GATE to Mexico participants reflect on their experiences

 

Suzanne Rubenbauer, FSPA

The one awareness that I want to focus on in this reflection of the sisters and affiliates GATE to Mexico, June 17-27, 2008, is the interrelational base of humanity and creation. Mexico deepened my understanding and felt knowledge of this Franciscan reality of being sister and brother to everyone and everything that exists.

GATE to Mexico participants, from left, Mary Ellen Dunford, Mary Calkins, Mary Ann Snapp, Bob Dunford, Mollie Williams, Carolyn Klein, Kaisa Kerrigan, George Meirick, Linda Kerrigan, Shirley Huhn, Sister Suzanne Rubenbauer, Carol Meirick and Violeta Abitia

From the very beginning of our journey, little time was needed for our group of affiliates and sisters to become community. We had a common purpose, history, charism. Most of us had known each other for years, quirks and all. We took this environment of compassion and trust wherever we journeyed. Our “base community” was Franciscan-centered and seasoned, wanting to learn and to be challenged in our assumptions.

On the second evening, we were invited to the Base Christian Communities of San Pedro Martir. Weaving Scripture with the reality of their lives, our Mexican brothers and sisters shared their story and needs with honesty and respect. We responded in turn. Their concern, not only for their village, was extended to every village in the world. In the sacred quietness of this evening, the interconnectedness of humanity exhibited a deeper, simpler heart.

As we continued in our global awareness through experience, we learned about Mexican history, economics, North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), immigration, water rights, land/farm issues. This tapestry of information coupled with our direct experience of both the people and the land of Mexico. The reasons behind the raid at Postville, Iowa, became clearer. Our U.S. “neighborhood” lost fences . . . corn-filled fields, flood-ravished cities, water-starved empty land, Mexican villages, Midwestern towns all became interconnected. The “butterfly” flapped her gentle wings over land and people, connecting every acre, creek, animal and human . . . earth and humanity, brother and sister together.

On the sixth day, we journeyed to the village of La Cuevita. The women and children of La Cuevita are keeping their village together through community networking and just plain hard physical labor. They are becoming more financially sound by raising sheep through Heifer International. Since most of the men need to be “up north” working, the women are in charge. This visit was both heartbreaking and hope-filled. They understood and lived the results of NAFTA. The women challenged us to do something about NAFTA and its effects upon immigration (see Shirley Huhn’s reflection). None of us took or will continue to take that challenge lightly.

I remember reading a Franciscan source many years ago. The author believed we were moving into a leadership shift. In the time of Francis, it was possible for one person to bring about positive change. And, now in our lifetime, leadership and positive change would need a community, a village, an interrelated group of people. The author also believed that this shift spoke of a maturity and sophistication that the 13th century
could not have yet had.

What struck me during our pilgrimage was the compassion and humility owned by both the pilgrims and the people we met. An atmosphere of nonviolence and trust was in every encounter. There was also a sense of Christian family, of being on this Earth and in this life together. I know all of the GATE pilgrims hold this relationship dearly. I also know this belief is at the center of our FSPA eucharistic charism. What a treasure and responsibility we all possess.

Shirley Huhn, FSPA affiliate

What do you think it means to be Franciscan as we journey together on this pilgrimage? This was a question posed by the director of GATE, Sister Marie Des Jarlais, and Violeta Abitia, GATE assistant director. I thought I knew, but little did I know. Under the planning and leadership of these two women, walking in the footsteps of St. Francis in Mexico has been a profound awakening to the plight of the poor in Latin America. It has given me a new perspective on the immigration issue here in the United States. It has given me a better understanding as to why people would risk their very lives to come to a country that may not want them. Emigration has increased 300 percent in the past 15 years in large part due to international corporation practices, United States policies and a corrupt government in Mexico.

Affiliate Carol Meirick, right, with Senora Lubita—Lubita is from the small village of La Cuevita. Most of their men are up north working, so the women raise the animals and keep the village going.
Photos courtesy of Mary Ellen Dunford

The Mexican people have lost their food sovereignty, no longer able to grow enough food to feed themselves, because of NAFTA and the dumping of cheap corn into their markets by huge corporations. The genetically modified seed that was to be corporate’s answer to world hunger has replaced the corn that Mexico has grown for hundreds of years, corn that has fed their families and the country. The peasants have been forced to leave their land because it could no longer support them. They have moved to cities with declining infrastructure. These cities are too crowded and don’t have enough jobs.

We walked in the footsteps of St. Francis as we heard individual stories. We heard a woman speak of how she and two other women started a clinic for the poor. It is a beautiful clinic with a dental office and many medical services. Their daily concern is for water. Water is made more scarce by rich landowners in the hills above them, who often control the water to the village. We asked her how she keeps doing what she is doing. She said she has hope and a deep faith that things will be put right. In the meantime she is working very hard to make that happen.

We walked in the footsteps of St. Francis as we went to a Base Christian Community where we were invited into a circle of hospitality. We experienced with them the Scripture readings followed by discussion on how
it applies to their daily life. There are many Base Christian Communities in Mexico. It helped me to understand where the woman from the clinic got her deep faith and her hope in the face of insurmountable odds.

We walked in the footsteps of St. Francis as we visited a village of women who have formed a cooperative to support themselves and each other because the men in the village have gone to the United States to find work. They plant seeds and raise animals while fighting loneliness, worry and fear for their fathers, husbands, brothers. These are strong women, organized, full of hope, working hard to build community that serves the needs of everyone. They took turns telling their story and when they were finished one asked, “Now that you have heard our story, how are you going to help?” It’s a question that has stayed with me.

One from our group asked how we can help. The answer was quite simple and at the same time very complex. “Support working Visas, six months in the United States, six months home with their family and community,” she said. “Simplify the immigration process,” she said.

The Mexican government also makes it almost impossible to obtain a Visa. There is much work to be done on both sides. As immigration stands now it kills, it dismantles the family, it changes the people who emigrate, it
changes the people left behind. Not only is Mexico facing poverty on a massive scale, it is also facing the destruction of the very heart of that culture, family and community.

We walked in the footsteps of St. Francis among the Mexican people. We have a common faith, a common understanding, a common need.

Take off your shoes, the ground you stand on is holy. Exodus 3:4-5

Now that we know, what do we do?