JUBILEE PARTNERS REPORT

Transcription

1 JUBILEE PARTNERS REPORT September 2010 The lawyer said to Jesus, The Scriptures say Love your neighbors as much as you love yourself..jesus reassured him that if he did this, he would have eternal life. So he asked Jesus, Who are my neighbors? (Luke 10: 25-28) Morning and evening breezes are pushing away the stifling, steamy heat of late summer. The kids are up early, gingerly walking through the dewy fields to catch the school bus. Our freezers are full to the brim with succulent garden produce tomatoes and peppers, basil and dill, pesto and green beans. Most amazing this year was our blueberry crop - so many sweet, juicy berries hanging like grapes on a vine, so easy to drop into the gallon jugs tied around our waists. We aren t feeling the intense heat from summer anymore, but even in a place as secluded as Jubilee, we are not immune from the heat that an election year can emit. So far, the campaigns seem to be a sizzling array of accusations, misinformation, exaggerations, and meanspiritedness with facts and truth trampled and distorted in the race to win at all costs. The economic slump drags on, and many once-comfortable middle-class people are applying for food stamps and extended unemployment benefits. It is at times like these when we are most vulnerable that politicians and pundits can seize the day by playing on our fears and prejudices. It s not a broken bike - it s a homemade tiller! Volunteer Jessie Velasquez prepares a garden plot for planting fall greens. One explosive issue immigration is especially important to us at Jubilee as we are daily involved with people who suffered for years and fled to this country for safety and protection. It is hard today even to have a discussion with someone on this volatile issue, as we often do not have a common vocabulary. Are we talking about immigrants, refugees, illegal aliens, undocumented people, migrant workers, or asylum seekers? The words someone chooses often define their position: for example, those favoring detention and deportations use illegal alien and those favoring immigration reform and mercy say undocumented. A quiet moment by our garden pond. Whatever the terminology, these labels fall short of naming these people as our brothers and sisters loved by Christ. The Mexican

2 Some are refugees, some are Jubilee resident volunteers. Some are students, some are teachers. In the welcoming space of this community, all have become friends. L-R: Htoo Play, Alice Wheeler, Kat Hall, Hei Gay, Kirsten Ackermann. straggling through the desert to support his family back home, the Egyptian family overstaying their tourist visa to apply for political asylum, and the Chinese student who does not go home after graduating because of better job opportunities are all neighbors Christ commands us to love. Lost in the immigration debates is the human dignity that God bestowed on each one of us at our creation. Lost in the shouted rhetoric is honest discussion, reflection, and prayer on how Christ would want us to respond to our neighbors. As many of our long-time readers know, Jubilee had a special opportunity to help our neighbors from the South during the 1980 s. Many Central Americans came to the U.S. to escape the wars and devastated economies in their homelands. Since there was no way for them to obtain a visa or enter legally, many paid money to coyotes human smugglers to guide them on a dangerous journey across the border and through the desert. Many died, many were exploited by coyotes, and many were arrested and put in detention centers to be deported. When the US government began to deport such Central Americans back to their countries, where threats of arrests, torture, or death were very real, we began the Año de Jubileo, Year of Jubilee, program. We bonded hundreds of people out of detention centers and brought them to Jubilee where they were interviewed by the Canadian consul in Atlanta. Almost everyone interviewed was accepted into Canada as a political refugee. Many lives were thus saved. No matter where our neighbors arrive from with and without legal papers they grieve the loss of their homeland. One person who left his country because he could no longer make a living farming coffee beans said, To leave my land, to leave my parents who I cannot go back to visit nor bury when they die, to leave my community that is to suffer. The decision to leave is made with much anguish as they come to realize it is no longer economically or politically viable to remain home any longer. * * * Who s gonna turn down free honey? When a neighbor, Dan Harris, offered us a free bee hive, we said, Sure! Now Russ Dyck is our resident beekeeper, and he reports things are humming at the hive. Maria finally decided that the beating last night from her husband would be the last one. After he left for work, she put her 3-year-old on her hip, took the 6-year-old by the hand, grabbed her purse and walked out the door. Maria had no idea where she was going; she only knew she was finished with seven years of marriage to a man who drank up all his wages and had broken several of her bones. It was not long before a police car pulled up beside her. She explained, in Spanish, what happened, and the officer without any questions about papers and legal status - drove her to a shelter for abused women. Fearful that her husband would find her, Maria knew she could not make a new life for herself and her girls if she stayed in this Texas town. Page 2

3 Caseworkers from the shelter contacted Jubilee, and we made arrangements for her family to live with some friends of ours in a neighboring state. Our friends have a big downtown house with a couple of small apartments in the back a perfect arrangement. The oldest girl enrolled in first grade and Maria enrolled in English classes. She found jobs in the neighborhood cleaning large stately homes. They were involved in a Spanish-speaking church several times a week. Money was tight, but the low rent helped them make it through the month. Maria eventually passed her driver s test and bought a cheap car. They had friends and were living a very typical American life. Now, ten years later, their lives are more complicated and tense. Maria s driver s license has expired, and a new law makes it illegal for anyone without a social security number to get a new license. Maria now risks getting arrested every time she drives to work or to the grocery store. Her 16-year-old daughter wants to drive and to work after school like her friends, but she cannot do so legally. What legally will she do post-high school when neither college nor careers are an option for her? Conflicts and tensions periodically flare up between her and her younger sister who was born in the US and thus has more privileges and opportunities. What would happen to that younger sister if her mom and sister were arrested and deported? The Karen refugees in Atlanta are actively seeking to keep their cultural and spiritual traditions alive among their youth. Jubilee was glad to host a Karen youth retreat, and have the sounds of laughter, singing, and soccer resound through our place. Kids everywhere love to climb trees, but Jubilee Say (top) shows special talent. Younger brother Jack Say keeps watch. Why did Maria not return to her family in Mexico after leaving her husband? In answer, consider this simple fact of human migration since the time of the cavemen: we humans leave places that are resource poor and move to places that are resource rich. Maria s poor rural village has no school and no way for her to make a living. She does not want her children to grow up in the same poverty she endured but wants them to have a better life, a better future. It is this same reason that many of us with the exception of Native and African Americans are living in the US today. We at Jubilee are painfully aware that we cannot respond to all the people who need help. We often have to say no to someone in need. Neither do we pretend to have all the answers to make our immigration system work better, though we have heard some positive solutions: increase visas for unskilled laborers, family reunification for those separated by borders, an alternative to imprisoning asylum seekers, and fair trade that allows people to make a living in their own country. The immigration issue will remain with us long after the voting booths close in November. Our neighbors are also desperate to have a fair resolution so they can live productive lives, contributing to our society as immigrants have done for 400 years, without having to fear the siren of a police car. Perhaps the most important question we need to ask ourselves is how we can bring Christian compassion into the immigration discussion. How can we in these volatile times demonstrate our love and concern for those whom Christ called our neighbors? from the people of Jubilee Page 3

4 <<< Every community needs someone like Yah Kay around: enthusiastic, hardworking, and fun to be around. Gathering at the border fence to honor the 200+ migrants who have died in the past year in the Arizona desert. >>> Deb Schaffer, who volunteered here in 2006, recently shared with us her experiences on the 2010 Migrant Trail. This annual event, on both sides of the border near Tucson, Ariz. raises awareness of the plight of migrants. Here are some of her photos and a prayer. >>> Rose Byler and Da Mu pose as twins in their matching shirts. The Karen people from Burma are excellent weavers of such items. <<< Walking along the hot dusty trail that many migrants take. PRAYER FOR THE MIGRANT Speaking of weaving, Christina Dyck has learned well from her refugee teachers, and has a backstrap loom set up on her porch. Gracious God, full of love and mercy, I want to ask you for my Migrant sisters and brothers. Have pity on them and protect them, as they suffer mistreatments and humiliations on their journeys, are labeled as dangerous, and marginalized for being foreigners. Who we are Jubilee Partners is an intentional Christian service community in north Georgia. Our primary ministry is offering hospitality to newly arrived refugees. We are a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization; donations are thus tax-deductible. Your donations and support of our work are most appreciated. Jubilee Partners Box 68 Comer, GA Make them be respected and valued for their dignity. Touch with Your goodness the many that see them pass. Care for their families until they return to their homes, not with broken hearts but rather with hopes fulfilled. Let it be, as we pray this in Christ s name. Amen. Page 4

5 Who needs air >>> conditioning when you can head to the cool waters of the north Georgia mountains? Here are Emily Smith and Rose Byler at Tallulah Gorge. We welcomed our new fall volunteers with a community game night. Here Jennifer Drago is doing the balancing a cup of water on your head relay race. The winner of the cute kids contest is... Here at Jubilee we like to live up to our name. Sometimes that s in the Biblical sense (see Leviticus 25: 8-17) as we offer hospitality to the refugee and homeless. Other times it s in the secular sense: a celebration! <<< Don Mosley loves to try new gadgets: is that a pecan shaped hearing aid in his ear? Nah, he s just doing one of Jubilee s wacky relay races! Eri on her unicycle Let s have a Talent Show!! Al croons the golden oldies Kaia s monkey face Skit-time with Rebecca, Eli, and Lauren Po Dee on Karen flute View Jubilee s newsletter in color online at

6 Jubilee Partners P.O. Box 68 Comer, GA September 2010 Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage is PAID Athens, Georgia Permit Number 14 What better way to thank our volunteers than to have a feast? Sai Meh handles the grill while Russ Dyck and Al Lawler supervise at our end-of-term volunteer appreciation picnic by the waters of nearby Lake Hartwell.