Changes in the news

A couple of months ago things really began changing at the bus station.  News stations across the country began covering Caravans of families coming up from Central America.  We had been seeing steady numbers of migrants and asylum seekers but suddenly numbers were being reported that made it sound totally out of control.  Actually, a newspaper had misquoted a weekly number coming up from the border as being a daily number. 

We always try to be vigilant of the security of the the families.  We watch for strangers who might be paying too much attention to these young families.  The possibility of someone taking advantage of them when they are in a strange place with different language and culture makes them very vulnerable to being exploited.  Even when the press is trying to cover this situation we try to keep pictures from being taken which could be used later to identify them to ones they are escaping from or mark them as easy prey for trafficking.

During this busy time, we got a request from a Univision reporter from Los Angeles who was trying to follow up on the stories about the increasing numbers.  We checked for approval for an interview and then agreed that we could meet outside after we helped the group who were presently getting ready for their buses.  One mother was tending to a young boy who obviously was sick.  A volunteer doctor was at the bus station that morning and her opinion was that the boy needed to be seen in a clinic before travelling on.  We communicated this to the mother who trusted us in this circumstance even though it might mean that her trip would have to be rescheduled because of the delay.  It must be so hard for a mother to put her trust in strangers especially with the care of her child.  We value that trust.

The reporter waited patiently even while observing this possible emergency.  EMS was called and as they loaded the child in an ambulance, I requested that no pictures be taken of this mother and her son.  As we reassured the mother and got her contact information for follow-up, I looked up to see the reporter pointing out that his cameraman had turned the camera to the wall to honor our request.

After the ambulance left for a local hospital things finally settled down enough for Lucretia to be interviewed both in English and Spanish.  The reporter told us of his connections to San Antonio and expressed his thanks for the things IWC is trying to do for the families we serve.  The video below was released quite a bit later:

https://www.univision.com/shows/noticiero-univision/arrestos-de-inmigrantes-en-la-frontera-sur-durante-marzo-alcanzarian-los-100-000-segun-aduanas-y-proteccion-fronteriza-video  

The boy was later released and the family was able to continue their journey.  Our prayers continue always for the families who have come so far and endured so much on this journey.  We offer a little help along the way, wishing that we could do more.  Sometimes I think that the most that we give is the knowledge that there are people here who care.

Alabare - I will praise Him

I sang "Alabare" (I Will Praise Him) with one of the young immigrant men. It was so much fun and we both enjoyed talking about God, Jesus, and the Bible. He was 18 that day and had just been released from detention.  He had come to the states all alone.

Another young 18-year old missed his bus and was going to have to spend the night at the bus station. He, too, was alone and had just been released. He had made a friend with another young man on the bus from El Paso, and was disappointed that they could not travel together. I don't even think they were going to the same place, but they do not realize how big the United States really is.

Terry and I did not want him staying at the bus station. Seedy people often enter it, even though there are security guards, and one immigrant was sexually abused. This young man asked if there was a church where he could stay, but we couldn't find one. We told him we would take him home with us and bring him back the next day in time for his bus. We hadn't had a lot of interaction with him during the day and he did not trust us. IWC volunteers introduce ourselves as people from the churches in the area, but I am not sure he had heard that.

We urged him to come with us. He cried a little in fear, but eventually agreed. When we stopped for supper and told him we wanted to pray for the food, his eyes lit up.  He said, "I am a Christian, too. From then on he was not afraid. He asked us to pray with him before he went to sleep. He was proud that he spoke three languages. He was from Guatemala and spoke Spanish and Mam. He also spoke a little English. We gave him a Spanish/English Bible. He had one in Spanish with him, but was glad to have one with English.

What a joy to be able to share God with these two young men and calm the fears of one through God who calms all fears.

Families separated?!

Lucretia and I have been travelling a lot this summer, as we often do.  But while we were enjoying ourselves we heard news that families seeking asylum at the border were being traumatized as part of the administration's attempt to create enough fear among the immigrants that they would turn back before reaching the border.  A new policy was put in place, and in reality had been in the works for a few months, stating that those crossing with their children were charged with a crime.  Since the children could not be incarcerated with the adults they were separated and the children were housed separately.  The process was horrible in that often the parents were told that they were just taking them for a moment and then when separated not told anymore where they were being held.  Pictures were seen on the news of children warehoused in cages.   We heard that those working with the kids were told not to comfort them even though many were just too young to understand any of what was going on.

So we returned to the bus station after our trips and the reunions of families was a prevalent topic.  Our RAICES volunteers would ask about how long some had been separated.   Mothers and fathers stayed close to their kids.  Some of the kids showed an extra sensitivity about being away from their parent for even a little bit in the bus station.  The parents too were careful to be conscious of their surroundings and were usually in physical contact with their kids.

Letter to a separated Mom

As one of the families was being interviewed by the RAICES volunteer, I noticed the daughter who appeared to be in her early teens had a notebook of drawings and letters that she held in her hands.  I asked if I could take a picture of the letter that she had written to her Mom while they were separated.  I learned that they had been kept apart for what I recall to be many weeks.  The tactic being used was again an effort by ICE to coerce the mother to sign a voluntary deportation request in exchange for being reunited with her daughter.  In part because of the public outcry about this treatment, this mother and daughter were able to get back together and continue their asylum request and journey to a family sponsor.  During this time thousands of kids were separated from their mom or dad with even some being lost in a chaotic system lacking good record keeping.   Others signed the deportation orders in desperation in order to see their kids again even though they may well have had valid claims for asylum.

Her letter says in English:

For you mom,
       I love you very much.  I miss you very much along with my brothers (or siblings).
                                     Affectionately, D.

What can be done with this migration crisis?

The migration issue is back on the political burner with images of a caravan of migrants fleeing desperation in Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Although caravans similar to this have occurred over the years to help the migrants resist violence and abuse along their journey this one is being met with a flurry of rhetoric intended to fire up mid-term votes in the United States.

I met a man Tuesday from Cameroon, a country in central Africa which is in the middle of a crisis of its government pitting an English-speaking minority against the ruling majority French speakers.  We talked about his trip from Africa through Panama and all the way to the United States seeking asylum.  After crossing the border at a legal crossing, he was detained and found to have a credible case for asylum.  While waiting to be heard by an immigration judge he won’t be able to have a social security card or a driver’s license.  Without these he won’t be eligible for a good job even though he impressed me as being very able.   His search for a better life took him away from his home, landing him among the many people struggling to provide for themselves in the marginal shadow economy.  He is not among the migrants that we normally think of when discussing our immigration problem, but around the world crisis situations are driving people from their homes in search of peace and security.

In Central America poverty, gangs, and government corruption are causing thousands of migrants to flee north to the U.S. Instead of arming the border or taking away aid to countries I believe that we should do the following:

First, we should join with the global community to lift up the countries where corruption, violence, and poverty are driving people from the homes. Our Federal Aid to Central America and Mexico is largely aimed at improving the conditions that are at the root of the migration problem. We have budgeted 260 million dollars in 2019 for these countries, money that is now being threatened to be cut off because people are still fleeing the conditions it is supposed to be addressing. Instead, we talk of spending up to $24 billion on a border wall. That would be nearly 100 times what we have allocated to assist the countries.

Does the wall help solve the drug cartels or gangs or poverty of our neighboring countries? No. Migrants will be forced to travel around the wall by boat as they have from Cuba and the Caribbean. I have read that 40 percent of our undocumented population were here legally until their visas or green cards expired. The wall won’t solve this.

Second, the young people who were brought to the U.S. as children and have only known this as their home (DACA Dreamers) should be registered as Permanent Residents. They should then be able to seek naturalized citizenship in the same way as others who have migrated to our country.

Third, allow the 11 million undocumented immigrants already working and raising families here to attain some form of legal status in a way that ensures that they pay taxes and have protection as workers.

Let us resolve to make this continent one in which all people can live in dignity, without fear of gangs or violence, where no one is forced to leave their home to be able to provide food and shelter for themselves and their families.

Play in the park

June - August 2018

We took immigrant families to the park to play Duck, Duck, Goose (Pato, Pato, Ganza) and soccer (futbol). Going back to the bus station a young 12-year old, Cristian, picked up some trash in the park and threw it away. I thanked him very much when we got back to the station. Cristian then made Terry and me each a bracelet. We pray for him each time we see it hanging in the bathroom.

During the summer, our daughter, C., started going to the bus station with us. It was so much fun to see her interact with the people. She was especially good with the children.  I am amazed at her Spanish which she learned in high school and only practiced one week in Costa Rica.  I told someone that I had lived in Guatemala 40 years ago. She said, "Mum, it was 50 years ago." She really knows how to make me feel old!!

Terry and another volunteer, A., took several families who were leaving on a late bus, to the riverwalk. She had taken me another day, so it was Terry's turn to go. About 8 families went with them and Terry bought them all ice cream. The attendant gave him a cost break because her family had immigrated and she related to the immigrants. I am sure she did not make much that day, but she certainly will have a crown in heaven.

C. from our family #1 also went with us to the bus station this summer. He is 17. He had never wanted to speak Spanish or learn it well. His parents do not speak English but understand a lot of English, so he speaks only when he has to at home. After using his Spanish that day he said, "i can see why I need to learn Spanish."

It always amazes and thrills me to receive thanks and hugs, but especially from the young children without any prompting from the parents and before hearing it from their parents. One day particularly, I remember, I was walking a mom and her five-year old boy to the bus, when he looked up at me and said, "Thank you for all you have done for us." WOW!

What joy it gives us to serve these loving and grateful people.

Bet you can't go just once!

Lucretia and I had been active in IWC (Interfaith Welcome Coalition) for over a year.  While we had been supportive of what was being done at the San Antonio Bus Station and at the Airport in helping Asylum seeking families, we had never actually seen this in action.  So we made the decision to go visit one time.

I still have an aversion to driving to downtown San Antonio or Austin but using Google Map on our phone we were able to find our way there.  We tried to park near the bus station in the cheapest lot but ended up paying $12 just for the privilege of parking downtown.  As we entered the bus terminal we saw rows of seats to one side that were filled with mothers and their children who had been released from detention that day.  We learned that their families had purchased tickets for them to go by bus to destinations across the United States.  Lucretia and I had already practiced with filling out travel maps and schedules and so we busied ourselves with helping.

Lucretia is relatively fluent with her Spanish and I am not, but learning.  I could work on tickets and then let others explain the travel to the mothers.  Often one of them would assume that I could understand just like the others around them and begin asking me questions.  I would have to call over Lucretia or Sister Denise to help.

Sister Denise has been the star and rock of the bus station.  She trains volunteers and is there to answer questions and display the peace that is needed to make this all work.  Her calm demeanor eases the discomforts of the mothers and children as well as setting the example for the crew of volunteers who come daily to help.

Needless to say, we fell in love with the kids and their moms who have been on such a long, perilous journey.  Seeing how important it is to smile at them and offer simple kindnesses in welcoming them along the way, we know in that one visit that we would be coming back.  I will continue to work on my Spanish.  Lucretia gets to relate to her three years that she spent in Guatamala so many years ago.  We can offer comfort.  God shows himself through His love that we can share with others. 

These are the stories of how these families of mothers and children or fathers with their kids give back to us in ways we couldn't have imagined.