by Heather Brady
Sorrow and pain are at home here in the desolate landscape of the
Arizona desert. Along the borderlands, our
Christian Peacemaker Teams
delegation walks in the footsteps of the thousands of migrants who make
the dangerous journey northward.
Standing still, I close my eyes and feel the burning sun upon my bare skin.
I imagine what it means to be a migrant, to leave everything and
everyone you know and love in order to provide for them, to spend days
and weeks running and hiding, feet blistered and bloody. Desperate for
water, your tongue grows thick with thirst. Cactus thorns stab you as
you run blindly through the darkness, struggling to stay with the
group.
We hear the story of Josseline Quinteros, a fourteen-year-old girl from
El Salvador. Separated from her group, she would wander lost and alone
for weeks before eventually laying down, never to get up again.