Yes, that’s our booth at Give Grandly last year. We were still busy packing 200 weekly emergency food GoBags, and collecting needed clothes, medical supplies, food and children’s toys for legal asylum seekers at the shelter in Deming NM. We were optimistic about the upcoming election and hopeful for humane resources for new immigrants. Our Give Grandly page summarizes our history. How long ago that seems (more about GG later), and now to digress…
Ron and I just returned from a three week “trip of a lifetime” to New Zealand. It was an awesome country with water everywhere, idyllic pastureland, soaring mountains, roundabouts and so much less plastic! It was a mix of cultures and history we had known little about. Everyone was helpful, courteous, low keyed and friendly. We met a diverse population including immigrants from Chile, India, the Philippines, Colombia and more. They all were much more informed about our country than we were of theirs. I brashly mused that if we were 40 years younger I would seriously consider emigrating to NZ.
Of course there are political divisions and income disparities everywhere but I know it would have been possible. And then, suddenly, I was ashamed and embarrassed by my first world assumption about the simplicity of such a decision. No fear or catastrophic incident would have motivated my decision, only the wish for “an even better life.”
And for the people I know “choosing” to leave the US at this point in time, it’s still reasonably simple. No slogging desperately through the Darien Gap, or extortion by cartels. I still can’t fully grasp the heartbreak of mothers and fathers fearing for the future of their children, leaving everyone and everything familiar behind…just to suffer the humiliating treatment and conditions in the US that they are forced to choose over remaining behind.
What lies ahead for all of us around the world as climate change and authoritarianism make more and more of the headlines? How will all countries respond? The US is no longer a first world country being emulated for our ethos. Who will help guide us to a better future?
With the border militarized, there is no obvious plan for humanitarian projects such as ours. We’re waiting to find the best direction forward. Everything that happens seems to end up in court; going through one appeal after another. But we’re waiting…and hoping.
We see each other in solidarity at rallies and in the polls. Just yesterday the NY Times reported only 31% approve of the El Salvador debacle. Although immigration was probably Trump’s loudest trumpet during his campaign, it’s now sounding more like a toy drum. No one wants their neighbors thrown into gruesome ICE detention centers in the middle of the night. I’ve gone on longer than I planned but it weighs so heavily on my conscience.
So, back to Give Grandly, our community’s annual fund raiser for over 60 nonprofits. It began online last weekend and continues through May 17th. Here’s our link to Give Grandly . You all were unbelievably generous last year. The event will also be in person at Gough Park in Silver City next Saturday, May 3rd, from 9-2. Come visit us at our booth! ~ 
Barbara
“Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, it’s not the end.” ~John Lennon