The "More than the Real"

I have now had some time to reflect more on the four stages of Liberation Theology as presented by Juan Sobrino that I mentioned earlier in the week. The first, “knowing what is real” we do by inserting ourselves in the life of the poor. What has been “real” in Juarez this week is:

- unemployment or underemployment by many of the women’s family members (and continuing the increase)

- little to no food (even running out of rice and beans)

- domestic violence the women’s sadness over visitors not coming to share their lives and stories together

- stifling heat (though not the 107 degrees of last summer), dryness and dust

- the toxic land of the dump that spontaneously bursts into flames from the methane gas

- rancid smells of decaying animal carcasses

- women of the CSC receiving death threats

- homes made of wood palettes and mattress springs with no running water or electricity

- extensive poverty and hardship

- drug violence and fear

The second step is to “not run away from the real.” The reality is that I can – and I can’t. I am a person of privilege. I do not have to live with the poverty, hardship, violence, and fear. I can live in my nice, air conditioned house, drive a car, choose where to be educated, draw a steady paycheck, receive health benefits, eat out, take a vacation, purchase most anything I need (and want), etc. and never think twice about the women who live on the city dump in Ciudad Juarez – or contemplate how my lifestyle in the “greatest nation” in the world affects their living conditions. Unfortunately, I can’t pretend to be unaware – because I have met the women, I have heard their stories, I have eaten their food and slept in their homes, I have been the recipient of their extravagant hospitality. I have danced, and sung, and celebrated with them. I have cried with them. I have struggled with Spanish words and hand motions to communicate with them. I have run and played and laughed with the children. I have been blessed by and prayed for by them. They are mi familia. I have a “Mexican mama” whose name is Irene.

As a result, I constantly analyze – I am forever asking, “Why is it this way?” – step 2 in the Liberation Theology process. To answer this question, I confront my own and my country’s complicity. It is the drug consumption in the US that drives the drug violence in Juarez. It is my country’s greed for profits that drives the need for cheap labor and destroys the environment. It is unfair trade policies that drive people from their farms and force them into poverty in the cities. We are interconnected! My choices have consequences for their lives and well-being.

Fortunately, I was able to experience the “More than the Real” break into the lives of the women of the CSC (step 3), particularly in the gift of the Friday celebration of baptism for four of the women. Sister Donna and the women were thrilled to be able to celebrate this ritual. All 60 + gathered in the salon, particularly those being baptized, were beaming. What a sacred occasion of celebrating God’s love, and the hope that the women find in their relationships with God! What faith!

The “More than the Real” also showed up in the young woman from the Burke foundation (from whom Sister Donna has requested a $15,000 grant) who came for a site visit at the school on Friday. What a joy she was – and so receptive to the children and of hearing the women’s stories of empowerment. (Now we pray that the grant comes through for the CSC.)

Sister Donna would also say that my visit, coming to be in solidarity with the women, particularly when so many groups have canceled, has also been the breaking in of the “More than the Real.” I am humbled, but know this is true. (I heard the women say many times how sad they are that groups are no longer coming. They truly miss the connections with friends from the US.)

I witnessed the break through of the “More than the Real” in the encouragement and support the women give to receive from each other. When we in the US encounter hardship, we oftentimes are driven apart - we isolate ourselves and seek to solve our problems individually. The women of the CSC, however, come together, depending on each other. More than once this week I witnessed the miracle of the loaves and fishes.

Now, I am left to ponder step 4 – How can I (we) continue, with God’s help, to transform the situation? What is mine to do?