At 11am last Sunday morning, June 24th, 2018, we worshipped at the Federal Correctional Institution in Sheridan, Oregon. 400, of many origins and faiths came out, organized by Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice of Portland, Oregon and UNIDOS: Bridging Community of McMinnville. 121 men are housed in one wing of the facility. They are detained for entering our country illegally to seek asylum, a misdemeanor.
52 are from India, Sikhs and Christians fleeing persecution by the Hindu majority. The others are from Nepal (18), Bangladesh (2), Armenia (3), Russia (1), Cameroon (1), China (5), Mauritania (2) and Eritrea (5)…and 34 from south of our border: Guatemala (12), Mexico (10), Honduras (7), Peru (2) Brazil (1), Nicaragua (1), El Salvador (1). Most are seeking asylum in our country. We want them to know they’re not alone. We want the authorities to know we are keeping watch. We ask that attorneys and clergy can gain access to provide them with the counsel and representation, their right in the country of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I wrote this poem in reflection on the worship experience and what I saw and photographed. I wish I could tell you that those we could see from where we were allowed to worship were the actual detainees. In fact, they are being held in a detention wing not visible to us. But we now know from an attorney and one priest who have been allowed to visit them, that they know what we are doing outside the fence. And it lessens their despair to know we are showing up for them.
At the Fence
We gather at the fence for Sabbath,
Bread, wine and razor wire.
U.S. property NO trespassing.
We sing our song:
No nos moveran
A tree standing by water
Shall not be moved!
Wa-Hey-Gu-Ruh
Wondrous Dispeller of Darkness
Lead us from ignorance.
This little light of mine let it shine!
We speak our truth
Catholic, Sikh and Jew
Muslim, Unitarian, Atheist, Agnostic
All Protest-ants really,
We do protest!
Women, men, slave and free
All are welcome
Always.
We tell our story.
Practice your faith
And you may disappear
One quiet morning.
See the severed head of your father
On the front porch
The terrible choice to stay home
Or trust your destiny to dangerous Coyote
And the torture of a desert crossing.
And, if you make it, ICE for your wounds
Or maybe a nursing child
Ripped from your breast
And never again seen.
What price asylum?
Will we get the hearing we were promised?
Or was it a cruel joke?
Can we even see an attorney
Or someone to pray with us?
Love thy neighbor:
Who is neighbor and who is thy?
In the shadow of the fence
We share the abundance of the table.
Bodies broken
Blood on front porches
No ancient remembrance
Rather a contemporary unrelenting eucharist.
If we practice it enough
Maybe we’ll become one Body
Actually. One day.
The beloved community
Will bridge the wall
Demolish it.
Compassion Is Everything.
We gather at the fence for Sabbath
Brown hands grasping white
A sparrow perches between barbs.
We lean on chainlink
Hang on it.
Noses to galvanized wire,
Eyes to diamond windows,
Our hands reach.
I was in prison and you visited,
Hungry and you fed.
Give me your tired huddled masses
Yearning.
We occupy the fence.
A hand reaches
One waves. We all wave.
Flags appear: Mexico, Puerto Rico
Brown hands wave back.
A white cross in the window
Cristo, Cristo, Cristo, Jesus
For a moment we are connected.
We are not alone.
No one is alone.
Kind hearted Sikhs serve Langar
A traditional community meal.
None are hungry.
DSC_0382
We gather at the fence for Sabbath
A dove takes flight
Over the barrier dividing us.
We seek Shalom
Imperfect as it may be in our time.
No nos mover`an!
Please join the struggle in whatever ways you can and more than you can. Stand in solidarity with immigrant families by supporting the work of any of these networks:
UNIDOS Bridging Community (unidosyamhillcounty.org), McMinnville OR
Lutheran Community Services (lutherancommunityservices.org), 503-472-4020
Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice (imirj.org)
Thank you for sharing, John. Your words move me to tears as I pray compassion will be a movement that sweeps our nation, rather than the fear and anger our current government is trying to instill.
Very powerful! Thank you John.