We the People

Within this three week journey to Mexico I noticed similar traits among two different walks of life. On this trip I saw many acts of kindness, love, and compassion, but their was an underlying sense of pain and despair. When I came to Mexico I had expectations - expectations of how the people would be living, expectations of the weather and experiences we might have, but no expectations of how the animals would be treated. Anyone who knows me well enough can testify that I am an animal lover, and when I was in this country filled with stray, underfed, undernourished animals I felt overwhelmingly anguished. One day our group was in Chimalwakan walking back from a market place called El Centro. We were trying to find a bus to hop on and ride to where we were staying. Waiting outside this small store, I noticed a few stray dogs. I started to feed one of them and as I was doing so a hail storm began. All of the people on the street were running for cover in order not to be pelted by this hail. Our group all crammed into this tiny store that we were standing near, and after we got in I watched as one of the stray dogs tried to come in. The store owner, trying to keep it from coming in, began kicking it in the head. The dog crouched down and tried sneaking behind the counter, but was stopped once again by this man stepping on its mouth. I felt so helpless and angry at that moment, I held back my tears and went outside to try to protect the dog with my body, but still the hail hit it. I watched and prayed for this dog's safety. Soon after the dog found a ledge where it crawled up and was able to find protection from the storm. Later on in our trip I couldn't help thinking back on that dog and how it related to the immigrants trying to make a better life for themselves, or simply survive. The reason I can sympathize with animals is that they have no choice; they cannot find a new job, or a better place to live, where there is more food. But hearing all of the struggles coming from the citizens made me realize that they are facing the same challenges. Living in a country where 60 percent of its citizens are below the poverty line it is hard to overcome the challenges they face everyday. There are hundreds of Mexican citizens everyday trying to race across the border to find a means of survival. Since there are few jobs and little government help it is often necessary for them to try and cross into the United States. One of the immigrants I met at Casa De Migrantes (A house for immigrants who have made the journey and been deported or are about to make the journey in to the U.S.) had a story that touched me. He tried crossing the border twice and made it across the second time. He was crossing in order to make money for his family. When he had made it into the U.S. he began working in construction, and stayed there for several years. While he was gone his cousin and brother also tried to cross the border through the desert. They were never heard from again, and were assumed to be dead. Since 1994 5,000 immigrants have been recorded dead in the desert between Mexico and United States, many more have been undiscovered. So many times immigrants get shut out and kicked out of the United States. Their physical struggles may not come in the form of a hail storm, but perhaps starvation or sickness. And even those who have made it into the United States face discrimination far worse than any physical pain. It hurts me to know that these families have to go through so much pain and suffering simply to survive. So what can we do to shelter our neighbors from this ongoing hail storm? And do we sometimes shut them out of our minds and hearts?