…for as long as I can remember. Decades ago the USA southern border was a fairly desolate place. It is different in many ways now. But, every once in awhile there would be a report from the border of another dead migrant. Needless to say, the border crossers were hardly a threat. They could nearly make it to a civilized place even after crossing the Rio Grande.
To illustrate the difference back then Americans would get upset. It wasn’t so much the border towns alone that would have a bothered conscience, it was the country. Human life meant something. Another human being that could not speak English valued our life and government so much they wanted to be here. The question would arise what is it like over there?
See, they would run mostly out of water. Rarely was it a starvation issue so much as dying of dehydration. So, we as people who were very concerned for this tragedy set up watering stations. They weren’t oasis, but, simply like a lemonade stand of sorts. The migrants would run across the water and would drink the free water. It wasn’t fancy. It was practical. And it worked. They didn’t have any assistance, they found water, they drank, and kept walking.
The churches picked up on it. The churches began to build offices. Here again, nothing fancy. Just a place where one human being met another and cared about their life. Those people crossing the border are poor and impoverished. They still are. They come here in hope of resurrecting their lives in a country where a person is rewarded for good work.
Migrants work hard and do some of the most backbreaking work in this country. Agriculture can’t do without them. But, today farmers are hurting, not just for a work force they are made to respect, but, monies that support their operations are dying up as well as the land. It costs money to run irrigation.
I know the last thing Wall Street wants to hear or read is another crisis that creates uncertainty. It is why I don’t understand why they aren’t complaining more. What are they afraid of?
The migrants aren’t heroes. They have failed lives for whatever reason they do. They also have cultural problems in assimilating into our culture. That is where the churches came in. They have problems, but, none they can’t overcome. If they break the law there are consequences. But, if there is one thing to learn from them is their ability to survive.
Legally, people like DeSantas and Trump can rough them up, but, morally these men have no ground to stand on. The migrants are beggars when they arrive at our southern border. But, what are they begging for? Water? They have the moral high ground no matter how they are beaten by those with power, especially those that abuse that power.
