“I’m so happy to finally meet you!” The woman says as she throws her arms around Rachel. Rachel really likes hugs, so she reciprocates and the two women stand there for a moment in a friendly embrace.
Then comes my turn. I give the woman a short hug.
Her name is Priscilla, and she’s the one who’s going to be introducing us to the work being done by her organisation, the Border Servant Corps (BSC), here at the US/Mexico border. She’s a kind, outgoing person who is obviously passionate about the work that she does. Being the daughter of Latino immigrants herself, she finds a solidarity with those her organisation serve in a way many others don’t.
We’ve spoken with her online from Calais before, but today is our first chance to visit her and see her organisation’s work in person. We’ve been looking forward to this our whole time in North America. Having worked with the migrant population in Europe, we’ve been extremely interested to get to know more about the situation at our own country’s border and to see how things are the same and how they are different.
We’re not disappointed.
The first place she takes us is to their base of operations in El Paso, Texas. BSC has two bases, one in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and the other here in El Paso. They’re about an hour’s drive apart.
When we arrive at the location, we’re treated to a VIP tour of the facility. They welcome immigrants who have been granted entry to the United States to have their asylum claims processed. They meet them at the entry port, escort them to one of their offices, and make sure they have everything they need before they continue their journey deeper into the country. They have services that provide basic medical screening and help with purchasing tickets to wherever they want to go. They also provide support to people who are looking to get work permits.
For those who need more time to decide their next course of action, or who need to wait a day or two for their flight/bus/train, they provide short-term shelter. Again, we get a tour of the impressive facility in El Paso. It’s an old college building, so their are plenty of rooms. The new paint job and decorations really make it feel welcoming and like a place where people can feel at home for their short stays there.
In this facility, they have several dorm rooms for people to sleep, areas for children to play, movies, food, and social services. One fascinating part of the work here is their medical care. They have several nurses and nurse practitioners on staff who can help provide medical services for people who need them. We have the opportunity to meet one of the providers. He’s an older gentleman with long curly hair. He bows to us by way of introduction. We learn later that he’s an old hippy who joined this work because he has a deep desire to make the world a better place.
For lunch, we eat at a local Mexican restaurant, something that Rachel and I have been sorely missing during our time abroad. You see, French Mexican food is perhaps the most disappointing thing about their cuisine. I order a combination platter, where I am treated to a taco, a chili relleno, and some chips and salsa. I nearly cry from how much I’ve missed this kind of quality food.
After lunch, we hit our final stop: The El Paso airport. At the airport BSC has a team of people who meet the asylum seekers and walk them to their gates, making sure they find the correct flight. They all wear purple vests, and are collectively known as the chalecos morados (purple vests). They are led by a short firecracker of an older Mexican woman. Her English is heavily accented, but she tells us that she’s read about our work and seen the Arte channel documentary. She’s incredibly interested in our lives in Calais.
We spend some time getting to know their team and learning what their work entails. The team is made up of exclusively Spanish speakers, whose compassion and kindness are eminently apparent throughout the interaction. When asylum seekers arrive at the airport, many of them have never even been on an airplane before. So the team’s job is to not only guide them to the correct gate, but also to assuage any fears or misgivings they might have. They accompany them through the airport, help them get through TSA screening, and take them to the place where they need to wait for their flight. It’s a seldom thought about part of the work at the border, but it is absolutely essential to the sense of hospitality this place offers to every person who enters their doors.
The second day of our trip we meet Priscilla at BSC’s Las Cruces campus. We beat her to the office, so we are held up by the security guard for a moment while he tries to figure out who we are.
After a few moments, we are met by an employee, Vanessa. She welcomes us into the centre and gives us the grand tour. Much of the centre is quite similar to what we’ve already witnessed in El Paso. We enjoy visiting with different people here, all of whom have the same passion we witnessed in El Paso.
In the afternoon we are given a chance to share our work in Calais. I’ve been doing this presentation at churches around the country, but this time feels different. I already know why: It’s because these people don’t need to be introduced to the topic of migration. They have lived the experience and felt the emotions that we have during our time in France. What I sense is a mutual respect and a depth of understanding that I haven’t witnessed at any of our other presentations. Rather than introducing the topic, I spend more time discussing the different organisations in Calais that serve the migrant population and how they interact with and support each other. The presentation is received well, and I can see in the eyes of the people that they understand all too well the things that I’ve described.
Like us, they’ve been broken. Like us, they’ve allowed themselves to be impacted by the stories of the people they serve, sometimes unable to let go of those emotions when they leave work for the day. They, too, are kept awake some nights, wondering whether the young family with two young children have made it to their destination safely. There is a depth of companionship and mutual understanding that cannot be expressed in words.
And the next day we leave.
Just like the people they serve, we have to move on, ready to face our next challenge and do our best to live out the commandments of Jesus to love God and love our neighbours as ourselves. But they remain in our hearts, ready to emerge from our memories when we face trials or uncertain situations. As we drive to Albuquerque, I reflect. We know that, like them, we must continue doing our work, not because it’s easy, but because it is good. But something is different now. It takes me a moment to think of what it is. And then I’m struck by a thought that brings a smile to my face.
We are not alone.
I watch the mountains and the desert go by as we drive, renewed in my resolve to make a difference in Calais, just like the people of BSC are making a difference in El Paso and Las Cruces.
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