Dear friends and family,
It has changed from winter to springtime here in the borderlands. Yes, believe it or not—it was a cold winter! Perhaps not the negative amount of degrees like folks have seen back home, but 20 and 30 degrees can feel like a negative temperature when heating systems lack at home and at work, and dishes are often washed in cold water. Nevertheless, the sunshine has started showing its face again and allowing the land, and therefore people, to be heated by it more and more. I hear that the borderlands here in Arizona/Northern Mexico experience a couple of months of “tolerable” weather before things “really” heat up.
Something that I have noticed about this change in weather is that it has brought a feeling completely different from the one I have always been used to in the Midwest. The turn toward springtime there, to me, always meant new life—colorful flowers, blooms on trees, green grass. Here, however, springtime manifests itself a bit differently for those who are conscious of the bitter realities of what’s happening in the borderlands. By the end of February, we at the Migrant Resource Center had heard word of four migrant deaths in the desert that had already happened. As February ended and March got under way we were seeing an ugly trend of almost all migrants entering into the MRC without having been given anything to eat or drink by the US Border Patrol Detention Center during their time in detention. The law says that at 6 hours of being detained an individual must be given an entire meal and drink—not just crackers or cookies. What we’ve found is that people are being detained between 10 hours and 2 days without being given anything—at all—and for those who get the courage up enough to ask for food or something to drink during their stay there, they are knocked down either by words or by force. None of these situations are acceptable. While I understood that the borderlands see its bout of injustice before I came here, never had I imagined being so involved in the ongoing documentation of very straight-forward human rights abuses of so many people. And never had I hoped that the vast majority of these abuses would be carried out by those who are employed, trained, paid, and supported by the United States Government itself. And it’s not only undocumented migrants who are victims of these various types of abuses. Victims include travelers with legal documentation and even those who were born and have lived in the United States their whole lives. Fear and indifference are common trends here in this area. From my observations thus far, fear and indifference lead to violence, and violence leads to death, especially when this violence is systematic.
During a post-Semana Santa (Holy Week) reflection with Frontera de Cristo we looked at the resurrection of Jesus and Jesus’ words to those who were witnesses to this miraculous event: “No tengan miedo.” (“Do not fear.”) Various verses repeated these words or phrases: don’t fear, be not afraid, have no fear. In light of my reflection on the borderlands (as well as the rest of the USA) being a culture of fear, I observed that God knew what the people needed to hear then—and knows what we need to hear, here, now– and it’s written so many times in the Bible because God knew it was the message that we needed to hear. Do not fear! Do not be afraid!
I have had the opportunity to see many of my loved ones recently. At the end of February I took a trip to my alma mater, Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa. The purpose of the trip was to educate about the realities of the borderlands and try my hand at recruitment for the Young Adult Volunteer program. My time was full of conversation, philosophy teas, presenting in open forums and classes, and sharing meals with friends and professors. I was blessed fully by all those who took care of me during this time. During Holy Week, my parents came down to Douglas and Agua Prieta to visit me for a few days. It was a short span of time, but just enough for them to see the places I’m involved in and the people with whom I am involved. I felt like I was on cloud nine, standing in-between them, singing “Let Us Break Bread Together” in Spanish during the Maundy Thursday communion service at Lirio de los Valles Presbyterian Church in Agua Prieta. It truly was a joy to share with them the many aspects of the borderlands that have had me so tied and involved this year, knowing that it’s so different, me telling them about my experience here, and their seeing it with their own eyes.
As time moves on and I, in some ways, feel like I’m just settling in here, I want to thank you once more for continued prayers, thoughts, and support. Without these very important pieces, I would not be here, and I would not be experiencing both the very difficult challenges and the sheer hope and joy of living on the US-Mexico border.
Que la paz de Dios sea con todos Uds.,Leisha Jo Reynolds
