Day Five - The Desert - July 2, 2010
Today our weary group awoke at 6:00 to go to Southside Presbyterian Church in downtown Tucson . There, we met with church members to help serve breakfast to the homeless. While we were worn out, the early morning wake-up was worth it, as conversations and stories were more than enough to keep us engaged. My experience was with a woman named Jackie. She had an amazing story, having lived in Tucson her whole life…now with 48 Grandkids in the area. After breakfast, we met Doug, an elder at the church. He told us about its work in the area, which included valiant efforts at providing aid to immigrants wandering in the desert, along with numerous goals in social justice ministry. Our group was amazed by the walls of the building, which could be used to whisper messages across the church. It was also a perfect way for David, Sarah, and me to practice our new language that we invented over the course of the trip.
Semi-comatose, we went back to Borderlinks to talk with a speaker from the Sierra Club. I didn’t expect this to be that powerful compared with our experiences over the past few days, but the movie he showed was exactly that. It evidenced that the wall not only hurt humans, but was an obstacle to other animals, as well. The government had largely ignored these wildlife issues, resulting in floods, the splicing of refuges, and destruction of animal habitats.
Appropriately, after this discussion, we drove to the desert to go on a walk in this ecosystem. On the way David slept through a ridiculously bumpy stretch, bouncing off the sides of the vehicle and not waking up. With the speaker leading the way, we picked up trash on a migrant trail. We found numerous backpacks along with pieces of clothing that demonstrated the long and treacherous walk (40+ miles) that had to be made to reach safety. Sadly, those who survive the journey are oftentimes caught by the border patrol, with the only reward for their toils being a trip to Operation Streamline and subsequent deportation. Many in the group were angered, having had enough trouble staying in the scorching sun for 45 minutes. How could anyone turn back these people after they traveled on such a long journey in the blazing heat?
The van ride back to Tucson was quiet…everyone was either too tired to talk or was thinking about the past few days. When we returned, a hot lunch of enchiladas awaited. It was quickly engulfed by all, as the desert had taken quite the toll on our group. We were told to take an hour and a half break and then meet back for a reflection.
From 3:30 until 6:30, we shared stories and thoughts from the week. Jessie will post about this asap. After showering, we went to a Guatemalan restaurant for a final dinner. The food here is awsmeis!!!!…aka awesome! We are all exhausted, but look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!
Hope all is well! Blessings from Tucson!
Haz Una Pausa… Dbdbubududgpg
Nat-e and the rest of the group
Return