No one should die for the lack of a cup of water

Note: This letter was written by Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) member Tracy Hughes to her supporters on 26 July 2009. It has been edited for length. For more information on the CPT Borderlands project, please visit http://www.cpt.org/work/borderlands.

BORDERLANDS LETTER: “No one should die for the lack of a cup of water”

by Tracy Hughes

Hello Everyone,

I just got back from spending the weekend at the No More Deaths desert camp. Wow, the desert is an endless expanse of beauty—mountains, rock formations, cactus, birds, animals, a lot of cows, dry riverbeds, and right now green trees and other vegetation. It is hard…to know that people may be dying in the same moments you are taking in the beauty of God's creation…

My first morning out I went on a water drop to Josselina's Shrine. Josselina was a fourteen-year-old Salvadoran girl whose body was found last year in February by some No More Deaths (NMD) folks. She got sick or injured and could not go any further. She sent her younger brother on with the group they had traveled with, hoping that he could send someone back for help after he reached his destination. People from the area searched for her for two weeks. One day a group from NMD took a short cut between two migrant trails and came upon her body. Her family from the USA and some from El Salvador came for her memorial service and to build the altar at the location where her body was found.

Last week, with a group of about thirty teens from Phoenix, we made prayer altars out of empty plastic water gallon jugs found in the desert along these trails. We wrote the names of some of the people who have died in the desert since October 2008. While at Josselina’s altar, I felt close the Phoenix teens, who were near Josselina's age. I felt close to my nieces and nephews. I also felt connected to the thousands of people who are fleeing their homes and communities around the world—forced out by war, hunger, disease, and poverty…

We were out in the desert only from 8:00 am until 12:00 noon putting out water… I felt exhausted and even in pain because of the intense sun and heat and the workout my body was getting. I know that I have experienced only a drop in the bucket of suffering that women, men, and children who walk migrant trails for days experience

As I reflect on Josselina's shrine and how bad I felt on my short hike, I continue to pray for the migrants in the desert today and those who will still be there tomorrow or who are down in Mexico getting ready to continue their journey to the USA. I pray for the family of Julio, a fourteen-year-old boy from Guatemala whose body was found on July 19. I ask that each of you take a moment to pray for the protection of these travelers, and to pray they have water and food and will find more along the trails to alleviate their suffering and possibly help them avoid the harsh death that comes with dehydration and heat. No one should die for the lack of a cup of water.

Peace,

Tracy Hughes

Join us this October on the US-Mexico border

Greetings OnFire members! I’m writing today to inform you of an exciting opportunity to travel to the US-Mexico border for a short immersion trip from October 28-31st. We will be working with BorderLinks for an educational and interactive experience at the border: learning, sharing and serving to bring about positive social transformation in the areas of migration and immigration.

We will meet in Phoenix and drive to the BorderLinks facility in Tuscon, AZ, on Wednesday, October 28th. BorderLinks will prepare an itinerary for us that will include activities such as visiting and serving at aid stations, hearing from persons working to document human rights abuses, visiting with immigrants and their families, learning about labor practices in factories along the border, advocacy training in migrant rights.

The cost of the programming including lodging and food is $200, plus the cost of travel to and from Phoenix. [OnFire will provide transportation from Phoenix to Tuscon, where BorderLinks is located.] This includes a $100 scholarship from the Methodist Federation for Social Action. We will gladly help interested young people with fund raising ideas.

We would like to have a committed group of 10-13 people attend this event. The trip is open to any and all young adults who are interested in connecting their faith to issues of immigration and border justice. If you’re interested, please contact Jennifer Mihok at jennifer.mihok@gmail.com for more information and registration materials.

Here’s a bit more information about BorderLinks:



BorderLinks is an international leader in experiential education that raises awareness and inspires action around global political economics. BorderLinks grew out of the Sanctuary Movement in the 1980’s when faith communities, universities, and other organizations rallied to advocate on behalf of thousands of refugees fleeing persecution in Central America. Today, BorderLinks’ educational programs focus on issues of immigration, community formation, development, and social justice in the borderlands between Mexico, the U.S and beyond. As a bi-national organization, BorderLinks brings people together to build bridges of solidarity across North and Latin American borders and promote intercultural understanding and respect. For more information, visit www.borderlinks.org.

Support the Dream Act

As the United States moves (we sure hope!) ever closer to enacting comprehensive immigration reform, there are opportunities NOW to support some smaller pieces of legislation that would get Congress moving in the right direction. The DREAM (Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors) Act is a bipartisan proposal, which would create a pathway to citizenship for thousands of young students who were brought to the United States as children. Current immigration law puts an educated class of promising students at risk for deportation to their "home countries," places most of these students hardly know.

Watch this video to hear the stories of dream students:

The DREAM Act has four basic requirements which are:

• The student entered the country before the age of 16;
• The student has graduated high school or obtained a GED;
• The student is of good moral character (no criminal record); and
• The student has been present continuously in the US for at least five years.
  

Under the DREAM Act, those who meet the criteria will have six years within which to obtain a two-year college degree or complete two-years of military service. Upon completion the individual will be given the opportunity to adjust his or her conditional permanent residency to U.S. citizenship.

There is no question that comprehensive immigration reform (CIR) is necessary to bring all undocumented persons out of the shadows. However, the DREAM Act is a step in the right direction.

Here are some actions you can take:

Click here to sign a petition asking President Obama and Congress to pass the DREAM Act.

Click here to help stop the deportation of Dream Student, Walter Lara.

Watch and share this video with others. Dream students dare to come out of the shadows and share their stories at a special graduation ceremony.

Rescheduling BorderLinks Trip

Happy Summer, everyone.

Quick update on the BorderLinks trip. Due to a lack of interest, we had to cancel the delegation we planned for July 29-August 1st. We are trying to find a new date that works for more people. If you'd like to come, please reply to me on this thread letting me know which of these three dates would be good for you:

August 5-8
August 12-15
October 28-31

We need to have 10 people in order to make the trip. Cost is $200 + travel (that includes an MFSA scholarship of $100!).

The trip will be an educational and interactive experience on the US(Arizona)-Mexico border: learning, sharing and serving to bring about positive social transformation in the areas of migration and immigration.

For more info on BorderLinks, visit www.borderlinks.org or check out the info in the previous post.
Click here to see a sample itinerary of a BorderLinks delegation.

If you're interested in joining us or for more information on the trip, contact jennifer.mihok@gmail.com.

Take Action for Families on International Children's Day!

Greetings, OnFire members. Today is International Children's Day and along with the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, we want to call Congress to let them know that family unity is intrinsic to our faith and values. It's easy!

1. Find your Representative and 2 Senators online here:
Rep:
http://www.house.gov/htbin/zipfind
Senators:
http://www.senate.gov/index.htm

2. Make 3 calls to Capitol Hill. Call your Representative and both of your Senators. Call the Capitol Hill switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Representative and both of your Senators. To each office, you can say something like: "Hi, my name is [name] and I’m from [city, state]. As a United Methodist, I believe family is the bedrock of American society. Please keep families together by supporting the Senate bill, Reuniting Families Act."

3. After you call, make a post on the OnFire wall to let us know that you did. And if you missed International Children's Day, that's ok! Our goal for the week is 20 calls!

CALLING CONGRESS IS NOT INTIMIDATING. You will speak with someone in your Congressperson's office who will make note of your support for the Reuniting Families Act, and that's it! Unless, of course, you'd like to share more.

Here are some links for more info:

Reuniting Families Act
http://www.sflcn.com/story.php?id=6379

Interfaith Immigration Coalition
http://www.interfaithimmigration.org/

News: Teens deported on way to school
http://immigrationimpact.com/2009/05/27/high-school-teens-deported-on-the-way-to-school/

OnFire blog:
http://www.umonfire.blogspot.com

Quick Devotion #2: Detention

Detention

"When I was a stranger, You welcomed me... and when I was in jail, You visited me." (Matthew 25:35-36)

Immigrants are detained in inhumane conditions.
300,000 individuals--including asylum seekers, young children, and families--are detained each year in immigration detention facilities without access to proper medical treatment, legal counsel, religious services, etc.

Prayer
Loving God, just as you watched over Joseph in Egypt, the disciples in Jerusalem, and Paul and Silas in Philippi, protect those we have unjustly criminalized. We pray for the children living behind closed doors without access to schools and communities where they can grow healthily. We pray for families separated due to detention, for those in need of health care, for those dependent on the support of a detained person. And we pray for the wisdom and boldness to speak and advocate effectively on their behalf, as they cannot.

Other Resources on Immigration Detention
US Detention of Asylum Seekers and Human Rights
Death By Detention, NY Times article
CBS Report on Detention in America
Locking Up Family Values--A study on immigrant family detention by Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Service.