dell and denise

This past week in Mexico, I built relationships with many beautiful people. God's people. Each has their own unique and incredible story. Two people that really struck me are Dell and Denise. We met both of them on our first full day. Sunday morning, we met with my new friend Dell for breakfast. Our discussion with him was incredible and inspiring in many ways. He started by listing about 10 or 11 different issues that all pertain to the US-Mexico Border. Things like environmental issues, women's rights, human rights, economy, etc. We narrowed down the list and he let it roll. He spoke with passion and vigor that was beautiful. Dell is Mexican-American and has lived in Dougla Prieta (Douglas, AZ and Agua Prieta, Mexico) his whole life. But he doesn't really use "Mexican-American." He says "I am a human living in my own bio-region." This has been stuck in my mind ever since. He has begun something I believe truly needs to happen - the breaking down of racial division. We're all just people living together on God's earth. We're not Mexican, European, American. We're human. It's just that simple. All borders, physical or not, should not exist between any kinds of groups of people because we're all just that - people. I overheard some people talking today when I was walking around campus. One girl told her friend "Don't say 'black' it's offensive. Say African-American." Her friend responded "No, they want to be called black now." Ideally, we would say he and she and man and woman, brother and sister, and never see any color. But realistically that's not happening anytime soon. But why do some people see black as an offensive term? Why should we say African-American to be politically correct? White isn't considered an offensive term. You don't hear people say "Don't say white - say Caucasian." They are both just colors. And they're both irrelevant. Dell also spoke of our interconnectedness through water. I thought that was beautiful stuff. It's so simple. We're all people coexisting. We coexist whether we want to or not. We are all living together on this earth. Can't we do that in peace and love? It's so simple. And yet it's so hard.

After the breakfast that brought me to tears, we went to church for 394028 hours. That night we had dinner at the house of Denise, one of the members of the Lily of the Valley Presbyterian Church in AP. First of all, we made corn tortillas which was just plain fun. Then we sat down and had a delicious meal with Denise. (I ate chicken. She put it on my plate, I couldn't be rude.) She shared her story with us, and its a rough one. I'll give a partial summary. She is originally from Chiapas. She moved to Agua Prieta because the man she was dating started to use physical force to get her to marry him. This was at 15. I believe she began working in a maquila (factory) at either age 13 or 16. (We met a lot of workers, and I get this factor mixed up.) Her step-father was abusive. Her biological father left when she was a baby, and though she knows who he is, he does not claim to be her father. She doesn't speak to her step-father. She, her husband, her brother, and various ninos live together in a 2 bedroom house. There are 11 of them total. Each family has one room. She married at age 17 and had her first child. Both she and her husband were working in maquilas. They worked different shifts so they could rotate taking care of their children. They never saw each other. Never spent time together. Now, her husband works full time and she stays at home with the children. When she was working, her day started at 7 and lasted until 3:20. She got two breaks - one for 15 minutes and one for 30 minutes. She stood all day. At various times in her life, she got involved with drugs, but was able to steer away from this with help from her parents and church. She likes living in AP but misses her family in Chiapas. Despite a regular struggle with work, men, family, and marriage she has a joy that shines through her constant smile. She has seen suffering but shares a constant love. I almost cried when I watched her hold her youngest daughter in her arms. She puts her all into her family and it shows. Denise is 23 years old and dreams of one day owning her own restaurant.

In America we focus on big and more and more and more. My two parents and I live in 4 bedroom house. I can't go anywhere without spotting something I have to have. I waste money that I claim to not have. That's straight up bullshit. I, we, have been trained by a ridiculous culture that tells us to buy. And to buy big. My mom drives a minivan. She's the only one that uses it. Why does one person need a car that seats seven? She doesn't. Why do we have to have a car for each person in our family? We shouldn't. We're sucked into a material culture and I hate it. It's a difficult cycle and society to remove yourself from as well. I'm challenging myself to do this more and more everyday. And I suck at it. I just spend 5 bucks on an unnecessary late night trip to Waffle House. That's about how much a maquila worker makes in a day.

Workers all over the place are exported every day. And the way we live our lives here is responsible for that, whether we are aware of that fact or not. I've been developing an ever growing hatred for corporations. Starbucks lies about having free trade coffee. That's bullshit.
http://www.justcoffee.org/ That's not bullshit. We spent a little bit of time in Nogales one morning. We drove around town and walked around a few parts. The town is so poverty stricken. Small homes that look like you could knock them down with a simply touch pack the rough mountainsides. Dirt roads full of holes and trash wind through the city. The sight of poverty is endless. That is, until you pull up to a brand new, high class shopping center with large brick and class buildings. Walmart and Burger King. Of course. What an obvious display of mis-distribution and the ridiculous power and success of corporations. But it's hard to avoid the corporate world today. We buy necessary items from corporations that exploit workers. And we close our eyes to it. It's not staring us in the face, so it's easy to ignore. And that's understandable. I don't want to watch people in sweatshops. I want to run away from it cause it sucks. But farmer's markets are fun. You can meet some mad crazy folks. Thrift stores have some wild (and "normal") collections. We can change the way we live. And we need to. The way you and I live our lives affects the way others are forced to live theirs. It's so simple. And yet it's so hard.

I wish I was better at articulating things when I climb up on this soapbox, so that's that.

Peace.