coordinator did let me visit my mom’s house. Our whole group actually got to go there for dinner, and then I spent one night. To be home with my mom and pets, to have a good meal and a comfortable bed, to be somewhere familiar and soothing, was a great blessing, if only for a night. I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I actually wasn’t regretting having to come back to Mexico. I don’t feel like I’ve finished with my time here, or that I’m quite ready to finish, so though I was sad to leave I was also happy to come back.
Continuing on; day two was split between informational time and recreation time. The previous day, after our time with the Samaritans, we also had a presentation from Derechos Humanos, an organization that fights for the legal and human rights of migrants. The second morning we had a presentation from the pastor of South Side Presbyterian Church in South Tucson (a heavily Hispanic area). It was where the sanctuary movement began in the 80’s; the sanctuary movement was in response to the civil wars in Guatemala and El Salvador, and the church provided, well, sanctuary for refugees escaping from said countries. They’re still very much involved in social justice, and now it’s become somewhat of a sanctuary for migrants. They have a day workers program, where men can come to look for work in the mornings. It’s not always a guarantee, but at least they have a safe place where they potentially find a job without having to worry waiting on the street corner and being picked up by the migra. There we also had a presentation by Gene, a founder for the No More Deaths organization, which is the one going out during the summer, camping, and looking for migrants. More than anything else, they’re committed to preventing deaths in the desert; they’re no so heavily involved in the politics, just the politics of saving lives. After our morning of presentations, it was time for a little recreation, so we headed to Sabino Canyon for a worship service, some hiking and reflection. I love Sabino Canyon; if you’re from Tucson, you know what I mean (if you don’t know about Sabino Canyon, you should go!) It’s an absolutely gorgeous state park in northeast Tucson that’s full of wildlife, saguaros, and great hiking trails. It was a good place to unwind a little bit from our trip and, after seeing and hearing about how desolate and dangerous the desert can be, enjoy its beauty as well. We had a small worship to the side of Bear Canyon trail, in which we got to sing, reflect, and as some of us brought along things we had found in the desert during our time there (abandoned water bottles, bandannas, barbed wire) we prayed for the people we met and those we didn’t meet, for all those risking their lives to cross the desert and migrate to a different country. I didn’t do so much reflection after the service, so much as walk around, soak up the desert sun, and enjoy my last afternoon in Tucson, but it was lovely nonetheless. A great way to end our trip (though it was followed the next day by a very long drive all the way back to Hermosillo, a plane to Mexico City, and a bus ride to Cuernavaca. Yikes).
On our last day in Tucson, almost at the end of our activities, Gene told us a story during his No More Deaths presentation. It went like this: There once was a quiet little village on a river. One day a boy went down to the river and saw that there was a baby floating in it. He went out into the river, rescued it, and brought it into the town, where it was fed and cared for. The next day the people of the village saw two babies floating in the river. They did the same thing they had for the first; rescued them, brought them in, and cared for them. The next day there were more babies, and the day after even more. They didn’t stop coming. The people continued to do the same thing: rescue the babies and care for them in the town. They didn’t question why there were babies in the river. They didn’t go upstream to see who was throwing them in. They just rescued all that they could. “This is what we’re doing,” Gene said. “We (the organization and its volunteers) don’t have the time, energy, or manpower to go upstream and see what’s going on. We just have to keep rescuing everyone we can.” This, I thought, was a good summary of our time in Tucson; we got to see the people doing the saving. It is good to know that there are people fighting the political fight, the ones who are going upstream to see what’s going on. But at the same time, it was inspiring to see what was going on at the most human level; the people hiking trails and leaving water, the people camping out in the desert during the hottest, most deadly summer months in order to be as close as possible to the people they’re trying to save, those that put gauze and bandages on the migrant’s blistered foot (more than anything else, a bad blister is the kiss of death for a migrant. Can’t walk, can’t keep up? You’re left behind).
That was the real point of going to Tucson. Being in Agua Prieta and talking to migrants, hearing stories of poverty and struggle and suffering, was heart-breaking. It makes you sad, it makes you angry, it makes you feel helpless. To hear all that and then just go home to our lives and jobs would have been difficult. Going to Tucson allowed us to see what is actually being done to help the migrants, by people from our own country. It gives us, or at least me, a glimmer of hope and inspiration.
So now I’m back in Cuernavaca, and have been for several weeks. Work continues on, and it’s going very well. I’m enjoying the company of the woman in the community center as much as ever, and am content with how proficient I’ve become with my job (it took awhile, but I got there). On the homestay front, however, things after the border didn’t go so smoothly. There were some unfortunate circumstances at the home of Angeles and Fernando, that I don’t need to share, and I felt it necessary that I move out and try my luck with a different host family. We were all disappointed; my decision had nothing to do with Angeles and Fernando themselves, because they were (and are) lovely, warm, welcoming people, and I very much liked living with them. I’m sad that it had to end when it did, but such is life. I moved in with a new host family a few weeks ago, Alicia, Hipolito and Alicia’s grown daughter, Mireya. They’re a very busy family, even more involved in church and community organizations than my first family (I didn’t think it was possible!), and it’s a more independent environment than my first home. Though I like my new family, I am still working on warming to them in the same way I did with Angeles and Fernando. I get the feeling it may not be as easy the second time around. I already have my routine, my friends, my jobs figured out; I don’t need them like I needed Angeles or Fernando, and I don’t need to be as involved in their lives. I gradually grew more independent from Angeles and Fernando as my time went on, but we formed those strong bonds early on. Now I live my life somewhat apart, which perhaps is neither good nor bad, it just is. I’m hoping in time that I’ll be able to maintain good relationships with both families, and as my coordinator said, “Have two places in Mexico to call home.”
Things look to be busy for the next couple weeks. My boyfriend Ehsan will be visiting starting on Saturday (more vacation!), and then it’s Holy Week and Easter, which are very important times in Mexico. It should be a good time.
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