Week 4. it's been a long time. i really can't remember mexico at this point. another group came to borderlinks last saturday. apparently, they will also be working with the children's camp there. i can't say that i'm not a little jealous. when rachel discovered some more photos of Alberto and Miguel in Karen's facebook albums, i didn't know whether to smile and laugh or to feel slightly guilty. after all, we were able to leave Mexico. we came back to the US and no one even checked our passports to make sure it was us. Noel, unfortunately doesn't not know Alberto and Miguel and cannot tell me how they are doing. it seems that i have completely lost touch with them.
at 12:00 today, we will be leaving for the No More Deaths camp in Arivaca. i can't say that i'm not scared because i am both scared and excited. on one hand, i've been doing patrols with the Samaritans so i shouldn't really be worried about the desert extremes. but on the other hand, i'm feeling like i'm on this giant cliff where i can see a change being made to myself and to my spirit. yet, i don't know how i will deal with the change. talking to viviana and karen today, i realized that i will be both emotionally and physically beaten when i returned. if nothing else, i will sure hurt like hell in my muscles.
yesterday, with the Samaritans Jose and i along with two Samaritans traveled to the No More Deaths camp to help find a lost migrant. apparently, the man was abandoned by his pollero. Luckily he happened to have a cell phone. he called his family in mexico, reporting he was near a house and surrounded by cows. if you know anything about southern arizona, you will know that it is cattle country. in other words, looking for someone in the sonoran desert is like looking for a needle in a hay sack.
on our way to the camp we met up with some members of No More Deaths. they had found a woman with two children--7 and 8 years old. what business do children have crossing the desert? what business? they had also discovered a man who had also been abandoned. he had been walking for 7 days and was only 20-30 miles away for the Border. he had been drinking cattle water aka water that's littered in parasites, for 3 days. he said his heart and lungs hurt. he wanted to carry on even without a guide. we bandaged his feet and off he went. he was going to washington and he wanted to know how far, how many miles.
"Days brother, days..." - mike wilson
it's encounters like these that really make you wonder. people killing people everyday. moms and dads who can't bring enough to feed their kids. familiea eating corn tortillas and salt while we spend what they make in 8-10 hour day on one cab fare to the laundry mat.
i saw a migrant child become infatuated and amazed by an iphone.
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