Guji Yamamoto of the Tsubaki Grand Shrine conducts a memorial ceremony at the site of a Tsubaki member’s demolished home. June 2011.
Today is the second anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern Japan on March 11, 2011.
The massive destruction and loss of human life was compounded by the threat of radiation from four damaged nuclear reactors. Two years later, reconstruction is still uncertain in many areas hit by the disaster because of the dangerous radiation levels. Unitarian Universalists gave very generously to a joint UUA-UUSC emergency relief account, eventually donating over $560,000, of which the UUA granted half to historic faith partners in Japan carrying out relief and UUSC granted to Japanese social organization focusing with women and immigrant workers. (more…)
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning tripsto the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization,BorderLinks. The most recent trip took place from May 25-28. In this blogpost trip participant Julie Amery reflects on the experiences the delegation had, and how they relate to our country’s self-understanding. The BorderLinks service learning trips are made possible through the generous contributions of UUA and UUSC donors.
Bring me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.
Julie overlooking Nogales, Sonora from HEPAC.
I was in fifth grade, I was required to memorize “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus, the words engraved at the base of the Statue of Liberty. It was part of our unit on immigration, when we learned about America as the great melting pot of cultures, a land that offered hope to people who needed it.
Though I have for some time been aware of the complications and injustices around current immigration issues, I guess a part of me still held these words close to my heart and somewhere inside, I still clung to the belief that we’re a nation where the oppressed can find some comfort and relief. Crazy to believe, considering what I had read and heard. But it was only when I saw the wall right in front of me—the wall that keeps Mexicans and people further south from entering our country—that it really sunk in. The beautiful words of Emma Lazarus speak of a drastically different America.
That’s so often the case, though. We can be aware of a bad or unjust situation, but until we have some personal connection to it or an experience with it, it’s intellectualized. We can be angry or frustrated, we can even fight effectively to stop it, but I think until it somehow becomes personal, our hearts aren’t completely engaged. At least, that’s how it is with me.
Walking along the wall, on both sides of the border, was just one of the many such experiences on my recent trip to Tucson as part of the UUA’s delegation to Borderlinks.
We also sat in a US District Courtroom in Tucson and watched as 70 men and women were sentenced—all within a span of 45 minutes—for illegally entering the country and led out in shackles. Some would be heading to prison, others to a detention center and others dropped back at the border.
We sat in the home of Celeste and her four children in the poor, filthy and crime-ridden city of Nogales, Mexico, where we ate belly-warming chicken soup and heard about how she and her family had gone to the US for a few years, just so that they could save to buy this tiny structure that sits in a slum. Yet her warmth and hospitality trumped the surroundings.
We talked with Jeanette Pazos, the passionate and compassionate executive director of Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (Home of Hope and Peace) which provides meals to children in Nogales who wouldn’t otherwise eat, and helps poor women build skills so that they can earn a little money as well as some dignity.
We walked in the Arizona desert, finding jackets, backpacks, and worn out shoes—one of which would fit a child of about eight years.
We spoke with migrants who had just been sent back across the border, and with the people who help them with medical and transportation needs. We worshiped in a Mexican Presbyterian church, where we were welcomed like old friends. We spoke with undocumented students in the US—bright students, top in their respective classes—who can’t get financial aid for college without social security numbers. We learned about how NAFTA helped to create the severe poverty that drives people here.
Over and over, one simple idea was reinforced from nearly everyone we met. People come to our country from the south for really one sole purpose: to feed and shelter their families. People in Mexico are starving. Children are starving. They aren’t coming here to achieve the American dream. They’re coming to simply survive.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
At the Border Wall in Nogales: Marshall and Carolyn
At the Border Wall in Nogales
Children in Nogales
Nogales, Sonora
Julie overlooking Nogales, Sonora from Hogar de Esperanza y Paz.
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning tripsto the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks.In this blogpost Rev. Eric Cherry, the Director of the UUA’s International Office, describes what is planned for the third trip which will begin on May 25th. The BorderLinks service learning trips are made possible through the generous contributions of UUA and UUSC donors.
It was a privilege to journey with Unitarian Universalists who are engaged in a diverse array of ministries during the BorderLinks delegation last January. And last month (April) a second UUA/UUSC delegation had an equally powerful experience. Together the people on these delegations grew in understanding the complex justice issues related to the US/Mexico border. They also found room for theological reflection about those matters. And, through the eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart connections with people living in this context, each returned deeply committed to the ongoing religious work for immigration justice.
The participants in this third UUA/UUSC delegation are also faith leaders engaged in diverse ministries: lay and ordained, in both parish and community settings. And, they are sure to have a deep and rich experience that will include visits with:
Scholarships A-Z: A network of students and advisors working to make education accessible for all students. They help connect students to available resources and train them to be their own advocates.
Grupos Beta: A Federal Mexican Organization that has offices along the northern and southern borders of Mexico and one in D.F. There mission is to protect the migrant.
The Green Valley Samaritans: Volunteers who to into the desert on water runs and searches Their goal is to help protect any migrants they come across in the desert, in an effort to prevent deaths along the border region.
Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (HEPAC): HEPAC is a sister organization to BorderLinks and a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Programs offered at HEPAC include adult education and training classes, and the Child Food Security Program, which provides lunch to children and education for their families on nutrition and gardening. HEPAC also is home to a women’s cooperative that produces jewelry that raises awareness about deaths in the desert.
Observing Operation Streamline and analyzing its injustices with legal professionals who confront it constantly.
Further stories from the journey will be posted after the trip. Please come back to see the reflections of the participants.
In 1939, Waitstill and Martha Sharp left behind the safety of their home in Wellesley, Massachusetts and flew to war-torn Europe. In Nazi-occupied Prague and Paris, in the grim detention camps of Vichy France and on hidden trails through the Pyreenees, they risked their lives to help feed, shelter, and rescue thousands of refugees, including anti-Nazi dissidents and Jews.
Why did this Unitarian minister and his social worker wife undertake such a demanding mission? How did they help those in need, and what are their legacies today?
Director Artemis Joukowsky, the grandson of Rev. Waitstill and Martha Sharp, will be hosting screenings of “The Minister’s War” during General Assembly on June 22, 23 and 24, 2012 on The Kax Stage at the Herberger Theater Center (next door to the Phoenix Convention Center) at 6pm, 8pm and 10pm.
All are encouraged to see this inspiring, informative film on how these Unitarian leaders risked their lives for the sake of refugees during WWII. Don’t miss it!
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning tripsto the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks.In this blogpost Rev. Eric Cherry, the Director of the UUA’s International Office, describes what is planned for the second trip which will begin on April 20th. The BorderLinks service learning trips are made possible through the generous contributions of UUA and UUSC donors.
It was a privilege to journey with Unitarian Universalists who are engaged in a diverse array of ministries during the BorderLinks delegation last January. Together we grew in our understanding of the complex justice issues related to the US/Mexico border. We also found room for theological reflection about those matters. And, through the eye-to-eye and heart-to-heart connections with people living in this context, we returned deeply committed to the ongoing religious work for immigration justice.
The participants in the upcoming delegation are also faith leaders engaged in diverse ministries: lay and ordained, in both parish and community settings. And, they are sure to have a deep and rich experience that will include visits with:
Scholarships A-Z: A network of students and advisors working to make education accessible for all students. They help connect students to available resources and train them to be their own advocates.
The Restoration Project: An intentional ecumenical community that blends faith and action through social justice work. They sponsor the Greyhound Bus Project, giving hospitality to recently released immigration detainees and providing them with information and resources.
Samaritan Patrol (a.k.a. Samaritans): People of faith and conscience who patrol the desert at the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis during the hot months. At least one member of each patrol is a fluent Spanish speaker, and one is, ideally, a medical professional. Patrols carry water, food, emergency medical supplies, communication equipment, maps, and packs for travelers containing items necessary to survive in the desert.
Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (HEPAC): HEPAC is a sister organization to BorderLinks and a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Programs offered at HEPAC include adult education and training classes, and the Child Food Security Program, which provides lunch to children and education for their families on nutrition and gardening. HEPAC also is home to a women’s cooperative that produces jewelry that raises awareness about deaths in the desert.
Observing Operation Streamline and analyzing its injustices with legal professionals who confront it constantly.
Stories from the journey will be posted here during and after the trip. Please come back to see the reflections of the participants.
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. The first trip began on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continued until Jan. 27. The delegation was led by UUA President, the Rev. Peter Morales, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks. Below, Rev. Morales shares his reflections on a broken immigration system and glimmers of respite along the border for those deported.
Speaking with Father Pete (yellow hat) in the comedor.
Father Pete greets our small delegation with a big smile and a loud voice. We arrive at the “comedor” (dining room) in the early afternoon to help serve a meal to people who have just been deported. The comedor is a simple room with a tiny kitchen (we Americans wouldn’t want an apartment with a kitchen that size). It is a simple ministry. They serve a meal to people who have been apprehended. The comedor, supported by Kino Border Initiative, is a short walk from the border.
We help serve meals to 70 people. The numbers are down from the peak a couple of years ago, but the migrants still come. Funny, the word “migrant” utterly fails to convey the reality of these Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Salvadorans. These are desperate people. It would be more accurate to call them economic refugees.
One man I see has his feet heavily bandaged and can barely walk. Having just seen the rugged mountain desert trails these people attempt to cross, I wonder that anyone makes it. I spoke with a man who had not been caught crossing, but had been deported after 18 years in the U. S. He leaves behind two children, both U. S. citizens. He was stopped for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt and taken into custody when he did not have a driver’s license.
Every day the comedor feeds them, offers a prayer and a smile. It treats these dejected people with respect. Father Pete, who has been at this for years, wonders when it will end.
Joining in prayer before the meal.
Back in Tuscon the following day we visit the federal courtroom that is processing around 70 undocumented immigrants as part of “Operation Streamline.” The scene is surreal after the comedor. Here is a vast, opulent, courtroom larger than most church sanctuaries. The immigrants are processed in a procedure no more personal than a transaction with an ATM. Each deportee has a court appointed attorney who stands there and does absolutely nothing–but collects $125 an hour. Operation Streamline is in a number of cities and costs about $3.5 billion a year. It was touted as an anti-terrorism measure. Last year 327,000 were arrested. Not a single terrorist has been caught. Not one in the seven years of the program.
If they have been caught before, the detainees are given prison sentences. Most of these prison terms will be served in for-profit prisons run by the CCA (Corrections Corporation of America). Prisoners appear handcuffed and shackled with chains dangling. As they shuffle up to the front of the courtroom the chains rattle. They clink again as they hobble out of the room. This happens every day.
The federal prosecutors and public defenders hate the process. The magistrate hates it. The marshals hate it. They are caught in a system they see as insane and a system they cannot control or even influence.
What has become of us as a people that we tolerate this?
Cross-posted from President Morales’s blog, Beyond Belief.
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. The first trip began on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continued until Jan. 27. The delegation was led by UUA President, the Rev. Peter Morales, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks. Below, Rev. Morales shares his reflections on walking in the same desert where thousands of migrants traverse, often at the cost of their own lives, in the hopes of crossing the border each year.
Picking grapefruit and oranges. Walking in the desert where migrants die by the thousands. Dinner with a small intentional community that devotes itself to helping migrants who are released and have nowhere to go. Not a typical day at the office. This was the second day of our BorderLinks delegation learning trip to Tucson and the U.S.-Mexico border.
The morning began with picking two pickup truck loads full of grapefruit and oranges that will be donated to a refugee group. They will sell much of it. I know I will feel the effects of actual physical labor tomorrow, yet it felt good and satisfying to see the bins fill.
The afternoon was much tougher. It was a trip to a site where No More Deaths leaves water for migrants. The terrain is amazingly rugged. As enforcement gets tougher, migrants try more and more remote and arduous routes. Hundreds die in this southern Arizona desert every year. We see a rough memorial at a place where migrants were found dead. Far off in the distance are other mountains they would have to cross before getting this far. This land is hard to walk in broad daylight; migrants walk it at night with no lights to guide them. When I was young and fit I might have had a chance. Perhaps. Today it would be certain death for me as it is for the young, the old, and those who simply get disoriented.
In the evening we met a young woman from the Dominican Republic who had just been released from detention after something like six months. Her family had paid $10,000 for her to attempt to get to New York via Guatemala, Mexico, and the Arizona dessert. She was caught in the desert. She is 22. Her reports of mistreatment in the for-profit detention center are disgusting. The detention center is run by a corporation that supports laws like the infamous SB 1070.
On the walls of Casa Mariposa, hundreds of butterflies record the names (if known) of those found dead in the desert.
This bright and charming young woman is staying at Casa Mariposa (Butterfly House), run by dedicated young people. They go to the bus station at midnight to offer a place to stay to anyone who arrives from a detention center. We learn that these centers often hold people for several years. There is no time limit. The law, such as it is, works very slowly. The profits pile up.
Yet we leave inspired. There are so many people doing such good work—BorderLinks, No More Deaths, Casa Mariposa, and so many more. They do the work of compassion day after day, year after year. If the arc of the universe does bend toward justice, it is because of the stubborn, loving resolve of people like this. And, I trust, people like us.
Cross-posted from President Morales’s blog, Beyond Belief.
UUSC is partnering with the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) on a joint volunteer trip to Haiti, January 21-28. Trip participant Casey Aspin writes about day four of her experience in the post below.
The UUA-UUSC Haiti Volunteer Program is made possible through the contributions of UUA and UUSC donors and a generous grant from the Veatch Program of the UU Congregation at Shelter Rock, in Manhasset, N.Y.
Day Four
This week is going by way too fast. We got an earlier start today. Job one was hauling rocks from a pile to a square trench, where eco-villagers dropped the stones into the neatly dug trench, splattered it with slush cement, repeat. I live in a stone house and admired the skill of the Haitian masons recreating what Irish peasants made in America 240 years ago. The foundations were sturdy and attractive. Next was hauling cinder blocks to lay on top of the foundations. Between us, we worked on three community kitchens (possibly more yesterday). I did a little mango sawing. Joel is eager for my e-mail and for money. I don’t blame him — I’d do the same in his shoes. (Did I say shoes? Sorry, flip flops.) But it isn’t my place — I told him we give only to MPP, which is his employer this week. This pilot village has been such a success that a Presbyterian group wants to finance four more. I told Joel there should be plenty more work.
After lunch we went to the market in Hinche. Very tough bargainers. We bought some supplies for the kitchens, but the general feeling was the fix was in. We managed to buy bowls, knives, and pots.
The upside of bouncing around in the SUVs is learning about my companions en route. Today I learned how Wendy Flick went from being a leader in a hospice program in Sante Fe to an organizer of international programs for a private foundation (whose donor supported the hospice). Her focus became Haiti and, when the foundation wound down, UUSC grabbed her — a very smart move. She is fluent in Creole, she beams joy, the Haitians love her, and she’s a good organizer who has been in sync with UUSC’s modus operandi for a decade — we couldn’t have found a more committed, effective leader.
And then there’s Evens Mary, one of our translators. He moved from Haiti to New Jersey at age eight, later became a paralegal at a law firm, and returned after the earthquake to work with U.S. lawyers who came down to help Haitians deal with immigration issues. They learned about the prevalence of rape, so they shifted focus and are now working, with Evens’s help, to enforce Haiti’s seven-year-old law criminalizing rape. Evens said the police don’t enforce the law against rape and no lawyers have stepped up to demand justice for victims. So the U.S. team is pressing the Haitian courts and beginning appeals to the International Court. Evens is so committed to this work. I suggested that it is difficult for women to obtain justice if they don’t have power in the government. He agreed that is a problem in Haiti but said it is changing — slowly. Thanks to people like him!
Our afternoon was spent in the company of about 50 MPP students from two classes. One is working on erosion control, a major problem in Haiti, and the other is learning farming techniques to take back to their families. We had a lengthy Q&A that was interesting and inspiring for both sides, I think. Haitians clearly love their country, and it wounds them that it is portrayed negatively to the outside world. Their are doing everything possible to improve their country — saving and enriching soil, pumping water, conserving seeds, diversifying food sources — and they were tremendously pleased when we said we would go back to the United States and tell people about the beautiful gardens they are creating and of the hope they provide for all Haitians.
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. The first trip began on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continues until Jan. 27. The delegation is led by UUA President, the Rev. Peter Morales, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks. Below, Rev. Morales shares his reflections on meeting with undocumented students along the Arizona border and the challenges they face.
I find it painful to listen to their stories. We all do. We heard the stories of six Tucson area Latino and Latina students who were either seniors in high school or recent graduates. They were all near the top of their class, taking advanced placement and honors courses. They dream of college majors in everything from engineering to psychology. They speak fluent English and Spanish—and are wonderfully articulate in both.
I sit and listen with other UUs who are part of a study group visiting Tucson and the Arizona border. The BorderLinks nonprofit is making the arrangements. These students are receiving support from and working for an organization called ScholarshipsA-Z.
Their stories are painful to hear because none of these young people can go to college. Each one of them is undocumented. They came to the United States some years ago with their families. They entered school, studied hard, and did well. They are the kinds of young people colleges are dying to get, the kind that get scholarships to excellent colleges and universities. Now they are trapped. They can’t even get a job, for they have no social security number.
They watch as classmates who have poorer grades and lower test scores head off to colleges. These students have to fend off questions about where they are going to go to school next fall, because most of their teachers and classmates do not know they are undocumented. At worst, they face deportation.
On a personal level, I am struck by how close I came to being one of them. I was a Latino high school kid with good grades and good test scores. I dreamed of higher education, but could not afford it. But I was born on this side of the border. So I was given a full tuition scholarship, then another, then another. I received an education at a private university my family could never have paid for. It shaped my entire life. Doors opened—a graduate fellowship, a Fulbright lecturership. I have been blessed with the gift of doing wonderfully fulfilling work. None of this would have happened if I did not have that birth certificate.
What madness! What human waste! I find myself wanting to scream. I find myself feeling as powerless as they are feeling. But I know that I am not powerless, that we are not powerless.
How very beautiful these young people are. How stubborn and yet fragile their hope is. What madness.
Cross-posted from President Morales’s blog, Beyond Belief.
In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized three Service Learning trips to the U.S.-Mexico border with our partner organization, BorderLinks. Rev. Eric Cherry, Director of the UUA’s International Office, is taking part and offers his thoughts on this joint Service Learning trip.
The first trip will begin on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and continue until Jan. 27. The delegation is led by the Rev. Peter Morales, UUA President, who encourages UUs throughout the country to participate in one of the Service Learning trips planned for April and May with BorderLinks.
During the trip, the group will learn about and work with several organizations, including the following:
Scholarships A-Z: A network of students and advisors working to make education accessible for all students. They help connect students to available resources and train them to be their own advocates.
Samaritan Patrol (a.k.a. Samaritans): People of faith and conscience who patrol the desert at the U.S.-Mexico border on a daily basis during the hot months. At least one member of each patrol is a fluent Spanish speaker, and one is, ideally, a medical professional. Patrols carry water, food, emergency medical supplies, communication equipment, maps, and packs for travelers containing items necessary to survive in the desert.
The Restoration Project: An intentional ecumenical community that blends faith and action through social justice work. They sponsor the Greyhound Bus Project, giving hospitality to recently released immigration detainees and providing them with information and resources.
Hogar de Esperanza y Paz (HEPAC): HEPAC is a sister organization to BorderLinks and a community center in Nogales, Sonora. Programs offered at HEPAC include adult education and training classes, and the Child Food Security Program, which provides lunch to children and education for their families on nutrition and gardening. HEPAC also is home to a women’s cooperative that produces jewelry that raises awareness about deaths in the desert.
Please follow stories from the journey over the next week.
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In preparation for Justice GA in Phoenix, Ariz., (June 20-24, 2012) the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) and the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC) have jointly organized 
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Scholarships A-Z: A network of students and advisors working to make education accessible for all students. They help connect students to available resources and train them to be their own advocates.
The Green Valley Samaritans: Volunteers who to into the desert on water runs and searches Their goal is to help protect any migrants they come across in the desert, in an effort to prevent deaths along the border region.
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