Let Your Heart Be Broken - Congregation of the Sisters, Servants of ...

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page 8JourneyFall 2008Just because it’s legal, doesn’t make it rightby Sr. Janet Yurkanin, IHMOn a visitor’s visa,Nadia came to visither son and hertwo grandchildren.Because she wasthere, her son andhis wife were ableto go to a party. Onthe way home, theywere killed in anautomobile accident.Nadia applies foran extension ofher visa once but itcannot be extendeda second time. Shenow joins the ranksof the undocumentedas she works toprovide a home forher grandchildren,something she wouldnot be able to do inher home country. Ifyou were Nadia, whatwould you do?Once we realize that we are notGod, we learn to accept thereality that we cannot alwayssolve problems, alleviate suffering orbe a source of hope for others. Wecan welcome them. We can listen totheir stories. We can be compassionate,understanding, and nonjudgmental.We can see others as persons, notas stereotyped nonentities.Every person we allow to touchour lives somehow adds a piece tothe mosaic that we are. That is whywe must learn to reflect upon eachencounter and even let our hearts bebroken by that person’s pain and suffering.If we do, our love can becomegreater, deeper, and more inclusive.Just because it’s legal, doesn’tmake it right. Slavery and the denialof the vote to women were once legalbut were challenged and changed.So, too, must our current immigrationlaws, which negatively impact thelives of God’s people. The followingare stories of real people.Edithe, a lawful permanentresident (green card holder fromHaiti), works two jobs as a dishwasher.Even with hearing aidsand the ability to read lips, she hasdifficulty understanding the spokenword. She communicates well bywriting, but her spoken word is oftendifficult to understand. Edithe wantsto immigrate her sons who are over21 years old. The current visa wait is10 to 12 years. The process will befaster if she becomes a U.S. citizen.Every few weeks she would stop bythe Office of Migration and RefugeeServices with a money order, as shehad saved up the needed $325 applicationfee to become a citizen. Ather first interview, the immigrationofficer gave her the disability waiverform N-648 and told her to take it toher doctor to prove from medical datathat she cannot learn English. Shereturns the completed form. Not satisfiedwith what the doctor wrote, theimmigration officer told her to take itback to the doctor. Because her hearingloss occurred in Haiti, the doctorcannot provide the medical data andher application is denied. She justlost $325. She gets the medical centerin Haiti to document her case. Sincethe immigration fees were raised, shemust now save up $675. For someoneearning $9 per hour, that amountsto more than 70 hours of dishwashing.She applies again. Sit with Editheas she awaits her next interview, notknowing if the medical report whichis not done on the N-648 form willbe accepted, again wondering if herrequest to be tested in writing will behonored.Susan, a U.S. citizen and sixmonths pregnant with her secondchild, walks in with her beautifultwo year-old daughter. She and herhusband hired an attorney to do theimmigration papers needed to get himan immigrant visa and a green card.Together they went for their immigrationinterview, but only Susanleft the Mount Laurel office. Herhusband was handcuffed and takento a detention center where he awaitsdeportation to Mexico. They did notknow immigration law. They did notknow, probably because their attorneydid not inform them, that anyone whoenters the U.S. without documentationcannot apply for adjustment ofstatus. Susan wants to know how shecan speed up the deportation process,because the same attorney told herthat a waiver can be obtained at theU.S. consulate in Mexico. Leavingthe U.S. after one year of unlawfulpresence triggers a ten-year bar.Shortly after she leaves, the officereceives an e-mail stating that thewaiver for unlawful presence had justbecome extremely difficult to obtainin Ciudad Juarez. Take a moment andsit with Susan whose husband willspend the next ten years in Mexico.ICE (Immigration and CustomsEnforcement) agents came to Jorge’shouse with a warrant for his brother.Outside on the sidewalk the brotherasks Jorge to go inside to get his passport.When Jorge goes in, he fails toclose the door behind him. Jorge doesnot know that an open door givesthe ICE agents the right to enter hishome. As a result, the agents followhim inside, open the bedroom door,and take his wife into custody. Whatdo you tell Jorge?When his car was rear ended at astop sign, Guillermo suffered a backinjury that resulted in the loss of feelingin his left leg. Unable to return towork, facing extensive therapy, andunable to continue paying the $125deductible for each doctor’s visit, heand his family made a decision. OverThanksgiving holiday, his U.S. citizenwife, Yadira, and two children accompaniedhim to his parents’ homein Mexico, knowing only too wellthat he will be barred from returningfor ten years. They return withouthim. There is no provision in thelaw for him to legalize while in theUnited States. Sit with Yadira and herchildren as they experience the voidin their lives.Entering the country illegallymay be a civil wrong, but it is not acriminal act. “Being in this countrywithout proper documentation is nota crime,” U.S. Attorney ChristopherChristie said at a public forum inDover. “Don’t let people make youbelieve that that’s a crime that theU.S. Attorney’s Office should be doingsomething about,” he added. “It isnot.”Maria comes with her friend whojust received a deportation notice.Tears well up in her big brown eyes.After being in the U.S. for twelveyears, she will be deported to Guatemala.Could anything be done? Walkhome with them as they ponder theanswer, “No, nothing.”Fifteen minutes before closingtime in walk Luis and his son. Hiswife was one of those picked up duringthe ICE raid in Bristol, Pennsylvaniaa few hours earlier. She was justa factory worker trying to supplementthe family income. Because she hasminor children, she is released thenext day. What now? What next?When? Imagine their fears and theiruncertainties.On a visitor’s visa, Nadia came tovisit her son and her 2 grandchildren.Because she was there, her son andhis wife were able to go to a party.On the way home, they were killedin an automobile accident. Nadiaapplies for an extension of her visaonce but it cannot be extended asecond time. She now joins the ranksof the undocumented as she works toprovide a home for her grandchildren,something she would not be able todo in her home country. If you wereNadia, what would you do?In the County Jail sits a youngMexican woman arrested for DUI.She claims that she had only onedrink. Under NJ law, ICE was notified.Her legal aid attorney advisesher to give up custody of her oneyear old child because when she isdeported, the baby cannot travel withher. Let your heart be broken as yousit with this young mother.Sr. Janet serves as the director of Migrationand Refugee Services for theDiocese of Trenton, New Jersey.
Fall 2008What do you crave? Doyou know what it is liketo crave something?Have you ever wanted something somuch that there was a pain deep inside?I know some young people whohave said “Oh, I am so hungry (orthirsty) I could die.” Have they feltthat pain inside? I doubt it. I doubtany one of us reading this article,except those who are extremely poor,have felt that pain. Have we everfelt hungry? Sure, we all have butnowhere near “the painful sensation”as the dictionary describes hunger.I remember hearing when I wasin grade school about the paganbabies and putting my change inthe mission box. And when we gotenough money to adopt one we got toname it. We were so excited to put aname to this child. Today as I thinkabout it, the child probably didn’tsurvive. As I went through school Iprobably heard statistics about povertyand hunger, but they never reallymade a deep impression on me. Forthe moment I thought how terriblethat was, but quickly forgot, whenword of the next dance or the Saturdayfootball game came around. Inthe end it was not statistics that taughtme about hunger and poverty, butpeople.The hungry and the poor werenever statistics to Jesus. He ministeredto them, met their needs evenwhen he had nothing himself. Was hethe poor helping the poor? And herewe are the wealthiest nation on earthand still there are millions of peopledying for lack of food. Someone diesevery 3.6 seconds from hunger relateddiseases. So, as you are reading thisarticle, how many have died? Anddoes it spark our consciences? Weknow this and yet…? Someone oncesaid “If you are not outraged, you arenot payingattention.”This hasbecome myfavoritemotto, mymost oftenused linewhen I amworkingwith the studentshere atMarywoodUniversityon social justice projects.I have worked here at Marywood forthe past twenty-two years, and it hasbeen an eye-opening experience forme personally and, I hope, for thestudents I have worked with over theyears. It has given me the experiencenot only to work with the poormyself, but to work with young adultsin their understandings of poverty andhunger and their stance before Godand within this human family.I can remember my first internationalservice trip to Doran, Ecuador,one of the poorest places I have everseen. I left a piece of my heart thereand the experience changed my lifeforever. As I said before, one canread statistics, but until one seesthe faces, looks into their eyes, andbegins to understand the lack of optionsfor people, one might only feelbad and move on to the next event.Maybe this particular student whotook my service-learning InternationalService Trip class put it best:“Having the opportunity to take theInternational Service Class followingmy trip to Guatemala allowed me toprocess my experience on an academiclevel. It connected the statisticsthat I so often read and immediatelyforget, to real people, real faces, realsituations. I am no longer fightingJourneyWhat Do You Crave?by Sr. John Michele Southwick, IHMbecause ofnumbers; Iam fightingforthe peoplewho havechangedmy life. IfI give up, Iam not givingup on asituation, Iam givingup on a humanbeing.” -EliseWhen we began the InternationalService trips, the expense of such atrip was a question in my mind. Wasit worth spending a huge amount tosend ten or twelve students so faraway when there was poverty herein the U.S.? It didn’t take me longto resolve that question. Yes, thereis poverty here in the United States,but there is also much more help herefor the poor. In developing countries,there are usually no options for thepoor. Or as one student put it: “…who would want to accept a job withno benefits, barely making it dayto day on their pay? The workingpoor we met are working in order topay others for benefits that shouldcome along with their jobs in the firstplace.” -CourtneyWhen witnessing sweatshops andthen learning about them in class,another student wrote:“Before going on the service trip toGuatemala and before taking thisclass, I never really paid much attentionto the things I was buying, whereit was from, or what it was madeof. After taking this class, I decidedto think about some of my futurepurchases. I own an old pair of Nikeshoes and that will be my last pair ofNike shoes. Also, I am going to trypage 9to find out what clothing companiesdo not use sweatshops: I will start tobuy from them. I am also going tobecome an advocate for fair and justlabor”. -JeremyI suppose my dream and mypassion is to plant in my students’hearts a craving for justice, a deepdesire to move them toward action tohelp the poor and to put their beliefsinto action. As one student said, “asindividuals we need to take on changein our own lives before we can placeblame elsewhere.” -MeganI think she got the idea!I asked my students if theythought they were prophetic persons,and one wrote “I do not think that Ican say I am a ‘prophetic person’ yet,but I know I am working to becomeone.” -JanetteAnother student wrote, “Onceyou are aware of these false wantsand how to rid your mind of them,then you can start to experience yourtrue wants. True wants come fromyour soul, your values and yourbeliefs. In my opinion, they are notusually for personal gain, but insteadto make you a better person orto achieve a better world: when wechoose who we want to BE, we arechoosing ourselves plus everyoneelse.” -JeremyWhat is it we crave? Is it onlymaterial things? Megan, a student,said to me, “When we crave morethings, we cause others who canbarely survive to have even less.”Could that deep hunger, thatcraving in us actually be a cravingfor justice, for feeding the hungry, forending poverty?That is my passion, my dream,my craving. What is yours?Sr. John Michele serves as a campusminister at Marywood University inScranton, Pennsylvania.Marywood University students lay the foundation for awomen’s center in San Lucas Toliman, Guatemala.Marywood University student teaching math at a schoolin Vieux Fort, St. Lucia.Marywood University students picking coffee beans inSan Lucas Toliman, Guatemala.
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