What I can do is ask you to reflect on a time when you have either experienced or witnessed desperation. What does it feel like? What does it look like? What would you do for yourself or for your family when you are in the midst of total desperation?
These questions bring me back to the WHY that was absent from the court system yesterday and the WHY that was so very present today when we heard over and over again from mothers and children at HEPAC, Tito when talking about José Rodriguez's death, women sharing stories at Nazareth house, and recently deported migrants at El Comedor. You can google any of the places and find our more about their mission.
I'm learning more about immigration law and changes that have taken place since the 90's, repercussions of NAFTA, the financial and emotional cost of migration and deportation, and the very real lives that are changed in an instant when a tail light is out or a workplace is raided.
One of my biggest Ah-ha's today involved water. As our group walked back over the border from Nogales, Mexico to Nogales, Arizona (once one city without a wall), We walked out of the border patrol office and I immediately spotted a sparkling automatic drinking fountain and water bottle filler. How ironic that just steps away there is an entire company that cannot drink tap water and must boil or pay for drinkable water. Additionally there are often restrictions so that people may only have a couple hours of running water in a day. Of course these restrictions to not apply to the factories that have taken over the pastures of Nogales. Yet I am offered the privilege of my citizenship which also affords the privilege of clean drinking water within reach at a moment's notice.
Have I experienced desperation? No. No I haven't. And I think I know why.
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