A Tale of Two Communities

After our recent trip to the US/Mexico border my housemates and I were asked to write a short story which we shared this last Monday, so I figured I would post it here so people can get a little picture of what my trip was like until I make the time to write something more. So, enjoy :)

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As I look back to my trip to the border separating the United States of America and Mexico in the area around El Paso, Texas and Cuidad Juarez, Chihuahua from February of 2008, I immediately look past and also remember my trip to El Salvador in January of 2007. There are many similarities that tie the two experiences together, including the similar U.S. Policies that have impacted the economy of both areas, the influx of American culture, the simple yet delicious food, the language, along with the hospitality and community. But none of those various factors are what touch me whenever I bring to mind either of the two experiences. Instead, it is always the people, both those I met and those whose stories I heard. Heroes. Victims. Villains. Innocents. From the Zaragoza Fuentes family who is allowing their greed to overwrite the needs of poor workers, to the Archibishop Romero who dared to speak no matter the cost, to those working for Human Rights throughout all of the America’s, that is what brings meaning to these trips.
There are two particular stories that parallel each other, so much so that it is frightening to me because I know it must have happened and will happen in other times and places. It is the stories of two communities, La Cuchilla, located in San Salvador and Lomas del Poleo, located near Cuidad Juarez. Both communities are at risk of disappearing because powerful development groups want their land. They are both crying out for Justice, but few people even know of their plight, or even know that they exist in the first place.
Both communities exist because of a policy which seems to exist throughout Latin America, where if a person lives and makes a livelihood on unoccupied land for a number of years, they are granted title to the land. Both of these communities have existed for thirty years or longer, and were able to survive for so long mainly because their land held no value to anyone else. But now over the past few years these two places are threatened because the land has now become valuable, and because of their poverty these communities are seen as eyesores and problems, instead of the dwelling places for fellow brothers and sisters.
In the case of La Cuchilla, the land around them was developed as a Mega Mall, as large and as grand as any here in the states, and the community was squeezed together until it occupies only a small triangle of land between three highways. Because it is surrounded by brush, it is difficult to see the community unless you know what you are looking for, but even so the land developers want them gone. And in their place will be a beautiful nature preserve to show that the builders of the Mall are environmentally conscious. I guess they forgot that the environment includes people too.
Lomas del Poleo has likewise become a place of interest because of their location. As El Paso and Juarez grow, the Official border crossings are becoming more congested, so it is likely that a new location will be opened in the near future. Lomas del Poleo just happens to be near a likely spot for a new crossing, and because of a clerical error years ago the people do not have the official land titles that they need to prove that their existence is legal. Instead of being surrounded by highways, Lomas del Poleo is fenced in with barbed wire, with a guard shack filled with armed hired hands who prevent entry to all people besides the current residents of the community.
Both stories are filled with heartbreaks, with people slowly losing faith or buying into the whispers of the developers and turning against the rest of their community. Others have died, whether it is from the dangers of crossing a busy street, or from the beatings brought about by hired thugs. Yet, there is still hope, still strength. The trials have pulled the members of the communities together, organized them, and caused them to seek help and to call out for those of us in America to heed their cries. These are the places that seemed to me to be Holy Ground during my visit, even beyond the chapels and monuments I got a chance to visit.
I am one of the many who has heard their stories and been touched by their experiences, but yet I wonder what can I do? It is hard enough to impact the policies where I live, and here are those separated from me by borders and governments. At times, I feel as little as they do. But I hope that in time, as more learn and come together that the tiny droplets of each of our voices becomes a rushing stream, and that Justice will roll down.
For now, all I can do is cling to Love, and to believe in the truth I find in scripture that proclaims that “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Cor 13:7).