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Challenging Borders A group of alumni from the R2W Summer Institute and Congregational Leaders Internship just returned from a trip to the U.S.-Mexico border to study the effects of globalization. |
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 CLI in Tucson, AZ with Mike Wilson, a Tohono O'odham Christian. |
 Art on the Mexican side of the border fence illustrates the experiences and dreams of migrants. |
There’s more to the Arizona Sun Blazing hot waves of orange, yellow, red rays sank into my already brown skin as I stepped on the soil of the Arizona Desert. I could smell the dryness of the wind and feel the natural oil in my black hair evaporate from strand to strand. My throat began to itch and the gravity had no problem pulling my tender body down. This one minute experience was only the beginning of what I call the five day life practice. I felt like Buddha seeing the four signs that led him to start his pilgrimage to enlightenment. Before our journey started, my comrades and I had discussed a little about our visit. We were there to study and learn about the Mexico-Arizona border in context of the immigration movement, colonization, and human rights as people of color, people of faith, and young people in society today. |
 Rev. Deborah Lee looks out over the desert where the border between the United States and Mexico is drawn. Materials and trees cleared for the construction of a vehicle barrier at the border litter the desert in the background. |
The first couple of people we met were two Native Indians from tribes indigenous to the Sonoran Desert (which crosses the U.S./Mexico border): Tohono O'odham, or people of the desert, and Yaqui. The Tohono O'odham Nation (also known as Papago), which is supposed to be a sovereign nation, is in the middle of the border crisis. Because of the problem with illegal immigration and drug smuggling, the border has become tighter and dangerous. The people who are native to the land cannot easily cross safely over the border to perform their annual ceremonies. These ceremonies are very sacred and mandatory to them. After years of Americanization, homes taken away, and going through a “legal form of genocide,” their ceremonies are what they try to hold onto. I did not realize the importance of their way of life until they went on to tell us their social biographies. Ophelia, who is Tohono O’odham, told us about her experience with Americanization. Since the colonists saw the Tohono O'odham lifestyle as savage, they forced most of the young children out of their homes, cut their hair off, and sent them to boading schools. I felt as if the acid in my body started to burn holes in my stomach as I learned the reason why the Western Authority sent the Native Indians to school: they said, “It is cheaper to educate Native People then to kill them.” |
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Ophelia said, "They can build huge buildings, spill blood and make war but after the floods and years have passed what will be left is the land and 'we are the land.'" Big empowering words of wisdom came from this small framed woman. She advised us to be more aware of the words we choose to use because they to can become weapons and unconsciously hold you back. She said she doesn't use the word struggle anymore because it means fighting somebody; instead she uses the word survive because this means it is not over and you are going to get through it. I was filled with all kinds of emotions: Anger, Hatred, Meaninglessness… you name it, I felt it all. |
On Sunday, we attended Southside Presybyterian Church. The theme was love thy neighbor, not stopping at any borders. After the service we met a man who I will never forget named Mike Wilson, who is also Tohono O'odham.Tall with strong, dark, long hair neatly tied in the back with glasses and a light pink shirt, he spoke with such spirit and love that everyone’s tears flowed. “Who are we regardless of race?” he asked. “We are fighting for a higher social cause.” What Mike Wilson said that day made so much sense to me. He spent twenty years in the U.S. Military and is now retired. He now spends his days putting water out in the desert on tribal land for passing migrants. He says this is what he feels is his calling. He said, “Everyday, when I see a migrant who’s worn out, beaten up by the sun approaching me asking for water, I ask, ‘Is that you god?’” I could hear everyone’s heart including mine beating wildly as the words started to soak into our skin. One of our members burst into streams of tears in our closing: “I never thought I would say this. And I never thought I would feel this. And I don’t know when I'll get this feeling again, if ever, but today I saw god. And he’s wearing a bright pink shirt today.” |
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On Monday, some of us got to spend the day in Sonora, Mexico. When the white van we were in drove past the imaginary border, the words in my mouth began to dry up with the rest of my hope for the world.It’s insane to know that this imaginary line gets to decide who lives and who dies. We got on a windy path at some point, and the bare soil on the side started to be filled with old car tires. At that point I could no longer bear a smile: this is reality and there needs to be change and more consciousness. Things are not simple and it is not right for you or me to simplify it. It's one thing to talk about what’s happening on the border from afar, it’s a whole another ball park when you’re there seeing it. When you’re there, there is no denying that things issues are real. It’s right in front of you. I have learned to have an honest dialogue about anything we have to to recognize what’s going on. I pray that the light of change will start to warm up our souls so that we can represent to witness. |
Reflection The trip to the U.S.-Mexico border left me with ideas, stories and experiences that need to be shared. The deep reflection that came about as a result of this trip is something that I believe other people in my community should also take part in. I have talked with my family and my close friends about this trip and I am about to lead a discussion group at my church as well. Although we only scratched the surface of border issues during our five days together, the trip had a powerful impact on me. The clash of culture and politics has been around for many years. We came face-to-face with this clash as we talked with José Matus and Ophelia. Because they are both indigenous ceremonial leaders, they are continuously in the midst of their traditional culture while at the same time they battle the challenges that geography and foreign borders present. For example, their medicine bundles are disturbed and their traditional clothing is sometimes tampered with when they cross the border on their journeys to ceremonial grounds. Even with no ceremony taking place, Border Patrol gives them trouble for crossing. They are on their own land and they must abide by other nations’ laws. How is this right? How is this okay? |
 Vehicle barrier at the U.S.-Mexico border on the Tohono O'odham reservation 90 miles south of Tucson, AZ.
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From this, it follows that when migrants cross over from México into the U.S. on Tohono O’odam land, the tribal council of the Tohono O’odam Nation is indifferent towards the deaths of the migrants. Why should they be responsible for a problem that is caused by other nations? A pang shoots through me when I consider this argument. It is not okay for people to be left to die if something can be done about it, especially when the solution is as basic as delivering water. I am careful here to note, however, that I am aware of the intricacies of the political debate surrounding this issue. The solution is therefore not as simple as deciding to start providing water. And here at this point, I am reminded of our discussion with Mike Wilson, another member of the Tohono O'odham Nation. For him, the solution is as simple as providing water. That is what I found to be so powerful about his presence and his work. He has put politics aside and fulfills what it is that he is called to do. Despite his cultural ties and loyalties, to him, each migrant is a child of God and none of them deserves to die of thirst. I learned, on a different level, the value of life during this trip. I saw what it means to listen to and to follow what God calls you to do. I saw a concrete example of someone leading a spiritual life according to God’s word while remaining true to his own cultural identity, a life that, from the onset, seems contradictory in itself. From Mike Wilson’s story about his journey through seminary, I now see a different perspective on the relationship between ordination and pastoral work. |
 Houses on a hill in Nogales, Mexico. |
All of these things mentioned so far have little to do with my reflections on our day trip into México. The discussion of politics that we had with Kiko, director of Borderlinks in Nogales, Mexico, was very raw. In the end, he planned out a mode of action: México moves first. Sadly, I agree that it will be very difficult for the U.S. to make a move first to improve the NAFTA agreement and the exploitation of labor in México. What does this say about the bubbles that we live in? We see the streets that we walk on and the subways and buses that we ride. We see the nail salons and the school buildings and it is very difficult get ourselves to move beyond our daily lives. We are comfortable, maybe too comfortable. And as long as we are ignorant of issues and injustices, we won’t be held responsible. What an awful way to live. Because we know at least some aspects of border issues, it is our responsibility to spread the word, to make people aware of the situation. As Maikiko, a fellow R2W alum, and Kiko said, education is a first step. Hopefully through more discussion with this group, we might plot out a move of direct action.
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 Many have spraypainted political statements and images on the Mexican side of the border fence. |
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