Volunteer Spotlight: Jeanne!

Q: Will you please tell us who you are and share a few details about yourself?

A: Hey, my name is Jeanne, I’m 21 and I’m from France. I’m currently on a gap year between my bachelor and my masters (in geopolitics). I volunteered in France for other organizations but this is my first time getting involved for a long run and in a foreign country.

Q: What is your position at LHI, and what is a typical day at The Refugee Center like for you?

A: I’m in the Child-Friendly Space (CFS). In the morning, we have warehouse shifts (sorting out clothes, counting diapers) or activities for older kids on the weekends (football, dance, kids yoga). In the afternoon, I’m in the tent with the CFS kids (2–6 year olds) playing doctors, coloring, or building train rail circuits. My day can end with Conversation Hour, where I get to interact with the adult residents.

Q: What have you learned while working in Serres?

A: I’ve learned a lot thanks to the amazing and inspiring people that are a part of my experience. I’ve learned how to be with kids. My English has gotten better, as well. I’ve had responsibilities and I feel people have trusted me which is so rewarding. Focusing on the daily basics, on what’s important, seeing someone smiling or hearing a kid laughing is also something I’ve learned to value in Serres. My convictions are reinforced because LHI showed me that there is such a thing as human solidarity.

Thank you so much, Jeanne!

Click here to learn more about our Refugee Center in Serres, Greece.

Gather for Goats: First Distribution of 2020!

During the first week of January, Hayley Smith (LHI Founder/Director) and Walker Frahm (LHI Chief Operations Officer) traveled to Al Mafraq, Jordan, to distribute the first round of goats in 2020 to Syrian refugee families living in the desert. During this trip, 216 goats were distributed to 108 grateful families.

How many LHI staff members does it take to distribute 216 goats to Syrian refugee families in Jordan? Two! Along with a translator, a goat expert, and a few friends…

Hayley Smith (LHI Founder/Director) prepares to distribute goats to Syrian refugee families!

In theory, it sounds straightforward. Raise money (thank you to all of our amazing supporters!), use it to buy milk goats in Jordan, and give them to Syrian refugee families. But what does it really take to get healthy goats to families with the greatest need? Read on to find out!

In 2017, while distributing aid supplies to refugees living near the town of Al Mafraq in Jordan (very near the Syrian border), Hayley asked what their greatest needs really were, in addition to the supplies they had already received. They shared that they were very, very thankful for the aid supplies. But if there was one thing that would really help their day-to-day situation, it would be… Goats!

Back in Syria, the families had large herds of goats. Tens, sometimes even hundreds of goats. In fact, they had been herding goats for generations. Being a goat farmer was a respected profession in Syria before the war. Goats provide a much-needed source of protein, which is hard to come by in the desert. Having goats again would set them up with a sustainable source of milk for several years. And by selling or raising baby goats, they could generate income to help get them back on their feet again.

The request made a lot of sense, so Hayley set out to find a way to make it work. She consulted a professor of agriculture from the University of Jordan in Amman to determine what breed of goat would best meet the need. He suggested Shami goats, a breed that produces milk 10 months out of the year and is well-adapted to living in the desert. Perfect!

Rashid is the director of Jabal Zamzam, a charity based in Al Mafraq, Jordan, that works with vulnerable populations, including local Syrian refugees.

In order to identify families in need and help find a reliable, local source for goats, Hayley partnered with Jabal Zamzam, a charity based in Al Mafraq whose mission is to help marginalized, vulnerable, and powerless groups in the local community, including refugees.

Working with Rashid, the director of Jabal Zamzam, they identified a local goat supplier that could provide healthy, young, Shami goats. Rashid then helped locate families living in local refugee camps who would benefit most from the gift of goats, such as those with young children and elderly family members. After the goats are distributed, he would also check in with each family periodically to get reports of baby goats being born and to help arrange for veterinary care, as needed.

Walker Frahm (LHI Chief Operations Offer) coordinates logistics associated with our goat distribution program, including managing operations on the ground.

Now it was time for Walker Frahm to jump in. Walker is LHI’s chief operating officer, and he is responsible for all the logistical plans including buying the goats, arranging for the goat breeder to deliver the goats to refugee camps, and overseeing distribution to the families identified by Jabal Zamam.

Walker wanted to be certain that the goats LHI buys are healthy, young, and will provide a good supply of milk for the families. So he enlisted the help of Mohammed, a goat expert with training from the University of Jordan. Mohammed inspects each goat prior to distribution, and only the youngest, healthiest goats pass his examination.

Mohammed is a goat and agricultural expert from the University of Jordan. He makes sure only the healthiest goats are distributed to Syrian refugee families.

When it came time to distribute goats, Hayley's Jordanian friend, Shadi, joined in on the action. He’s from Amman, about two hours south of Al Mafraq, and has lived in Jordan most of his life. Hayley speaks fluent Arabic, but there are some variations between the Arabic spoken in Jordan and Syria. Shadi helped make sure that all communication with the refugee families went smoothly.

Thanks to the hundreds of donors who gave generously during our Gather for Goats fundraising campaign in Sep–Oct 2019, we raised enough to provide 1,000 milk goats to refugees. During this trip, Hayley and Walker, along with Rashid, Mohammed, and Shadi, distributed 216 of those goats to 108 needy families.

Hayley speaks Arabic, but it’s handy to have someone from Jordan like Shadi around to help make sure everything is communicated clearly.

As a special part of the campaign, donors were able to name a goat for every $300 they donated, and LHI has sent them photos of their goats along with Geotags of their distribution locations. Check out the gallery of photos below to see all of the 123 named goats! Hayley posed for a photo with each and every one of them. Thank you for doing that, Hayley, and thanks so much to everyone who makes this work possible!

To date, 1,126 goats have been distributed, and more than 1,850 baby goats have been born!

For every $300 given, donors were able to submit a name for the goat their funds provided. Above are the pictures of the named goats! Donors received these photos via email, along with a Geotag showing their goat’s approximate location and some basic info about the beneficiary families.

Volunteer Spotlight: Liam and Esther!

Q: Will you please tell us who you are and share a few details about yourselves?

A: Liam, 26, from England. Anthropology graduate and English teacher with no previous volunteer experience.

A: Esther, 27, from The Netherlands. Psychomotor therapist, development anthropology postgraduate wanting to use bodily-based, creative ways to support the mental health of people coming from conflict. Volunteered in a counselling center in Uganda with women that had gone through the war with the Lords Resistance Army, and co-founded a non-profit working with creative self-expression in Zambia.

Q: What is your position at LHI, and what is a typical day at The Refugee Center like for you?

A, Liam: I’m an English teacher, I have 3 lessons a day, which I plan for in my spare time. I also help out with women's self-defense classes.

A, Esther: I’m a yoga & dance instructor. For both of us the day starts early. Liam has English classes in the morning, and I start the day with women's fitness and women's yoga. When we have a break we go to a local cafe to prepare our work. In the afternoon, Liam often goes to do a work out with the residents during the men's weights sessions, and then teaches self-defense to some of the women. I often do games and sessions with children, and finish the day with more yoga. :)

Q: What have you learned while working in Serres?

A, Esther: On my first day here, it felt like I had never done yoga! I all of a sudden got very insecure, and working with LHI really gave me an opportunity to experiment with yoga and meditation, finding what suits the residents, and what my own style is. It taught me how to use yoga—also for the kids activities—in a way that is both meaningful and fun.

A, Liam: This was my first experience teaching English after getting qualified to do so, and I felt very nervous at first. The experiences have taught me a lot about using my skills and have given me the confidence and self-belief to continue with my teaching!

Thank you for all you do, Liam and Esther!

Click here to learn more about our program and Refugee Community Center in Serres, Greece.

6 Fast Facts about LHI's Northern Greece Program

By: Hayley Smith, LHI Founder/Director

The LHI Refugee Center in Serres, Greece is a buzzing hive of activity where we provide myriad therapeutic psychosocial services that provide structure, opportunities to progress, and healing. Many people are unfamiliar with exactly what we do there, so here are 6 fast facts about the program that explain it a little more:

Here I am doing some acro-yoga with Virginia, our awesome arts and recreation volunteer!

1. We don’t run a refugee camp! Rather, we run a community center next to two refugee camps (Greece runs the camps with funding from the United Nations). The second camp only opened a couple of months ago, the first just over 3 years ago. We’ve been providing services since the very beginning.

2. All of the 1,000+ residents of the camps are Yazidi, an ethnic/religious minority who experienced genocide. Most of them will eventually relocate to Germany or The Netherlands, but it takes years of waiting. 

3. The Center’s main focus is providing psychosocial support, which “helps individuals and communities to heal the psychological wounds and rebuild social structures after an emergency or a critical event,” (UNICEF). Psychosocial support is just as important as critical as crisis response.

4. Our psychosocial services are based on UN recommendations and include English and German classes, a designated women’s space, a children’s space, group music classes, fitness and trauma-informed yoga for both men and women, drama-therapy activities, community events, opportunities to volunteer as an official part of our volunteer team, and more.

5. Hundreds of Yazidis attend our daily services. Their feedback is that while they’re at the Center, they don’t think about their trauma. They focus on taking advantage of any way to progress, to grow in knowledge, to be part of something, and enjoying the support of independent volunteers who are there just for them.

6. We also distribute much needed aid. Many refugees go without, simply because they don’t have the means to provide for themselves. We distribute bulk dry foods (flour, oil, sugar), summer and winter clothing for each refugee in the two camps, diapers, feminine hygiene items, and also personal hygiene items.

Computers provides a connection to the outside world for refugees from nearby camps.

Language classes taught at our Refugee Center help with preparation for resettlement.

I hope this gives you a little more information about what goes on at our Refugee Center in Serres, Greece!

CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE AND SUPPORT THIS PROGRAM

Volunteer Spotlight: Melissa!

Melissa (second from left) with other LHI volunteers in Serres, Greece.

Q: Will you tell us who you are and share a few details about yourself?

A: Melissa, 39, and from the United States. I have a Bachelor’s in Studio Art, a Juris Doctorate, and a Master of Law in International Human Rights.

Q: What is your position at LHI, and what is a typical day at The Refugee Community Center like for you?

A: I am a volunteer in the Female-Friendly Space. A typical day includes setting up for whatever activity we have that day and then helping out when the Center is open to residents. I participate in the activities, sit and chat with the women, and work with the other volunteers to make sure everyone feels welcome.

Melissa in Greece.

Q: What have you learned while working in Serres?

A: The main thing I’ve learned here is the residents we work with are real people who are just like us. The kids cry when they get hurt, the teenagers are particular about how their hair looks, and mothers need adult conversation after being with their children all day. They are more similar to us than they are different.

Thank you for all you do, Melissa!

Click here to learn more about our program and Refugee Community Center in Serres, Greece.

My Sister, Umm Bisaam

By Patrick Petro, LHI Development Director

It was during a phone call in late August with LHI founder/director, Hayley Smith, and chief operations officer, Walker Frahm, that we decided it would be beneficial to our upcoming Gather for Goats campaign (a fundraiser to provide 1,000 goats to Syrian refugee families living in Jordan) to capture some video of families who had recently received goats through the program. We wanted to give them an opportunity to tell their stories, so we could share them with our supporters and illustrate the life-changing impact the gift of a goat truly makes. Hayley often films while she is on the ground visiting with refugees at our various humanitarian aid programs around the world, but this time she wanted to be free to talk with the families without also being responsible for shooting video. So she asked if I wanted to come film.

My professional background is quite varied, and includes, in addition to fundraising experience, time spent working as a photographer and videographer. So I was thrilled at the opportunity to utilize these skills for LHI by filming Hayley in Jordan. Plus, having never been to Jordan before, I was totally up for a new adventure! Less than a week after our phone call, I was on a red-eye to Jordan.

It was a whirlwind of a trip. 2 days of traveling, 2 days in Jordan, and 2 days coming back home. With a 7-hour time difference from my home in Indiana combined with overnight flights and a fast-paced schedule, saying I was jet-lagged upon return would be a gross understatement. But the experience was unforgettable—and inspiring! Watching Hayley talk with Syrian families in their native Arabic language was heartwarming, to say the least. It was apparent that the families felt so comfortable opening up to her. Hayley’s genuine love for them was also apparent. It was like watching old friends meet up, friends that have known one another for years. No, it was more like watching family reunite after a long separation. Seeing Hayley and Umm Bisaam, who you will meet in this video, was like seeing sisters together again. But this family had only met Hayley once before, a few weeks ago, when their goats were distributed to them.

I could go on and on about the warmth Hayley and the families shared. Or about the harrowing stories they told us about leaving everything in their world behind—their community, their homes, their children’s school, their herds of thousands of goats—to flee the destruction brought on by jets and bombs near their former homes in Syria. But I think it’s better to just let this short film I made speak for itself. Enjoy.

You can help provide goats to Syrian refugee families like Umm Bisaam’s by donating to our Gather for Goats program. Click here to donate now.

Double Your Donation!

You know a charitable foundation is serious about humanitarian work when they offer a match grant AND also ask to remain anonymous. So you can only imagine how honored we were to be the recipient of such generosity when an LHI supporter and her foundation pledged a huge match grant to our Gather for Goats program.

What is a match grant, exactly? That means every dollar donated is MATCHED by another donor (in this case, a foundation). The match grant turns your $10 donation into $20. Your $150 donation becomes $300, which buys a whole goat! It’s the best 2-for-1 special you’ll ever come across, except maybe McDonald’s Egg McMuffins.

The match grant didn’t just come out of nowhere, however! Here’s the story, which I admittedly love sharing because it shows how crazy beneficial the goat program is!

A regular supporter of ours works for a charitable foundation that funds humanitarian projects around the world. While taking a holiday in Jordan earlier this year, she checked out our goat project — visiting recipient families, meeting their goats, drinking their milk and talking with them about how the goats benefit them.

After taking in all the facts and all the stories, her foundation offered us a match grant of $120,000. So, every dollar we raise up to $120,000 through our own efforts gets matched by them dollar for dollar. So $120,000 become $240,000! I think the amount offered proves how needed the program is right now for Syrian refugee families living in the desert of Jordan.

The only downside of this whole arrangement is not being able to thank [ANONYMOUS FOUNDATION] by name. Thank you to them, and thank you to all of you supporters out there!

Click here to support our Gather for Goats program before October 31, 2019, and your donation will be DOUBLED!

Hayley's Travelogue: Jordan, September 2019

By: Hayley Smith

Amman is a modern city that boasts thousands of years of history and hospitality. You can wander for hours through the winding urban streets, the ancient Roman amphitheater to your left and a modern hipster coffeehouse to your right, mosques—ranging from picturesque to utilitarian—on every corner. It is a sprawling concrete fortress oozing with charm and always-heavy traffic.

No matter how many times I’ve driven from Amman up north to Mafraq, I’m always taken aback at how quickly the city fades and the scenery transforms into stark, empty, vast desert. The only living creatures you see for several miles are flocks of sheep, goats and camels, grazing on small plants that they instinctively know how to find.

An hour and a half later, and miles after driving past Zaatari Refugee Camp, its perimeter crowded with guards, children, and UNHCR Jeeps, we arrive at one of hundreds of small rural refugee settlements. (Only 16% of refugees in Jordan live in the 3 main camps). We help those who live along the Jordan/Syria border, working in Jordanian farms, each orchard or crop a green oasis in the desert.

We know this particular camp well—we were only here 3 weeks ago distributing goats to families who became our fast friends. We came to follow up on the goats and how they’re benefiting families. Before getting down to business, they usher us into a shade structure, and 2 minutes later bring a tray of steaming cups of amber-colored tea and juice, the trademark of Arab hospitality.

Most people in this camp are members of a large extended family from Idlib, Syria, a city hit hard at the beginning of the war. The beginning of the war was in 2011. They’ve been in this camp, working the farmland for pennies, season after season, since 2012. They consider it half-Syrian soil, since the rainwater that nourishes the orchards flows in small creeks from Syria, whose border is only 100 yards away.

They are so friendly, so welcoming, so positive, so happy to host a few road-weary and jet-lagged foreigners. They immediately thank us for the goats, pointing to the little flock eating green foliage in a neat pen nearby. The camp is strangely beautiful. One woman in particular, Umm Bisaam, took it upon herself to plant no less than a dozen herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Each tent is lined with bushes, bright flowers jutting out, as if demanding to be seen.

She takes my hand and shows me each plant, lovingly stroking the leaves of the more fragrant basil, rosemary, mint. As we walk along, she plucks flowers, presenting me with a complete bouquet at the end. I kiss each of the cheeks on her beautiful face. Her love is sudden, sincere, sisterly. Our next stop is the goat pen, where she pops in and expertly milks the black goat, skittish at first, then calm, as if relieved to empty some milk out of its bulging udder. Umm Bisaam and her husband were goat keepers in Syria. They had hundreds of goats.

10 minutes later, Umm Bisaam’s young son brings us a tray of warm goat’s milk in small glass cups. It is sweet and delicious. I ask for a second cup. There is no reason to be shy here. She beams, saying that her children now have milk before they go to the local makeshift school. And she can now make traditional labna (yogurt) and cheese, a staple in the Syrian Bedouin diet. It’s her turn to kiss my cheeks.

I’m not attempting to humanize refugees here, which is often a knee-jerk reaction we humanitarian orgs tend to impose on our supporters. There’s no need to do that when there are Umm Bisaams in the world. They’re kind. They’re resilient. They’re humble. And they have specifically asked for your help.

Goats increase their quality of living exponentially. There are hundreds of families in the area, many of whom have been waiting for two years since this program began. We can only give them goats if this fundraiser succeeds.

Please help us raise enough money to buy 1,000 more goats for families just like Umm Bisaam’s wonderful family. We have received a generous matching grant, and all donations made before October 31 will be doubled! Click here to donate now!

American Soldiers Meant Freedom to Me

Contributor: Twila Bird, TSOS
Photographer: Kristi Burton, TSOS

This is another installment from our partnership with Their Story is Our Story. Back by popular demand, it’s Marta! The more we get to know her, the more amazing her life story becomes...

Marta served for years overseas, including time in Iraq, fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming an American soldier.

Since I was a little girl in Honduras, I’ve always admired the U.S. military. Where I was born, there was a U.S. military base. We got hit a lot with hurricanes and natural disasters, and American soldiers were the first ones to respond with humanitarian aid. They were heroes to me. I would just stare at them and think, “Wow, what does it feel like to be part of the greatest army in the world?”

Then I got pregnant at the age of 13. And pregnant again at 17. And I was like, “This is not what I want.” I was always looking at the U.S.; for me it meant freedom. And I was like, “I’m leaving.” So, I grabbed my three-year-old daughter and with my six-month-pregnant belly we started for the U.S. My goal was Arizona. I had an older sister there who was a U.S. citizen. It took us about 10 days to get from Honduras to the American border by bus, lots of little buses.

When we came to the border in Nogales, there was a tunnel. They told me to just go in this tunnel, walk a little way, and there’s the U.S. It wasn’t a secret. There were some metal bars. That’s how people got in — they cut the metal bars. They told me I would see holes in the wall and on the third hole, that was the U.S. So, with my daughter, we went through the tunnel. It was really, really dark. I remember it was wet and filthy. Now that I think back, I believe it was like a drain.

When we got to the place where the U.S. was, my daughter climbed up and the man who was helping me pushed me from behind through the hole while I held onto my daughter above and because of my pregnant belly, I was stuck. [Laughing] I was like half in the U.S. and half in Mexico, but I finally made it through. I looked up and there was a MacDonald’s. And that’s when I was caught by border patrol. It was like, “Hello, I’m here!”

When they processed me in Tuscon, they asked me why I wanted to come here, and I said, “I came because I want to join the United States Army.” They thought it was a joke then, when they realized it wasn’t, they told me I’d have to get a green card first, which would take 15–20 years. And they were not kidding. It took many years. I arrived in 1992 and got my green card in July 2008. A month later, I was in basic training in the United States Army. I served for almost 10 years, part of that time in Iraq.

It all went back to my childhood experience. I wanted to be like the American soldiers I saw who arrived and saved the day and represented freedom. To me, Americans were so nice, so giving and compassionate; that’s the idea that I had. And that’s why today I help give humanitarian aid to other Central Americans who are trying to achieve what I have.

We Love What We Do

Contributor: Twila Bird, TSOS
Photographer: Kristi Burton, TSOS

We’re back with a new story from our partnership with Their Story is Our Story, once again featuring Israel and Marta!

Israel pours lemonade for Megan Carson, from Their Story Is Our Story, when she interviewed him at his Arizona home.

Israel, from Mexico, and Marta, his wife from Honduras, are productive members of their community and committed volunteers in helping those who are following in their footsteps.

Israel: I walked 100 miles alone through the Sonoran Desert to get to the U.S. when I was 18 years old. It took me over a week. I didn’t see anyone during that time. After three days, my water ran out. I came across water tanks for animals but the water was green so I used my shirt as a filter. Also, sometimes at the bottom of the hills, the sand is dry but if you start digging and wait a minute, water will come out. I came to join my four brothers who have a cabinet making business in Phoenix. I began working with them. Our family is from Morelos, Mexico.

Israel and Marta began helping Central American asylum seekers last fall when families began coming in greater numbers to the United States. Since then, they’ve hosted over 500 people in their home. Once, they harbored a group of over 50 at one time. Marta explained how they managed to transport and offer amenities to so many at once.

Marta: That day, we went to the bus station around 3 p.m. and got the ladies with their kids. Late that night, Israel said, “Let’s go check on the men and see if another organization picked them up.” So we went around 11 p.m. and they were still there. A few of the men came over and started saying, “Please, help me. Give me just a little corner in your house.” And Israel said, “Okay, I’m going to take you.” But then they all were coming. And I said, “What do we do?” And he said, “I don’t know, but I cannot leave anyone.” And then I said, “Okay.” And he said, “We’re going to take everyone.” And he put 25 people in his truck — 25 people in his truck! I was inside and we had like 10 kids inside the cab and we put about 15 dads in the back.

Marta: The police were following us and I’m like, “We’re done. We’re done. They’re calling the helicopters. You know we look like human traffickers.” [Laughing] “We are done!” And one of the dads, he said, “No we just have to pray.” And I said, “Do you know how to pray?” He said something like, “Yes, we just call for the blood of Jesus to cover us and to blind the police officers’ eyes.” I said, “Okay, do that.” [Laughing] So he did it. And I think we were followed for about 2 or 3 miles but nothing happened. When we got home, the ladies started hugging and saying, “Oh my God! We’ve been praying for you guys. That somebody would help you.”

Israel: To get everyone cleaned up, we have this enclosed trailer out back that we use to transport the cabinets. We got a big plastic container and we put water in it. We set up a fire and then we got a pot like where we cook tamales. I had the men use the pot to heat the water for the ladies. And then we put the container in the trailer and had them go in one by one. That’s how they took showers with warm water—it was winter time.

Marta: Gather them up and bring them. We are capable. And when I say “we,” I’m saying the community. A lot of non-profit organizations. You know we are ready. We are ready to provide them with a shower and clothing, food, you know, whatever they need. We are ready. We are not tired and we will continue doing it. We love what we do.

Bubble Therapy

Contributor: Twila Bird, TSOS
Photographer: Twila Bird, TSOS

Here’s another story from our partnership with Their Story is Our Story. After escaping gang violence in their home countries, enduring long and difficult journeys up through Mexico, and being released from dreadfully overcrowded detention centers, something as simple as bubbles can bring back joy for children seeking asylum with their families.

Without complaint, asylum seekers sat quietly in rows of chairs in the church sanctuary waiting for instructions and assistance, and patiently enduring—sometimes enjoying—the bubble-blowing exuberance of the children.

Bubbles—floating, soaring, then bursting and splatting all those beneath with dribblets of syrupy liquid—provided a needed diversion for Central American children spending their first hours of relative freedom in America. 

The children and their families are seeking asylum in the U.S. after fleeing gang violence and poverty in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras. They stepped off a U.S. Department of Homeland Security bus only hours earlier when armed ICE agents dropped them off in the parking lot of an Arizona church not far from the border. The asylum seekers had been held for days in a U.S. border detention center where conditions were abysmally grim.

At the border, families were separated; men and teenage boys were grouped apart from women and children. Some had been held in conditions so crowded there was no room to sit or lie down. Their close proximity to each other provided needed body warmth in icy cold, windowless rooms. Water was limited to one bottle per day. Daily food rations were often a single, uncooked frozen burrito. The only bathroom facility was one toilet in full view. 

Whether families crossed the border illegally or lawfully presented themselves at a port of entry, ICE is required by law to accept asylum seekers. The government must then determine whether they have a credible fear about returning home. Homeland Security simply can't hold all those who are awaiting hearings and appeals, which can take months. So last fall, ICE began to release asylum-seeking families by the busload in cities within a few hours of the border. 

When the passengers pictured here exited their bus at the receiving church, they had little or no money, didn’t know anyone in Arizona, and had nowhere to stay the night. All each person owned fit into a backpack. They were heartened by church and community volunteers who welcomed them with food, mobile shower facilities (on specially designed trucks), clean clothes, and assistance with travel arrangements to their next destinations. The newly arrived families were hesitant, humble, and grateful. They expressed their relief for the unexpected help after long, arduous journeys up through Mexico and dreadful detention center incarceration. 

Within hours (or sometimes a few days) the next portion of their journeys began—travel by bus or plane to sponsors scattered around the country. 

Despite news of America’s increasingly unwelcoming government policies, the families moved forward with the hope that what lies ahead can’t be worse than what they left behind.

My Home is Your Home

Contributor: Twila Bird, TSOS
Photographer: Kristi Burton, TSOS

The next story from our partnership with Their Story is Our Story highlights the kindness and generosity of a family who decided to open their home to hundreds of Central American asylum seekers.

The welcome sign on the front pillar of Israel and Marta’s home isn’t just for show. They exemplify the saying “Mi Casa Es Su Casa” (My Home is Your Home). During the last nine months they have welcomed over 500 asylum seekers into their home.

When Marta was asked how she decided to get involved with helping asylum seekers, she replied:

Well, last December, it was all over the news. We have moms from Central America needing clothing — needing this, needing that. And my daughter said, “Mom, let’s go!” So we went to this address. We went to a church where asylum seekers were being dropped off by the busloads and it was chaos. My daughter, who brought some donations, unloaded them and said, “I’m leaving.” And I said, “Take my car, because I’m not leaving. I’m going to help here.” I think we arrived at like 10 a.m. on a Saturday, and at 10 p.m., I was still there.

Now I’m working regularly at a church here. We receive people there every Thursday. We also pick up people at the bus station [where ICE sometimes drop them off]. When the buses arrive, we all line up on each side of the walkway. And then we clap and say, “Bienvenidos! Bienvenidos!” That’s when freedom really begins to set in for them.

We put them in the sanctuary at the church. We explain what the process is at that point. We feed them. We get one of them to pray. And then we start making calls — making connections with their U.S. sponsors. And then we get clothes for them and put them through the showers. Once they’ve been clothed, fed, and showered, then we just wait for the confirmations and when arrangements are firm, we take them to either the bus or the airport for them to continue their journey. Some of them leave the same day.

Sometimes the church says we can only be there for 24 or 48 hours, so we look for host families. Once we received a hundred people who came late and needed host families right away. We ended up with four families at our house, each from a different country — a Guatemalan family, a Honduran family, a Salvadoran family, and a Nicaraguan family.

Israel [Marta’s husband] brought them home — I was still at the church helping out — and he told them, “We’re not going to be here. You’re more than welcome to do whatever you want. Our house is your house.” And then he left. When we came back, one of the ladies said, “Look! I made soup!” And I said, “What kind of soup?” She said, “Chicken soup!” I said, “Did Israel go and buy chicken?” She said, “No, one of the chickens from over there [pointing to a section of our yard].” So that was one of our pet chickens in the soup. I didn’t want to disappoint the lady. I mean, oh my gosh she ate my pet, but I didn’t want to make her feel bad so I ate the chicken. But now when the families come, I say, “You can eat whatever you want, just don’t mess with the chickens!”

We’ve been doing this for the last nine months and during that time we’ve had over 500 in our home.

Seeking Asylum is a Legal Right

Contributor: Twila Bird, TSOS
Photographer: Kristi Burton, TSOS

This information comes from our continued partnership with Their Story is Our Story, and explains how Central Americans coming to the US have the legal right to seek asylum here.

Asylum seekers freshly released from border detention centers wait for travel arrangements to be made for continued journeys to scattered U.S. destinations.

These families, escaping gang violence and persecution in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, have undertaken a dangerous journey to seek safety in the United States. They are shown here in a church in Arizona where a Homeland Security bus dropped them off after being processed in border detention centers. The families are on their way to destinations scattered around the country where sponsors are waiting to receive them. Each individual will have future opportunity to make their cases for asylum before an administrative judge.

Seeking asylum is a legal right. Asylum is a form of protection granted to individuals who can demonstrate that they are unable or unwilling to return to their country because of persecution or a well-founded fear of persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group. The right to seek asylum was incorporated into international law following the atrocities of World War II. Congress adopted key provisions of the Geneva Refugee Convention into U.S. immigration law when it passed the Refugee Act of 1980. (For more information, see the International Rescue Committee’s website: Rescue.org.)

Elizabeth

Contributor: Megan Carson
Photographer: Kristi Burton

The third story from our partnership with Their Story is Our Story comes from Elizabeth, whose home in Central America was shot at by local gangs because her daughter would not join them.

“I had to go and confront them... and I was able to get my daughter back, but they killed the two other girls. To think of the danger it was to leave my country, to come here, is less than to know that my daughter could have died that day.”

My name is Elizabeth. I am a single mother. I have four children. I worked. In my country, jobs at my age—I am 36 years old—are difficult. I didn’t have the opportunity to study. In my country, childhood is short. We have to start working at an early age. In my case, I worked from the time I was twelve. None of my children have worked at the same age that I did. I have been the head of the household, the breadwinner.

But, work is scarce and then there are the gangs.

When my daughter was growing up, they started to harass her. On one occasion, they followed her and took her out of school and told her that they wanted her to be part of their gang. I was working and the teacher called me to tell me that she was pulled out with two other female classmates. I had to go and confront them... and I was able to get my daughter back, but they killed the two other girls. To think of the danger it was to leave my country, to come here, is less than to know that my daughter could have died that day.

The circumstances of things is what made us have to leave the country without looking back, not because we want to. I told you that I confronted them. That same night, they came to attack me. They shot at my house. I had to leave as if I were the criminal, not them. I left with my children. I went to a town with my family, leaning on other people. I spoke with my family and told them, “I can’t. I can’t. I have to take my daughter out of here.”

Editorial Note: Violent, competing gangs recruit youth in Central American countries and often, if they choose not to join, they kill them. The homicide rate there is among the highest in the world. Most murders are never punished. In recent years, only 4% have ended in a conviction. In the past, Central American youth traveled north in search of the American Dream; today they leave to escape violence and crime.

Eduardo: Hope is Strong

The second story form our partnership with Their Story is Our Story follows Eduardo as he escapes with his family from gang violence and death threats in Honduras.

“…I heard them looking and shouting, ‘He’s here, find him, find him!’ and using bad words, and they had pistols and machetes to kill me...”

Eduardo: I am from Honduras. It was a quiet day at my house. We lived peacefully. I had a business. I worked at my family’s fruit stand. I would say it was going well. Gang members told me they wanted me to sell drugs in the middle of my fruit. I said, “No.” Then they said they would kill me, my family, and my children if I didn’t do it. Again I said, “No.” Then one night 7 or 8 of them followed me with machetes and pistols. They followed me to kill me but thanks be to God they didn’t get me. I ran and ran and hid in a sewer. I got down into a sewer. Out of fear I got in. I heard them looking and shouting, “He’s here, find him, find him!” and using bad words, and they had pistols and machetes to kill me. They went to the house to find my wife and two children but they didn’t find them because they were with my mother.

Later they came and found me and did damage. [Eduardo pulled up his shirt sleeves and pant legs to show multiple machete-wound scars.] They were going to kill me. They also had pistols. But thanks to God they didn’t kill me.   

Delinquency is very strong there. The gangs want to recruit you and sometimes when someone doesn’t want to, they kill them. I’m telling you, my group of [childhood] friends — [he used the term “camada,” which literally translates as litter] — there were 27 of us and now only three are left. All the others were killed, or are in jail, on drugs, or in gangs. From what I’ve seen we are only three with a life. The rest died from drugs and gangs and all that. And for that reason, I left my country.

So, then we came to Mexico. But it is the same in Mexico. I would say it is a plague. All of Central America has gangs, people who want to control others. In Mexico, I was a barber. I was working. And from Honduras they [gang members]came to Mexico and in Mexico they did all this [he pointed to his mouth with teeth missing]. They grabbed me. They hit me. I didn’t have peace or safety. I had planned to stay in Mexico but if they were going to get me there, there was nothing left but for me to come here.

I have a skill. I can cut hair. But I can’t work if I don’t have a license. Here you have to have a permit to work and to get it you have to struggle and risk oneself because sometimes the government believes you or doesn’t believe you. It is true there is a lot of delinquency in Honduras. I don’t dispute that. But just as there are bad people, there are also us humble people who like to work. We like to get ahead. I don’t want my children to suffer what I suffered. I want to get ahead, start a barbershop, start my business, and show the government they won’t be supporting me. If we can get the papers arranged, we will show the government what we can do. I had to work day and night I would work day and night so that my family is cared for. If my family is ok, then I’m ok.   

Because I’m not yet 21, I have a lot of future ahead and she — (pointing to Arianna, his wife)— is only 19. Despite the fact that we are very young parents, I would say this has given us a lot of maturity. We want our children to have a better future, to study, to learn, that they become great people. I have many dreams. She is one of my dreams (pointing to his daughter). She is eager. She says she wants to be a doctor or a lawyer. Wow! That is a lot of inspiration for me, to work, day by day. It gives me drive.  

Interviewer: Hope is strong.

Eduardo:  It’s the last thing you lose.

Soon after Eduardo arrived in America, he got a job at a barber shop but three days later, by tracking him with his ankle bracelet, ICE agents showed up and told the owner she would be prosecuted if she allowed him to continue working. Now he’s jobless and has no way to support his family.