It was a year ago this June that I had the opportunity to participate in a 9-day internship at the Center for Action and Contemplation.
As a part of that experience, we interns traveled to Ciudad Juarez for 4 days to meet and be in relationship with a group of displaced and predominantly homeless women living on the defunct municipal garbage dump in Colonia Panfilo Natera, one of the poorest areas in Juarez.
Recognizing that these women needed to be in community, Sister Donna Kustusch helped these women found a cooperative, the Centro Santa Catalina.
My group from the CAC is one of many groups who have sought to learn more about the Border and the difficulties these women face daily by coming alongside them, staying in their homes, listening to their stories, and accompanying them on the journey. This was my first trip not to “do” anything for these women, unlike previous work/mission trips. It was about “be-ing,” which included dancing, singing, praying, eating, creating art, sharing stories, blessing and being blessed.
Due to the increased violence in Juarez few, if any groups, including the CAC, are crossing the Border. This has caused Sister Donna and the women to feel more isolated than ever before.
In a recent article, “Call to Community,” in Radical Grace (CAC publication), Kelsea Habecker, an intern in my group last summer, writes:
“As the violence in Juarez escalates, faith communities along the border region - and elsewhere – are grappling with the questions for which there are no easy answers: How can we hold our desire and our call to solidarity and accompaniment along with legitimate concerns for safety? How much does safety factor into a faith-based approach to engagement with the poor? How do we accompany a people in crisis, a Church in crisis? As we all walk through this, there are many tensions to hold collectively.”
She goes on the say:
“This call to community is the call that confronts us today. As people of faith, committed to loving and engaging with our world, we are called to be in relationship with our brothers and sisters in Juarez, even in the midst of the violence. The call and the response will be different for each of us, and we must discern what is ours to do in this situation. Some may choose to cross the border, either to build a house or simply share a meal with the women of the CSC. Some may choose to work for political reform for US immigration policies. Some may choose to buy Fair Trade products. All may pray.
Juarez shows, with harrowing clarity, the brutality of the global economy in which we all participate. The reality is that we are in community whether we choose to recognize it or not. . . .We are each compelled to offer solidarity with this issue because we are complicit in it. It is the US demand for cheap, unjust labor and illegal drugs that creates the unstable and unjust system in Juarez. The community of women of Centro Santa Catalina shows us, with astonishing beauty, an alternative way to live, a way of life that shares faith and life, co-creating justice and peace.
Please remember in your prayers and intentions those impacted by the violence in the US/Mexico border region, as well as the women of the CSC. They do not have the privileged position that we do of opting out of the violence. They have much to teach us. They are our community.”
Kelsea is now on staff at the CAC. When I visited this week she and I had a chance to share in conversation for about hour. She and I continue to discern what is ours to do, seeking clarity of call amidst the ever shifting dynamics of this Border land. It was a gift to be with her.
Hi Leah! I'm thinking about you a lot today. Not sure why, but have sent up some prayers for you and the community around you. Hope all is well and that you are allowing yourself the time to just be... Love, Natalie
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