VOLUNTEERS--Angels at the Border: 2020

There are angels around us, some visible, some invisible.  I’ve been fortunate to meet a few angels in my life.  When interviewing a nurse for the rehab hospital I managed, I asked the applicant about her work experience.  As she described her professional journey from college in another country to work at various hospitals in other countries, she softly and quietly mentioned her time with Mother Teresa.  Her father, mother, and she had spent several years with (Saint) Mother Teresa in India, volunteering their medical expertise for the poorest of the poor in Calcutta.  I hired her on the spot.

Angels amongst us don’t talk about helping others.  They do it.  They stand up and do whatever they can to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate.  Often, they are the first person to pitch in and help in a tragedy.  And they do this without any kind of forethought.

I recently met several people who I would describe as angels.  They wouldn’t want to be identified as such, but the angel label fits them perfectly.  Heck, they might not even believe in angels.

Due to a recent policy of this country, asylum seekers are not allowed into our country without a hearing, sometimes delayed for months and years, and even after a hearing, they might not be allowed into the country.  They have fled the drug wars of their countries, often losing family members by death or membership in gangs.  The genesis of the drug wars began in the United States with our insatiable demand for illegal drugs and their insatiable desire for weapons.  Our lax gun laws drive the flow of arms to Mexico and Central America.  Research has shown that most of the guns used in crimes in Mexico can be traced to the United States.  Interestingly, it is not a felony to traffic weapons across the border.

The needs of those living in tents on the Mexican border are almost insurmountable. However, volunteers cross the border daily to provide food, supplies, education, and legal and medical assistance to families waiting to be allowed in our country.    Many families already have sponsors and family members waiting for them in the United States.  The volunteers I met are quietly doing their work without any kind of fanfare or even recognition.  They wouldn’t want to be singled out, as their service to others goes far beyond any plaque or acknowledgment.  At least one of the volunteers has minimal resources herself, yet she’s in Matamoros each week, buying supplies for those living in the tents.

One man, Joshua Rubin, is silently standing vigil at the border to protest the families living in the tents.  He spent many months outside two detention centers, housing hundreds of children who had been separated from their families at the border.  He stood vigil until the detention centers were closed and the children were sent elsewhere.  No one knows what happened to the children.  His movement is named Witness: Tornillo. Target MPP (Migrants Protection Protocol).  He vows to stay in the small park across the street from the border until the asylum seekers are allowed into our country.  His recent post was, “I, a witness, will see it. I fear for them.”

After my return from the border, friends wanted to know what had happened.  Other people might be nearby, listening to the discussion.  I heard comments like, “They all come here for free food, education, and medical care.”  I, of course, couldn’t let him continue with his smug proclamations.  I answered, “Have you been to the border and heard the stories from the people living in the tents?  Did you see the young children playing outside a tent while their mother watched them?  I never heard one person say they wanted to come here because they wanted all the free things you think we give immigrants.  They are fleeing the drug wars in their countries.  What would you do in the same circumstance?”  Another “friend” told me that there are countries, including our own, with homeless people.  She suggested that we do something about them.  I asked her what she was doing for the homeless.  Was she volunteering in the shelters?  Was she giving them blankets and food?  She indicated she did help them, although it was the first time I heard about it.  I reminded her that we created the situation in the countries south of us, so perhaps we must do something about it.  Sending cash and our military into those countries will not stop anything.  I believe we’ve been down that road many times.  I don’t know of one instance where the people living in the countries we’ve invaded have benefitted.