Reflections from the Borderlands

A Reflection by Tracy Hughes, Volunteer Partner with United Church of Christ Volunteer Ministries at BorderLinks in Tucscon, AZ (June 26, 2009)

This morning at 6am I left South Side Presbyterian church for my first Samaritan Patrol. These patrols are held by a group with that exact name with the mission of giving direct care to migrants in the Sonora Desert of Arizona. We have packs of food, bottles of water, Gatorade or other forms of electrolytes, socks, shoes, hats and basic medical supplies.

Today we covered quite a large area. We took a loop out of Tucson and ended up on Arivaca Highway and Interstate 19. Well, those are not all of the roads we took. We did get back to Tucson at 1pm.

We did 3 hikes in the desert to check out if the migrant trials in this area were being used a lot right now. The Arivaca Wash is highly used. There were many footprints from the last few days, some trash and clothes. We came upon what I thought was a backpack from a distance hanging in a tree. However, upon closer inspection it was a girl's jacket hanging nicely in a tree.

Just think about that, a young girl traveling with a parent, her family or even possibly without anyone she even knows, through the extremes of the desert heat, intense sun, lack of water, lack of food, and facing much fear and possibly disorientation because of the vastness of the desert area. My guess is that the jacket; a puffy, quilted, black jacket with white cuffs and some stitching from repairs. There were some shiny sequence that were once letters. My guess is it was for a girl between 7-10 years of age.

We walked back to the car and traveled along more roads looking for trials, signs of recent usage and to see if thee were any people in distress. When walking the trails we call out in Spanish, "We are friends. We are Samaritans not immigration. We have water, food and medical supplies." The best scenario is to have a nurse, doctor or other trained medical person in your group. Today none of us had professional medical training, just training via other sources such as Scouts, No More Deaths and from what we have experienced from doctors, parents, nurses or even coaches.

This basic understanding of blister care came in handy.

In our last location, as we were walking along a trail, a man called out and came out of the trees and scrub and called out, "Hola," get our attention. We spoke with him in Spanish, Johnathan and I have conversational Spanish. "Como estas, necesitas comida o agua?" "How are you, do you need food or water?" The man answered, "Si, si."

He sat down under the shade and protection of some trees. We asked for his permission to sit down. He agreed. We quickly learned that he had been on the trail for 4 days and did not have any food or much water for the last 3 days. He was hungry and needed water. We asked him about his health, he had bad blisters. We got permission to treat them. We provided the most basic medical care by cleaning, drying and putting antibiotic ointment on the blisters and used mole skin and gauze to patch him up. He was able to put on clean cotton socks and the shoes we had actually fit him as well.

We spoke during the time we were with him. We learned where he was hoping to go, that he had a pick up somewhere to meet him. He had family in Mexico that he left behind to come and work. He did not really know where he was however; amazingly, he was very close to his midway destination. It would take him at least one maybe two days more to get there.

He ate the food quickly, almost gulping it down. We tried to impart that he might want to slow down so he did not get cramps or sick. He got rid of some trash and emptied his pockets. I saw a small sheet of paper with a prayer written in Spanish.

When I asked, he said he does go to church. I asked if he would like to pray together. He said yes, the four of us held hands, bowed our heads and prayed together under the shade of a tree. He spoke along under his breath. I prayed, "Dear God we give you thanks for Andres and his family in Mexico. O God be his guide along his walk and protect him with your love, compassion and strength. In the Name of Jesus. Amen. "

We said goodbye as Andres sat along the trail. We do not know if he will make it to his destination, if he will get picked-up by Border Patrol or if he will get lost in the desert. Our care for Andres was limited; it did not feel like quite enough. It is against the law to do much more that we did other than to call for help if the person requests it or we determine there is a medical crisis or a person is near death. Andres said he was okay to go on alone-just as he has been for the last 4 days.

Here is the prayer he has carried with him the last four days. "Oración por los que viajan: Oh Dios, nuestro Padre celestial, tu gloria llena toda la creación, y sabemos que estas con nosotros donde quiera que vayamos. Protege a los que viajan, especialmente los que andad en el desierto de Arizona; rodéales con tu cuidado y amor; guardarles de todo peligro y haz que lleguen sanos y salvos a su destino; por Jesucristo nuestro señor. Amen."

Iglesia Episcopal de San Miguel y Todos Ángeles Tucson, AZ EEUU "Prayer for Those Who Travel:

Oh God, our heavenly Father, your glory fills all creation, and we know that you are with us wherever we go. Protect all those who travel, especially those who are in the desert of Arizona; surround them with your love and care; guard them from all danger and make sure they arrive healthy and safely to their destination; in the name of Jesus Christ our God. Amen" (translated by Yezmin V. BorderLinks June 26, 2009)

As you finish this e-mail please say aloud the prayer that Andres and many other carry along their journeys to and through the USA. As you say this prayer remember that Andres and all men, women and children who we call migrants are God's Beloved Children, often in need of care and looking for a way to provide the very basic life necessities for their families and loved ones. Peace and Friendship,

Tracy Hughes ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tracy Hughes is a Volunteer Partner with United Church of Christ Volunteer Ministries at BorderLinks for the summer and fall months of 2009. She is a Trip Leader/Educator at BorderLinks and lead delegations of high school youth, college students and adults on educational, immersion delegation in southern Arizona and northern state of Sonora, Mexico.

She took the trip described above with Samaritan Patrols of Tucson. She trained for about 1 day in their protocol and basic first aid the weekend before this trip. "Samaritans", as they are called, walk the migrant trials and carry water, food, first aid kits, socks, hats and an assortment of other clothes to be given to people along their journeys north through the Sonoran Desert. Samaritans also have assigned 'water drop' routes where they place plastic gallon jugs of water at designated spots along heavily used migrant trails and corridors.