Safety for all

by Jodi Read
Associate for Migration and Peacebuilding
West Coast Mennonite Central Committee

President Bush is in my neighborhood today checking on security at the US/Mexico border. He wants to make sure that the US is safe. I also want to make sure that the US is safe and at the same time, I want safety for people that I have met on the other side of the border and people that are traveling on US land.

Recently I met two sojourners in Agua Prieta, Sonora (Mexican border town across from Douglas, AZ) whose safety has been jeopardized quite a few times. Luis, a 20 something Guatemalan, left home with hopes of earning money in the North and returning to marry his girlfriend. Instead, some months into his trip Luis lost his legs when he fell or was pushed off a speeding train in southern Mexico. Now bound to a wheelchair, Luis roasts, grounds and packages coffee at the Just Coffee Cooperative in Agua Prieta. In his spare time, he reads books, plays cars with Danielito (the son of a co-worker) and keeps dreaming.

German from Honduras is another real live person in this security debate. German left Honduras two years ago to make the journey north to join his brother to work and send money back to his wife and children. German also traveled by train getting as far as Benjamin Hill (in the northern state of Sonora). As he was grasping for life on the ladder of a train car, his exhaustion overcame him and he fell asleep. While asleep German's foot slipped and got caught in the hitch which connect the cars. The hitches remained connected for an agonizing 30 minutes until German could break his foot free. German shared, "My friend told me that he would help me end the pain by pushing me off the train," but German was not ready to give up on life. In the ensuing days, German found a Honduran doctor in Mexico who was willing to treat the mangled foot instead of amputating it. One year after the accident, German still waits for the foot to heal well enough to try again. He has a new plan for crossing this time.

President Bush has never met German or Luis. Instead, he and many others with him are convinced that building a wall will help bring security to our nation. I question this vision of security and hope that as we get to know the people among us, we will create a new vision of security for all. In the meantime, German and Luis will continue to dream about a new life. They are survivors who have emerged despite economic disparity and insecurity in their homeland. They have experienced fear, trauma and loss and yet they like many immigrants among us, radiate hope. As we come to know immigrants in our community, may we experience their hope and see the light of God in each individual!