Follow me on a journey. Meet Maria. She was born in Honduras to loving parents and grew up in a small village. Her family didn’t have much money but, they loved God and one another. Her Catholic upbringing led her to put her faith and trust in God’s direction for her life.
As a young woman, she met Hector. He swept her off her feet and she knew that God had chosen him to be her life mate. They married and settled down into a quiet life. Money was tight but, Hector worked hard to support Maria and the baby that was on the way.
Their country was becoming more and more dangerous. The drug trade flowing into Mexico and the United States was growing at an alarming rate. Gangs were taking over, the police were being paid to look the other way, the government didn’t seem to care and fear was palatable in the air. Stories of friends and neighbors who were raped, beaten and killed became daily news traveling throughout the village. Their options were dwindling but, their faith was strong.
The day came when Hector didn’t come home from work. His lifeless body was found. He had been beaten to death and robbed. Maria’s world collapsed. She had her baby, a daughter she named Mary as was Hectors wish. She worked and survived for 5 years finding joy in Mary’s smile. She had been gang raped and robbed many times but, she knew she could endure anything as long as Mary was safe.
Meanwhile, the drug cartel was branching out. They had found a new, lucrative business, selling young women and children into the sex slave market. There was much money to be made fulfilling the desires of the wealthy up north for young children and women. The child snatching and kidnapping began.
Maria knew she had to get away. She had to try and keep Mary safe. and so, she began a 2,000-mile journey across desert and water to try and find help and safety. She put all of her resources together and hired a coyote to be her guide. The journey was long , hard and full of danger but, she was out of options. When she reached the U.S. . she was caught and arrested As they ripped her daughter from her arms, the last she heard from her child were cries and screams of distress. No one would tell her where they were taking Mary or what would happen to her.
For Mary, the fear was unimaginable and unbearable. No one held or comforted her. She was placed with other traumatized children who cried for their mom’s and dad’s. The workers caring for these children knew they would lose their jobs if they tried to show any compassion to these young ones. They were living a nightmare.
This story is fiction, put together from many tales coming from immigrants seeking asylum. This debate is polarizing many people. No one denies a countries necessity to secure its borders and limit the number of people it allows into the country. That is not the problem, lack of compassion and understanding is the problem. Using children as pawns in a political war, that is a problem. Treating others as less than human, that is a problem. Instructing the caregivers of these children to not pick them up or comfort them, that is a problem. Refusing to let people inside these facilities to see for themselves and share what they find with the public, that is a problem. Calling everyone fleeing oppression and violence vermin, that is a problem.
Drugs, gangs, lack of education, disparity between rich and poor and corruption causes many people to make hard and painful decisions. The US cannot solve the problems of the world, we have many of those problems here. We have done nothing to solve the problem of drugs flowing into this country which has caused untold pain and heartache. We have not shut down child trafficking and see very little about it on the news or from our political leaders mouths. We do not deal with our homeless issue and prefer to blame the victim rather than look at the causes. We yell and scream about gun violence, but do nothing to change it. There is a growing disconnect between rich and poor here at home. We need to look to our neighbors to the south and realize, we are headed down the same path.
As Christians, we must decide how we view and treat those less fortunate than us. We must search or hearts and souls and follow the guidelines God gave us. Do we reach out with compassion and love or do we harden our hearts. Meanwhile, there are innocent children caught in the firestorm.
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give you, that you are to love one another just as I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this, all people will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
1 John 3:17-18 “But if anyone has the worlds goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? Little children, let you not love in word or talk, but in deed and truth.”
Proverbs 21:13 “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.”
Only you can search your heart and make the decision how you treat those less fortunate than you. I believe that when we look at things through the eye of compassion and the teachings of Christ, the way forward becomes clearer. Our voice is a window to our heart and soul, remember that before you weigh in.
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