Uber to the rescue!

On our first full day (Tuesday Week 1), we may as well have been Uber drivers! Maco and I ran a group of 6 people to the bus station at 5:40 in the morning, sending half the group off in an Uber and having the privilege to accompany a young mom and her four month old boy in our car (There was an extra cat seat available, phew!! Although the boy was wrapped in so many layers of fleece and blankets, he would have been cushioned during any sort of accident!)

We walked into the bus station with the travelers and made sure they understood why they had an accordian full of tickets for their multiple-day journeys to Baltimore, Chicago, and Florida. Each received a bag of food with enough sandwiches for 2 days, and some drinks, snacks, and fruit (Cathy's domain and organizational haven). We parted with warm hugs from the boys and their dads, and a brave smile from the girl.

Arriving back at hotel headquarters, still not yet 7am, we turned around and headed to the airport. Maco went through security with the mom and beaming four-year-old girl, who was handy a fancy airline wings pin at check-in. We were surprised and saddened my the amount of extra security and attention the woman was put through, including a pat down and complete unpacking and repacking of her small backpack, while Maco and the other passengers walked right through. 

Our local CND (Congregation of Notre- Dame) community (Maco Cathy and I) shared a fancy breakfast together before going separate ways for the day. Cathy prepared the food packs,unloaded the many supplies we brought from generous donations, and organized the supplies room. Maco spent the rest of the day in cars with Uber drivers and travellers going to the bus station and airport, because I had the car and a special group of travellers. 

A mom wasn't feeling well, an underscored description to save you from hearing about the details of weeks of dehydration, malnourishment, and extreme temperatures experienced during her travels. We are told from the refugees that the detention facility is kept at freezing temperatures, air conditioned to be colder than outside. They are given aluminum blankets, sleep on the floor and were recently given access to ice-cold showers, if they want to clean up. A hard hello to the USA. It's no wonder this woman was weak. 

A guide to the airport (found at a different)

This mama, her two sons (15 and 13 years old), and I went to a different Annunciation center annex to see a nurse, who advised us to go to ER. I got to see how another center operates and while some things are the same, such as the kind of food that goes into the bags, the policies and amenities are completely different. This center had toys (we don't), but only one big room for sleeping (instead of hotel rooms), and a smaller number of guests, at most 50 compared to our bus loads of over 100 people. 

I had my first moment of shock at this center, too. I asked if we had time to go back to our hotel before the ER to get her papers, as their passports, birth certificates and really all forms of identification are confiscated at the border and they are given a 5-page document in English with their picture and told this is their only identification. We would of course need this at the hospital. 

That's not what shocked me. The nurse agreed we needed the papers also asked if they had their chargers. I was surprised that she would be so involved with their phones, but then the mama lifted her jeans to reveal a tracking device bolted to her ankle. It seems Maco learned this same harsh reality when one of the teenage boys asked if they had to tell security about their device. Fighting back tears, she nodded her "yes". These ankle bracelets need the battery changed/charged every 3 hours, effectively anchoring the people to a wall plug until they go to court. How they handle the 2-day greyhound trip, I can only wonder. 

So by noon, mama, sons, the chargers, papers, bag lunches, and I headed to the ER, where we were attended to immediately and couldn't have met nicer staff. Everyone I've encountered in El Paso so far has been over the top kind to the people we are with, even though they see many through their day, each requiring extra time and attention. 

We were at ER for at least 5 hours, given great care, and for the last hour when the mama was finally able to smile and interact, we shared broken sentences and learned a bit about each other, smiling that we were the same age, she had two kids and yet I had none. The youngest boy and I counted a bit in English and he helped me with some Spanish words, including "do you have games on your phone?", a not-so-subtle hint to pass my phone over. The joke was on him though, as all my games are puzzles or word teasers. 

After returning the tired but grateful family to the hotel, Maco, Cathy and I finished the day in community, sharing a meal together at 6pm, brought by a local community group. I suspect both of my companions are asleep by now, and I'm not far from it. For what is turning into my daily check-in, I confess to you that tonight I go to bed with the memory of a mama finally relieved of her pain, the sweet cheekiness of the boy and tender care he gave his mom while she was ill, and the warmth of the 4-month old headed off to a new life. God is good.