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| Ulisses |
Ulisses
Ulisses was helping out at Grupos Beta, the Mexican Border Patrol. I've mentioned before that Grupos Beta is very different from the U.S. Border Patrol, because they rescue people. Grupos Beta also operates a shelter where deportees can stay for up to three days. On the Friday I went to Nogales, Larry Trent took me to the shelter. The same men I saw in the morning at El Commodor, the cafeteria, were mulling about, brushing their teeth. We gave them cookies and gum that Larry had brought. Ulisses went with us from there to visit the grave of Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez, the 16-year-old who was shot near the border fence in Nogales. He asked me to take his picture, after Larry told him who I was, and why I was there. Since this picture was taken, Ulisses has tried to cross the border again, and is now in detention.
Marla Conrad
Marla greeted me with a smile when I was inside the El Commodor cafeteria. She shook my hand, and introduced herself as the Social Worker. Her official title on her card states Migrant Advocate/Volunteer Coordinator for Kino Border Initiative, which is the organization that runs this cafeteria and service for deportees that the U.S. dumps off. I realized immediately the enormity of her job, and I felt honored that she took the time to speak with me when so many people she served were in need. I was also amazed at her pleasant, unhurried demeanor, and her genuine smile. She gave me her card. She is one person who helps immigrants understand their legal rights and what services are available to them.
Christa
Christa was a young EMT who volunteers at El Commodor sometimes. She was there the day I was there, and had come with a group of college students from Flagstaff who were fulfilling academic requirements by volunteering there. She had brought a first-aid kit with her, containing ibuprofen, acetaminophen, aspirin, ace wraps, bandages and other important items. She asked me to confer with her when treating an older man's very bruised feet, what would be the best course of action, and on which pain medication would be most appropriate for him. He denied having allergies. We found ourselves discussing nausea, dehydration, potential liver and kidney problems, what his days ahead might look like and what might be the best advice for him; and I realized that the medical concerns were in a realm I had not experienced in practice before then. It was important to make him understand not to take too many pills at one time. She spoke fluent Spanish, and translated, permitting me to interact with several deportees. It was when I was working with Christa that I realized that I wanted to go back, and help these people more, and that in order to do so, I would need to learn a lot more Spanish. I would also need to understand the issues that went along with desert conditions and spending days in jail with no food. I felt happy here, and in my element, completely. Whether I go back remains to be seen though. Both of us were surrounded by men on the street outside the mission, and they were grateful, and concerned for each other. They had just been through despair together. Christa was showing me some things that could be done for that, and it felt good and right to be there.
Trish Gehlen
Trish may not see herself as a significant person on this trip, but she was. She was a year ahead of me at the Friends (Quaker) boarding school we attended, Olney Friends School, in Barnesville, Ohio. She has been living in Tucson since 1982, and works for the zoning board there. She offered her home to stay in while I was in Tucson. Even though I only spent one night there, the visit inspired thoughtfulness about aspects of this trip I otherwise may not have considered. When we were in high school together, I was on the student Spiritual Life Committee, when Trish brought forward a concern about the way religion was being presented to the students. At the time, I was an evangelical, born-again Christian, albeit a teenager. Several administrators and board members were also very evangelical, and had a mind that every student should be converted during their stay at the school. Her concern made me question what religion and spirituality were really about for people. I wondered whether trying to convert everyone was a good idea, if it were accomplishing the opposite effect of deterring them from the Christian religion entirely.
Over the years, her courage for bringing such a heartfelt issue has come back to me numerous times, for different reasons. We were not close at Olney, but we were close and connected to some of the same people from the school, and from Columbus, Ohio. Religion is very much a part of the immigration issue because most of those advocating for humane treatment of these people come because of a religious conviction about it, or give religious arguments for doing so. Many who argue against some of the basic immigrant rights have religious stands in other political areas but seem to be able to separate their politics and religious precepts on this issue. The other place available to me for boarding in Tucson as an alternative to a hotel was the Pima Friends Meeting guest room. Although people in that meeting were involved in immigration issues, none of those people were able to make contact with me during the two nights I stayed there; or at the meeting-for-worship that I attended. I knew they were around though. Trish provided me with a familiar face, with a room with pictures of more familiar faces tacked to a bulletin board, and with the subtle but profound comfort in knowing that spiritually, we had probably come to much more common ground over time. Relaxing in a chair in her living room, talking about people we both knew, and having her dog slobber on my pant leg made me feel much more at home. Understanding that we were on more common ground brought me comfort and confidence in a city I had never visited.
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| My room at Pima Friends Meeting |
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| On the wall at Pima Friends Meeting |
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| Cotton crocheted dishcloths left on my desk at Pima Friends Meeting. My son took some of these to Kenya as house gifts. My husband's mother made them personally for him to take. I was charmed to find some made by others, as a hint to do my own dishes. |
Sherrie Miller
Sherrie was the caretaker at Pima Friends Meeting. I emailed with the clerk, Jane Kroesen, and Sherrie, prior to and after my stay there. Her daughter was helping her do laundry when I arrived. Sherrie made my stay comfortable despite being down with a cold and despite some general, somewhat significant household issues. The room at the meetinghouse was a quiet haven to gather my thoughts, and to write about these experiences while they were fresh in my mind. I deeply appreciated the space that was not a hotel room, and the Quakerly hospitality far from home.
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| I didn't know who the man was carrying the crosses, but Pablo is in the white shirt next to him. |
Pablo Peregrina
Pablo walked in front of me, and then behind me, for much of the 8-mile 13th Annual Dia de Los Muertos Pilgrimmage. We walked from St. Johns church to San Xavier, where we laid to rest crosses and souls of those who were found dead in the desert in the last fiscal year. He is a musician who sings border songs. Joel Smith arranged several of these experiences for me, and walked with me nearly the entire way. Joel currently manages the Humane Borders water runs. He told me that he met Pablo after hearing him play several years ago, and that it was Pablo who first engaged him in helping Humane Borders filling water tanks as a volunteer. The day I returned from Sasabe, Mexico, Pablo drove from south Tucson to Pima Friends Meeting in north Tucson, to sell me two of his CD's, which are not available online. He told me a little bit about each song on the CD's, sitting in the grass in the park across the road from the meetinghouse. His songs are meaningful and heartfelt. He told me that he will play his music for travel expenses, in order to share what is happening along the border. I realized that many of the events that transpired to bring me to Tucson might not have happened without Pablo.
I've written about Joel Smith and Larry Trent in previous posts. They organized most of the events on this trip for me. I was touched by many others, and their names and faces surface in recollection of the trip. Apart from Joel and Larry, these were the primary people who influenced my experience, however, and I want to dedicate this post to them, in gratitude.
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