Border Issues and Unaccompanied Minors

It is Thursday today and the three days that passed in San Diego has been very interesting for me ...

Tuesday was a day full of speakers, and it was a welcome break from rehearsals and workshops that only involved people within the group. I needed variety. And Tuesday was truly one of them.

The City of San Diego is right beside the Mexican border, and the location makes it a hotspot for illegal settlers. Our morning started with Kathi Anderson, Executive Director of an organization called "Survivors of Torture International". The non-profit deals with people who are victims of politically motivated torture or illegal immigration. some of the services they offer are healthcare, legal counsel, livelihood training and counseling. We also learned at how the staff dealing with the clients also undergo what they call a "vicarious trauma" due to their exposure to the sad and horrible stories of torture..

The next speaker was Pedro Rios, the Program Director of the American Friends Service Commitee. Their organization deals with the illegal immigrants who come into the United States -- mostly those who cross the border from Mexico.

The border, aside from being a physical manifestation of the separation of Mexico and the US, also represents a site for human rights abuse.

After a promo show at the Seaport Village in San Diego, we were off again to another Regional Learning Activity at the Tijuana Estuary. The Tijuana Estuary is a wildlife preservation park (wetland) that runs along the border.

Soon, we were at at the border, looking over to Mexico. It was a weird feeling to see a very thin but powerful fence separating two countries. We got to talk to Sean Gisler, the Border Patrol officer on duty that day. According to him, due to the daily risks they face on the job. almost all officers are against amnesty for illegal immigrants. He also emphasized that 22% of those that cross illegally have criminal cases such as rape, robbery, substance abuse and smuggling.

It was amazing how in the morning I was empathizing with the immigrants, and in the afternoon -- I could also totally feel for the Border patrol officers and how they risk their safety preventing the illegal immigrants coming through.

Wednesday and Thursday were both Community Impact days and I decided to challenge myself and signed up to volunteer for the Southwest Keys Unaccompanied Minors Center. The organization helps young people who cross the border unaccompanied by their parents or guardians. They provide food, shelter, education -- and everything else that every kid should have. At the Center, we painted the office walls and interacted with the kids a litle bit.

I was amazed at how beautiful the place was -- indeed incomparable to the rescue centers or orphanages that we have in the Philippines. The kids (15 residents only at a time) were well provided for and the stuff that they have available at the center are things that a normal Filipino child can only dream of! They had gardens and a basketball court. The buildings were air conditioned - with vending machines and bathtubs and carpets and computers. Two kids to a bedroom and each room had their own bathroom.

The kids mostly came from Central America -- Ecuador, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc.. ; and there was one guy from China. Most of them did not speak any English - so my conversations with them were full of "no intiendes" !

Seeing them all there affected me a lot, and made me think hard : What prompted these kids to just risk their safety and cross the American border illegally? What will happen to them next? When they were all introducing themselves, I was just sitting there in awe and thinking about how many more people around the world may be chasing the American dream ?

I just fell silent then and there and wondered about how these kids' lives were in their own countries.. were they happy? were they forced to cross the border? do they ever want to go home? Do they have any family?

It was a fascinating CI for me. I believe that I connected with the kids even with the very bad language barrier. "No intiende" but muchas impormasyon and realization.

Here are some processing questions that I'd like to reflect on , and maybe invite you to try it yourself..

1. Put yourself in the shoes of a torture victim. How are you feeling? Also be aware that you have somewhere to go or someone to talk to.

2. Put yourself in the shoes of one of the staff that works with torture victims. Do you think you may be able to handle it? What do you think will be the hardest part of it?

3. Put yourself in the shoes of an illegal immigrant? What drove you to leave your country? Was it fear? need? Loss of hope? Is it worth all the risk?

4. Imagine that you are a border patrol officer, working hard in the hot sun. Imagine the border patrol officers' family waiting eagerly for him to come home at the end of the day.

Have a great day everyone!