Day 2
The group spent a long hard day digging a trench which will soon be replaced by a load bearing wall. A hot day of pick-axing, shoveling, and moving endless buckets of dirt and sand left us all pretty exhausted, but with a feeling of accomplishment.
Before we returning the Posada for much needed showers and a hot meal, we made our way to the great ocean whose name means peace. Unfortunately, the road leading to the beach runs parallel to the border, whose very presence denies the possibility of peace. We saw the a wall stretch for miles before cutting itself right into the Pacific Ocean.
On the Mexican side of the beach we saw families under umberellas, strolling the beach, and kids playing soccer. Not one person stood on the American side, only a border patrol SUV. We saw a young boy quickly sneak through the fence to retrieve the soccer ball that had been kicked to the other side.
Apparently, one wall is not good enough. We have two, and have heard that a third is on its way up. We saw an area of the wall where a park once stood. "Friendship Park" was a place where divided families could be together. After the park closed, they could at least see and talk to one another through the fence. Now, the second wall makes the gap from our two countries so far that a person on the other side is barely visible.
It is hard to have answers for an issue as complex as immigration. After seeing the border I am left with more questions than anwers. One of them being: Do we really want to be the country that puts up a wall?
-Jeanette
Builder of Hope 2009
I find it significant that people were enjoying the beach on the Mexican side, but not in the states. It's just symptomatic of our tendency to sometimes shy away from (and make secretive) issues that cause rifts in relationships. It's treated like a taboo.
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