Email: Sean Kerr

Greetings,

Thank you all for your support and prayers. I’m certainly grateful to have such an encouraging group of churches, organizations, friends, and family who care about what I’m doing and look for ways to be involved in my life.

A couple of weeks ago I went on a Borderlinks trip and visited Altar, a town about two hours south of the U.S.-Mexico border. We visited the plaza, a place filled with migrants who are meeting with their coyotes, getting in vans to ride to a border town, or making their final purchases before they attempt to cross through the desert. Two other YAVs and I approached two young men, cousins, from Veracruz and initiated conversation. At the beginning they were hesitant to share information about themselves, but eventually they came to tell us that they have family in New York and that they could probably find work there as painters in a family business. We asked how they would arrive at their destination. They nonchalantly replied they would find an easy place to cross and walk for a couple of hours in the night, then get picked up on the highway. From there, they would drive until they reached the east coast. It was just that easy to them.

This experience triggered my realization that so many migrants are easily deceived by the auspicious notion of trouble-free crossing that their coyotes feed them. While I can’t say for sure, in all likelihood, the 25 year-old men would probably have to walk more than a few hours in the desert, and would probably have complications along the way. Maybe they’d even get hurt or die. They either failed to address those possibilities, or they acknowledged them and didn’t care, or else they simply had no idea what they were getting into.

It’s heartbreaking to know that people cross even if they do know the realities. As you probably know, many separate from their families, sell everything they own, or become victims to the treacherous desert. At Borderlinks this year I expect I’ll hear a lot of these stories and will also get to know a lot of people who are radically devoted to showing compassion for the migrant—and looking for ways to implement changes so that migrants don’t have to place their lives at risk. I feel grateful to be a part of the Borderlinks organization and to live in a community that is also passionate about creating justice for migrants, the poor, and the hungry throughout Tucson.

I’m finding the pursuit of justice to be more than just an ideal. The many organizations around town offer us Young Adult Volunteers a chance to explore the prevailing issues and respond to them as a community in ways that I haven’t experienced in the past. While I’ve been acquainted with some activist niches previously, I feel like here in Tucson I’m actually a part of one. It seems fitting, though, since I intentionally took a year off to avoid becoming “too caught up in a normal life” to actually change anything. After experiencing several Borderlinks trips and connecting with various organizations and communities, however, I’ve begun to realize that I never want to be “so busy” that I neglect helping someone in distress. I think that’s the way Jesus lived. Maybe I’ll see the face of Jesus in the migrant.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I appreciate your prayers and support. I’m praying for you, too.

God’s peace,

Sean Kerr