Every October brings with it a cold wind, crisp autumn leaves, and The John Carroll University Fair Trade Expo! HM Volunteers current and alumni flock to the science center to host and participate in public education, drink way too much coffee, and work the fashion show! Below are a slew of photos featuring HM fashionistas (and fashionistos?) modeling this years hottest fair trade looks and newest goods.
So Chic!........................................Noms! (and Tina!)
Behold!...................................................It's all about Lena
HM Alumna Rob is modeling not only his fabulous sense of drama and style, but also the lovely new fair trade wine by HM Alumna Phil S. (If his names not on his website I'll refrain from posting it here)The Fair Trade Wine Company features four founding varieties (A Chadonay, A Chenin Blanc, A Cabernet Sauvignon, and a Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz) in partnership with a vineyard in South Africa. Any choice would be a welcome addition to your dinner table or next get together and can be found at Heinen's stores throughout the greater Cleveland area. http://thefairtradewinecompany.com/
I am about two and a half months into my placement at Catholic Charities Migration and Refugee Services, and am starting to get the hang of things. By that I mean I’m used to driving all over West Cleveland and Lakewood, picking up refugees and taking them to appointments, sometimes way outside the hours of the traditional workday. I’m used to running around the office with a tail of refugees struggling to keep up with me as I dart between copying insurance information, scheduling appointments, faxing overseas medical packets, fixing billing problems, and responding to all the needs of the caseworkers. Most of all, I’m used to constantly keeping a to do list in my head, hoping that I might finally get a day with enough down time to tackle all of the important but not urgent things like scheduling dental and ophthalmology appointments or updating my case notes. Of course, most of those days end up with me scheduling urgent appointments for babies with fevers or taking someone to the ER.
Seriously, this is the new normal of my life. But as I was reflecting on this daily experience, and feeling somewhat depressed about the quick-fix nature of my work at MRS, I stumbled across Thomas Merton’s “Letter to a Young Activist.” Merton writes:
Do not depend on the hope of results. When you are doing the sort of work you have taken on, essentially an apostolic work, you may have to face the fact that your work will be apparently worthless and achieve no result at all, if not perhaps results opposite to what you expect. As you get used to this idea, you start more and more to concentrate not on the results but on the value, the truth of the work itself. And there, too, a great deal has to be gone through, as gradually as you struggle less and less for an idea, and more and more for specific people. The range tends to narrow down, but it gets much more real. In the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.
As I reflected on Merton’s letter, I realized that it fit perfectly with how I was feeling about my placement at MRS. Although I do see “results,” they are usually small and relatively insignificant. After all, helping refugees access the health care system is a work of charity. It addresses an immediate need, and while it is necessary, I always envisioned my year of service having some kind of justice component. Instead, the refugees keep coming, we help them get on their feet, and then move on to the next batch. Nothing we do helps solve the broader problems that force so many people to run for their lives in the first place. So in this sense, the work I do is “apparently worthless.” But Merton hits the nail on the head. When I can shift my focus from the enormity of the problem to the particular person I am working with, the “truth of the work” comes to light.
This is Teshome. He is from Eritrea and arrived in Cleveland in January. While I normally work with refugees who have arrived in the previous few months, I had the pleasure of helping Teshome go to a few appointments for his prosthetic arm. This particular doctor’s office happens to be a good half-hour drive away, so whenever Teshome had an appointment, we got to spend a decent amount of time together. We hit it off during these appointments, with his natural inquisitiveness meshing well with my own love of learning. He asked me about American society, culture, and language, and I in turn impressed him with my ability to roll my R’s in repeating a few words of his native language, Tigrinya. I always looked forward to these afternoon appointments with Teshome, especially on the days that the stress of the job was getting to me. This was a time to narrow my focus, give a few hours of my time and attention to one person, and have some fun while doing so.
This past Tuesday, I took Teshome to his final appointment in Cleveland. On Wednesday, Teshome boarded a bus for Alexandria, Virginia, to move in with a friend of his from Eritrea, who has been living in Virginia for a few years. We said our goodbyes, wished each other luck, and snapped the above picture. Thanks, Teshome, for showing me that “in the end, it is the reality of personal relationships that saves everything.”
With this blog post, I would like to take the opportunity to briefly explain the work I do with AI Justice as a HM Volunteer. Specifically, I work as a paralegal with the Children’s Legal Project. Within our project, there are two supervising attorneys, a staff attorney, two paralegals, and myself.
Our principal duties are to travel to the two Miami immigration centers that house unaccompanied immigrant minors who have been detained by the federal government for entering the United States without proper documentation and inspection (in other words, they are undocumented immigrants below the age of 18). The vast majority of the minors at these shelters come from Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador). At the two shelters, we conduct “Know Your Rights” presentations with all of the new children each week, seeking to explain to them their legal rights within the U.S. We also conduct individual intakes with each child, assessing their histories and (heartbreaking!) stories for any sign of their potential qualification for legal relief within the U.S. Later, the other paralegals and I compile each minor’s file, and the attorneys evaluate each case to determine what, if any, legal options each minor has.
For all of the children, the government allows them to be released to a relative within the United States so that they can be in the comfort of a loved one’s home instead of remaining detained, as they wait for their hearing before immigration court. For the minors who are released, our office sends out referrals for those who potentially qualify for legal relief. We also send the minors a letter explaining immigration court as well as a list of nonprofit agencies in their area that they can call for assistance.
Occasionally, some minors have no relatives within the U.S. who are able to sponsor them out of the shelter, so these minors either choose to be voluntarily deported back to their countries, or, if they qualify for legal relief, AI Justice and the legal clinic at Florida International University (FIU) represent them in their pursuit of a visa and legal status.
Many, many minors who travel to the U.S. from Latin America (and other parts of the world) bring with them a difficult past. They have been abandoned by their mothers, living on the streets with nowhere to go, beaten by their stepfathers, mistreated by their fathers . . . Under federal immigration law, there is the possibility for a visa for these minors, some of the most vulnerable members of society. The Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS) is a special visa for minors who have been abandoned, abused, and/or neglected by their parents. Rather than deporting these children into the dangerous and potentially life-threatening domestic situations back in their home country, the U.S. government is open to granting these children a hearing before the Juvenile Court and allocating a visa to keep them safe within this country.
For a minor to qualify for SIJS, s/he must first be declared Dependent by a Juvenile Court of the state in which s/he is residing (in our situation, Florida). Next, the State Court must issue a Best Interest Order, in which the court determines that it is in the Best Interest of the minor to remain in the United States and not be returned to the dangerous situation in their home country, where the abandonment, abuse, and/or neglect is likely to reoccur. Next, the Best Interest Order is sent to United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) with a petition for Special Immigrant Juvenile Status. After several months of background checks and an interview, USCIS grants the SIJS (as long as there have been no problems!), making the minor immediately eligible to apply for Legal Permanent Residency and move forward with creating a better life in this country. (Because their visa is based on a history of parental abandonment, abuse, and/or neglect, these minors are barred from ever petitioning to bring their parents to the U.S.)
During the last fourteen months, I have assisted with about ten or fifteen of these cases, and it is a very rewarding experience to help in giving hope to these minors who, through no fault of their own, have endured such trauma and have been robbed of the childhood that you and I enjoyed growing up safe in the U.S. They want nothing more than a better life, free of the violence and suffering they have been through. I realize that the people in this country have very strong opinions about immigration and our current immigration situation, but I hope that we can all agree that these specific cases deserve special consideration. We should all see this humanitarian gesture for what it truly is—a demonstration of our compassion for these children, the most vulnerable population in the world, and our commitment to keeping them safe from parental abuse and neglect. Deporting them back to their countries into the hands of those who have mistreated them for years and years would be an injustice for us all.
While interviewing the children in the shelters, one thing is especially shocking about the stories their journey from Central America to the U.S. border, journeys they often make alone, without family or money or even a plan. They just decide one day to leave their past behind and move north, hoping for a better life. I am going to conclude this blog post by sharing a link to a 2009 HBO documentary film directed by Rebecca Cammisa: “Which Way Home” won an Emmy and was nominated for an Academy Award. It shows the dangers and obstacles faced by immigrants, through the eyes of children who make the difficult journey on their own through Mexico to the U.S. If you have some free time and immigration issues interest you, I highly recommend taking the time to watch the film. [You need to first click on the red "play" button in the middle of the video. A new window or tab may open in your browser, but you can close it and go back to the movie, where you will then be able to play it. This video limits the amount of time you can watch, so you may have to watch half of the video and then come back later to skip forward and watch the second half.]
"Which Way Home" - an HBO Documentary by Rebecca Cammisa
The beautiful colors of fall have arrived in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The leaves are now red, orange, golden and rust. For those of you Florida residents who love autumn please enjoy this beautiful red tree.
All of us have bought fruits and vegetables from the local grocery store - perfect in shape, color and size. On occassion you will see a local grower advertised but for the most part the produce is shipped from Canada, California or outside the United States. By the time it reaches the local grocery store it has been waxed to enhance the apperance and "freshness". One of the many perks of volunteer service at the farm is to taste produce that is truly fresh. Recently the farm crew was invited to a local farm to pick apples and pears. The family has lived on the property for over 50 years and has not sprayed or pruned the fruit trees in years. The pears and apples were not "perfect" in appearance..... they were assorted shapes, colors and sizes with an occasional worm hole. We taste tested on site and declared the fruit the sweetest ever eaten. The fruit has been shared with our CSA members and created into crisp, pies, sauce and juice.
My bounty of apples were brought home to grace the kitchen table. After reflecting on the beauty of the fall day , the generosity of the farmer who offered his trees and the spirit we shared picking the fruit I created pear/apple sauce to be shared at the farm lunch table.
This adventure was a gentle reminder to find beauty in all things.
We’re all constantly pushing ourselves during our volunteer year. It is one of the things I love most about this experience. Sometimes where and how we are struggling is obvious and something we are able to confront head on.
At our various placements we are regularly challenged with a new cases or projects that push us beyond the comfort of our skill set. We are consistently compelled to work through the challenge of joint budgeting, living simply and being present in community, even when community may be the very thing we are struggling with.
Other times where and how we are struggling is not so apparent.We grapple with systems that marginalize, disregard and even dehumanize those whom we work closest with. We are challenged emotionally, spiritually and sometimes ideologically as we search for solutions that may or may not be feasible.We are pushed to the edge where we must confront the limits of our own abilities.
In these struggles, I find what is often required of me is humility.This is not some trite tribute to our program but a sincere evaluation of what is asked of us in our service to others and our respective communities.
It takes humility to recognize your own limitations and weaknesses. We are confronted daily with problems we cannot solve.Sometimes we can’t even make them better. We can humbly be present, even when it is uncomfortable and difficult because we cannot change the situation.
It takes humility to eschew individualism in favor of community. We have agreed to be wholly accountable to each other throughout this year, to let go of “my” way and take up “our” way.It requires humility to recognize our differences and simultaneously accept each other’s feelings, opinions, ideas and solutions as a community of equals.
Throughout this year we’re often called to serve in ways or capacities we could not have fully appreciated when we said “Yes” and entered this experience. The beauty of this is that where we are pushing ourselves we are growing. While growth is not always easy or pleasant (remember puberty) when we struggle through we gain not only wisdom and experience, but also empowerment.
With Love,
Vitina
P.S. On a personal note last week I decide that I am going to run a marathon. Running has been a recent hobby in my life, with the exception of a very brief track career my senior year of high school, the first race I ever ran was 2 years ago. Last February, with the support of my friends and community, I complete a half marathon. While training and actually running 13.1 miles was a struggle, it was one of my most empowering accomplishments to date. The marathon will take place the weekend before mid-year retreat.
“ We are devoured by care- care about our job, care about our life of prayer, care about how we are getting on, care about what other people are doing, care about this, care about that- we are devoured by it. And then the thoughts, “fears, reflections, regrets, anxieties,” this constant business…” (Thomas Merton, A Life Free From Care)
A few years ago I remember sitting in my elective religion class at John Carroll- Thomas Merton and Dorothy Day.We were reading Thomas Merton’s text “A Life Free From Care”. I have a distinctive memory of reading this title and thinking Merton you are a crazy person! Life is not free from care. At the time I was taking 18 credit hours, had an internship, service activities and was a teacher assistant (TA) for a psychology course. I knew I was in over my head, but I just kept adding on to my to do list.I was the yes person and everyone knew they could depend on me to be there to help.
Three years later this quotation still makes me stop and reflect on my life. My day still feels like a constant juggling act in which I am trying to balance family, friends, my own needs, service, spiritual life, applying to Graduate school and everything in between. Sometimes I find myself wondering if I am taking on too much. I quickly brush this thought aside and keep moving. I’ve realized that everyday I’m working, working, working and when I stop to take a breath I sometimes question if this is the life that God has in mind for me.
Last week I stumbled upon this youtube video from my Thomas Merton class: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjIu7AjOSBQ. In the Rob Bell movie Nooma discussed how people walk around aimlessly everyday saying that they are so busy with life just passing them by. He asks if this is much of a life. God gives us one or a few God given talents in which we should focus our energy. Bell says that being busy is a drug today that people are addicted to hide from themselves. Yet, we need to focus to the will of one thing. Sometimes the enemy is the good for we will have no energy left to focus on the one thing. It’s okay to say no because you’ve already said yes.
I believe this is a message that is relevant to all of us as volunteers. In the busy work environments that we are in it is so easy to want to say yes, but sometimes we must say no. For me I’m working to remind myself that everyday life should be liberating to me versus a constant to-do-list. This is a challenge I am trying to work through this year. I hope everyone has a nice week!
Where we’re going is an important question that we are asked almost on a daily basis.The answer could be as simple as “to the grocery store” or as complex as “to Alaska for a new chapter in my life.”Where we’re going is important and something that fills a lot of our time, but where we’re coming from, now that’s what truly shapes our encounters with others.While it is important to know where we are coming from ourselves, it is just as important to realize that everyone we meet has a place of their own that they are native to.Sometimes we get to know this background, but many times we do not.For me, I like to keep in mind that one saying, “Be nice to everyone you meet because you never know what battles they are fighting.”
More than once I’ve had a cashier at a store that was what I will classify here as “less than nice.” My first reaction is to think that they are a horrible person.I mean, who wouldn’t want to be nice to me? Don’t worry, I move past that initial reaction. This idea came to mind when I was shopping with one of my housemates the other day at Winn Dixie.It was a Friday and we had just gotten done working at the afterschool program.A week of crazy children and we were ready for a break.Our supplies were for a homemade pizza so we could enjoy a nice relaxing movie night.As we approached the checkout line we recognized our cashier as one of our fellow teachers in the afterschool program (because when you live in Immokalee you see people you know everywhere).During our exchange I told her that I hoped she didn’t have a long shift and could go home soon.She replied in a cheery tone that she was there until 11pm.If any cashier in the face of the planet has the right to be grouchy it was her. Lucky for me she wasn’t, but then again, I caught her at the beginning of her shift.So thenext time I have a cranky cashier I will remember that maybe it’s because they had college classes all day then worked with 20 2nd graders for 2.5 hours and topped it off with a 6 hour shift on a Friday night.
Going back to those crazy kids that we work with, I have to remember that someone doesn’t have to be older to have a “where I’m coming from story.”I teach 15 kindergarteners each day and while I truly do enjoy and love them all, there are days when they are shall we say “less than obedient.”After a frustrating day I was talking with their daytime teacher about some problems I had come across.She gave me some background info.The ADHD kid who needs constant stimulation and reminders has a mother who says “I don’t have time to deal with him.”The little boy who cries during homework time has a mother who just moved away to go to college. . .7 hours away.The little girl who doesn’t speak English and has behavior problems is the oldest of 4 and is expected to take care of her little brothers and sisters.Each child has a story.When my patience has run out and I want to lose my temper I remember this.I realize that no matter what their background is, it is my job to give them a positive environment that fosters their learning and creativity.
I work one day a week at Guadalupe Social Services giving direct assistance to the people of Immokalee.I met a young woman who couldn’t keep a job.She had trouble learning new tasks and a limited attention span.She might be someone we would qualify as lazy and “less than desirable to employ”.Then I learned her story.She was from Mexico.She had been visiting some family in Georgia when she was 18 during which time she was in a car accident.She suffered brain damage.She had to undergo extensive rehab and her hopes of going to college were gone.The signs of her brain damage are not apparent to the standard onlooker.It is not a physical manifestation that is easily viewed and in meeting her I only noticed that she was a friendly young adult.The labels of lazy and stupid that might be put on her by an employer would be completely inaccurate when you think about how much she overcame to get where she is now and how much of a struggle daily tasks are for her now.
Learning other people’s “where I’m coming from stories” is enlightening and opens me up to a deeper understanding of the world. I must also remember to look introspectively at my own “where I’m coming from story” and how that’s affecting my interactions with others.I don’t know where I’ll be in a year, but I do know that this year is an addition to my own “where I’m coming from story.”
Now if only we could get a life map for all of these comings and goings, then we would be set.
Peace Out Love, Babs
**photo credit to the lovely Sarah Narkin. This was taken last week when we went to the beach in Miami on a cloudy, windy day .
Since my last post, my involvement and level of autonomy at AI Justice (Americans for Immigrant Justice and formerly FIAC as you know from Adam’s post) has intensified significantly. Much to my delight, it is safe to say that the training wheels have officially been removed, as my personal interaction with clients continues to increase. No longer am I simply doing busy work when instructed to do so; I am meeting with more and more clients, making more phone calls, and must make my own decisions when organizing and completing applications for Visas. I will even be going to interpret an immigration interview this Monday at USCIS!
Words do not speak enough volume as to how having a real, personal, human connection with those who you are helping makes this volunteer work all the more meaningful. While this new level of autonomy ultimately means more work, I would not have it any other way; without this recent up-kick I’m not sure that I would be as pleased as I actually am with my volunteer placement.
However, that is not to say does my work at AI Justice does not have an adverse effect on me at times. As a member of the LUCHA project, I work with victims of domestic violence and human trafficking (mostly women) and hearing their stories can be disgruntling to say the least. For a deeper insight into the actual immigration work, special non-immigrant visas were developed for these victims as not to deter them from reporting these crimes due to fear of deportation. It is truly beneficial work in which I am continuing to believe more and more as my time and work at AI Justice moves forward.
To end on a happier note, Adam and I had the pleasure of hosting the Immokalee volunteers at our apartment this past weekend. It was great to see everyone and talk about the enneagram with such a large group once again. Probably the coolest part of the weekend was when we all went to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers’ protest at a local Publix. It was awesome to see some of the activism in which the other volunteers are immersing themselves. Until next time folks, keep it real.
So the last month of my life has been ruled by standardized tests so this article caught my attention. If you get a chance read it! Have a nice week! :)
So, I started writing this blog last night about the afterschool program, the Guadalupe Center, and about my nineteen first graders who are absolutely adorable. But, after community night, I knew that, at least for this blog, I had to change my theme and write about community. I know this topic has been written about already by several volunteers. But I feel the need to reiterate the sentiments of several others because community, at least here in Immokalee, is almost everything. We are one another’s roommates, one another’s social group, and very often, one another’s co-workers at our site placements.
Over the last month, the three other amazing women that I live with have become my family, my support group, and my mentors. They are the only ones who might understand why talking about babysitting at the Coalition might be funny. They are the only ones who know how hilarious it is to actually turn with a 12 person van into the driveway of the headquarters of a company that we were essentially there to protest. They are the only ones who would let me hide behind them as a strange dog comes sauntering towards us on the street on the way home from work. And, of course, they understand why Windex works so much better than insect killers on spiders, why you should never pick up a shell that smells, how great two scoops of homemade ice cream can be for two dollars, and how and why red ant bites hurt so much. My roommates are the ones who help me laugh about rough day at work, know how much fun it is to be a part of town events, and get as excited as I do about group trips and house events.
As we journey through this year, my roommates and I are together to share so many of the special moments in an experience and in a place that is beyond unique, and I appreciate their companionship along the way.
I've learned in or about service here, there, or anywhere.
1. It's not about you.
If you go into service looking for that warm fuzzy feeling or praise or an opportunity to “really work with the less fortunate” you are likely to be sorely disappointed. Service is rarely glamorous. There is paper work (a lot of it), there are rules (so many), you will likely work for or with people who make you want to scream, and you'll probably hear $%# you from the clients more than you'll hear thank you, but you do it, because it's what needs to be done.
2. It's still not about you.
What you think someone needs and what they need are not necessarily the same thing. When confronted with a survivor of sexual assault a first instinct might be to hold and comfort, but to do so denies the survivor the space they might need to feel safe.
3. If you're expectations aren't being met then maybe it's you're expectations that have to change.
While it is okay to have standards it is important to recognize that expectations are requirements you have forothers. It is you who creates these standards and it is up to you to decide what is truly important, from and for whom.
4. Give only what is needed
When you give too much of anything be it items, time, or yourself you end up serving no one. When you're giving becomes paternalistic you prevent those you work with from making their own achievements. If you burn yourself out you will be of use to no one.
5. Stand with the oppressed, not for them. ~Paolo Freire
6. Every moment is a new moment.
You do no one a favor by holding a grudge. Particularly when working with children it is important to look at every instant as a new beginning, because it is. Because each second is an opportunity to be better than before, to do it differently, wrong, right, or simply again. If you refuse to see a new opportunity you risk preventing someone else's success.
7. In the end, you're not giving, you're restoring.
No one is born underprivileged. Inequality exists because people are actively denied the ability to meet their own needs. Recognise your own place in the social schema of inequality. Do not feel guilty about your status as an oppressor (it serves no one), but use it as an opportunity to change and to lend your voice to those in need of it.
*phew* There's my super intense post. Read the next post for something a bit more fun!
Describing Immokalee to friends and family has been interesting, to say the least.Though I have only been here for about five weeks, I can confidently say that Immokalee is like no other place I have been.While elements of the town remind me of certain places, Immokalee as a whole exists in a world of its own.Sometimes I feel like I am in a rural Central American village; Other times I could be in any small town in the United States.
It is commonplace in the volunteer house to start a sentence with “Only in Immokalee…”Some endings of these sentences include: “do chickens walk down Main Street,” “are the three languages spoken most English, Spanish and Haitian Creole,” “are there more Mexican grocery stores than McDonalds,” “do five white girls from the Midwest teach three Guatemalans to do the Macarena,” “can you buy a week’s worth of produce for under ten dollars at the farmer’s market” and “are your beer selections at the local bar Budweiser or Modelo.”
Having studied anthropology for the past four years, Immokalee is nothing short of fascinating to me.The crossroads of culture and feeling of being “betwixt and between” is precisely what Victor Turner means by his concept of “liminality.” Immokalee is a sort of limbo, “neither here nor there” in terms of customs or conventions.The town is made up primarily of Mexican, Guatemalan, and Haitian immigrants, which manifests itself in a truly unique town dynamic.
Immokalee is the perfect location for my year of service.Like the town itself, I am in between stages in my own life, from college student to member of the “real world.”While Immokalee may at times seem misplaced, its existence is based on the existence of several social factors, including the issues of U.S. imperialism in Latin America and the limitations of immigration law.Because of the role reversals associated with liminal places, there is much potential for progressive change here as compared to other places in the U.S.In Immokalee, farmworkers stand up for their rights by organizing through the Coalition of Immokalee workers.While a grassroots, farmworker-led organization may not seem like it would be successful, Immokalee community members have seen great successes in the advancement of their demands for fair working conditions.
Immokalee is not an average place.There are complexities that I have not even begun to understand.However, it is clear to me the great potential for learning and discovering the intricacies of doing social work among a population eager to be treated fairly and to make changes that will create justice for people across the country.
