Jaime Torres / The El Paso Journal
Sunday, May 07, 2023 | 05:00
It was a cloudy morning with a pleasant temperature and where the few rays of sun that peeked out mixed with the human warmth radiated by the dozens of families that participated in the binational program ‘Abrazos no Muros’ organized in the middle of the Rio Grande by the Border Network for Human Rights (BNHR) with the aim of bringing together relatives who live on both sides of the border and who cannot be together due to immigration issues.
Within a framework of unity, respect, and humanism, Border Patrol agents vigilantly observed the unique event while migrants hugged, laughed, cried, chatted, and exchanged countless family stories at one of the El Paso-border points. Ciudad Juárez, very close to the line where two countries, three states and three cities meet, after not seeing each other in person for years.
“It was something very beautiful… I give thanks to Christ because he gave us the opportunity to see her, hug her and give her a kiss and tell her to wait for me and soon I will be able to visit her,” said Dora Alicia Castañón, after melting into a hug with her mother , originally from Torreón, Coahuila, whom she had not seen for 17 years.
Next to her husband Omar and her four children, she emotionally fell into tears while almost on her knees caressing and reiterating her love for her mother over and over again after 17 years of not seeing her.
six minutes of love
Sick and in a wheelchair, Dora’s mother traveled to the border to be able to spend six minutes with her, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, which was the time given to each of the 150 families who came to reunite with their relatives. .
“Many things have happened and seeing that she came sick and with the loss of one of her legs makes me sad not to have been with her, but at the same time it gives me energy and strength to continue in this country, asking God one day to be able to obtain my visa and go see her”, she expressed through tears, after recounting that although she had not seen her during that time, they maintain communication by telephone.
With sadness, he stated that during that time, three of the seven siblings that made up the family have also died, with which, like many families, he has suffered a series of blows in his life. “My mother has been very strong,” she said.
“Very important for all of us that they give us this opportunity to see our family face to face since none of them can cross the border. It is time to be with them, give us a hug and a kiss, ”said Omar with great happiness, who also took the opportunity to see and live with his daughter Arlene.
Under the motto You are not alone! and under the chords of the melody “América” played by the northern group “Los Tigres del Norte” the immigrants went down and jubilantly passed in an orderly manner to the bandstand installed in the middle of the river -whose flow was low- to be able to coincide with their loved ones .
José Pedro López, was another of the parents who benefited from this reunion and went with his wife Lilia and their four children to meet with their four brothers, a cousin and a niece after 22 years of not seeing them in person.
“Although I feel very happy and excited this morning, it has been very sad not being able to see them and especially not having attended the funeral of my three brothers,” said the Mexican immigrant, after having hugged his siblings Adolfo, Ricardo, Ema and Graciela. ; his cousin Carmen and his niece Gabriela.
Some light
“What a contrast while many migrants are processed and deported very close to here, at least we have the opportunity for these families to come together and discover a little light in this very difficult situation that we are experiencing,” said the bishop of the Diocese of El Paso Mark Seitz, after hearing the stories of two families who had not seen each other for 4 and 20 years.
In his speech, Mayor Cruz Pérez Cuéllar, who attended this binational event for the second time, recognized the effort made by the Border Network for Human Rights to reunite families and all the effort it makes for all the people who They fight to have a better life.
“Reiterate our willingness to work together to achieve the objectives, reiterate that we are available not only for this event but for anything that can be offered,” said the mayor after greeting the families on both sides of the border and thanking the opportunity to be part of this effort.
same but different
For his part, Fernando García, director of the BNHR organization, stated that although it has been 10 years of carrying out this event, especially this time it has been different. “This year was essentially difficult because we have a number of things happening in our region, specifically the fact that the border has been militarized in an extraordinary way.” The above when referring to the arrival of Texan soldiers commanded by Governor Greg Abbott under a racist policy.
He indicated that the event, which had already defined a location, was changed a week before because the military had put barbed wire in the river… “this type of aggression against our communities is truly unfortunate, but fortunately we are finally doing the event in a place where there are no barriers. And it is a beautiful act, it is of humanity, it is of love, but it is also a desperate protest against the immigration and border policies that we have here in our region”, he said at the end of the reunification ceremony.
He pointed out that in the midst of all this darkness, which immigration policy in the United States has created, this aggression against families, “today is a holiday where at this moment the border belongs to families. Today the communities are united for at least half a day.”
He emphasized that within this psychosis, El Paso and Ciudad Juárez were a single community, “and that is what we would like for the future, that we recognize ourselves as a single community and that no family is separated. So that’s the message we’re sending in the midst of all this madness, something different is possible, something better is possible.”
Councilors Isabel Salcido and Alexsandra Annello, representatives of Districts 5 and 2, agreed with him, as well as David Scout, commissioner of Precinct 2 of El Paso County, who spoke out for immigration reform to prevent migrants from continuing to risk their lives. in the attempt to achieve his long-awaited ‘American dream’.
The fighting continues
“…El Paso is a beautiful region but unfortunately the leaders in Congress and the leaders in the capital of Texas, in Austin, try to turn this region into something ugly… how many people have given their lives to seek a better life on this river . It is unfair. How many people have fallen from a wall or have died falling… it’s a tragedy,” Stout said, after pleading for all this to stop.
He insisted that voters must elect committed people who listen and pay attention to the demands of the population in terms of migration. We have to keep fighting so that we don’t have more events like this, so that everyone, Mexicans and Americans, can come together and hug each other without having to be in the middle of this river.
Prior to the reunion, the activist Ivonne Díaz, regional organizer of Texas Rising in El Paso, pointed out that what was going to happen in that place was not normal and they did not have to meet in these circumstances.
“Migration policies are inhumane and the system is in crisis,” he said after denouncing that politicians have been using this problem only for their benefit, which is why real solutions are urgently needed and not just “band-aids.”
He accused that the bills that are being proposed in the Texas legislature are based on racist and xenophobic beliefs and are from the extreme right. “We do not need to continue militarizing our border, we need a reform in the entire immigration system and it must be comprehensive and it must be humane,” he pointed out, regretting that if he does not do so, many families will not see their loved ones again in the future.
