Seeking Safety in a World of Peril

A letter from Amanda Craft, serving as Regional Liaison for Mexico and Guatemala and Omar Chan, serving in Mexico

Advent Season 2015

As I hear stories about migrants fleeing danger and extreme poverty, I am challenged to read this story differently.  What would I do if I knew the only option to save my child was to flee?  And what would that have been like for Mary and Joseph?  As I reflect I am reminded of Gladys.

We met Gladys through Paseo del Norte Center for Hope, an organization located in El Paso, Texas, that provides legal and shelter assistance for trafficking victims.  The organization collaborates with border ministry programs through World Mission’s global partner Pasos de Fe located in El Paso and Ciudad Juarez.  As mission co-workers we provide educational experiences along the U.S.-Mexico border to help individuals understand how issues of violence and poverty affect people in this context.  As part of one such experience for the Human Trafficking Network of the World Communion of Reformed Churches we met with Paseo del Norte Center for Hope.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him” (Matthew 2:13-14).

Gladys’ life as a single mother in El Salvador was one of constant struggle.  It became increasingly difficult to provide for her preteen son, and even more difficult to provide him a safe place from the growing pressure of gangs and drugs. She saw going to the United States, leaving her son with family members, as the only opportunity to grasp something more than meager survival and safety for her son.

Grytsje Courperus, pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil and member of the Human Trafficking Network of the WCRC and Gladys

At first the trip was exciting as she handed over her passport and $1,000 to the guide and was huddled onto a bus.  Her excitement swiftly gave way to fear when the group was moved into a house in which smugglers hide their clients in inhumane conditions in southern Mexico, and she saw violent responses as others asked for basic needs—water, food, and bathroom facilities.  Pangs from hunger and thirst became daily reminders of her increasingly dire situation.  She stayed quiet and found comfort with several other young women.

The group was moved quickly through Mexico on bus or truck transport.  Nights were sleepless as guides violated and raped many of the young women. She thought about walking away, but she knew this network of smugglers had information about her family and son back in El Salvador.  Several days later they arrived on the Mexican side of the U.S.-Mexico border.  The group was advised that they would leave at sundown to walk across the desert.  With her gallon of water and few possessions, Gladys trekked across the desert. Finally, after a night of walking, they arrived at their pickup point.  As she was shuttled into a rundown Ford passenger van, she asked the driver where they were going.  He curtly responded, “You go where we take you.”  Several times she heard the driver and guide talk about Arizona.  She wasn’t supposed to go to Arizona; she was supposed to be going to family in California.  Once they arrived at a small house, she and about 10 young women were rushed in. She remembers being packed in a small room with other young women shivering from fright and worry.  A man calmly explained that they were here to work off the debt they incurred during their travel north.  If they chose not to work or to seek help from the police, he would report them to U.S. Border Patrol and demand payment from the family members they left behind.  Gladys knew that if she did not follow orders, her son’s life would be in danger.  This is how Gladys’ life in forced prostitution began.

Night after night Gladys’ nightmare continued, but it did not extinguish her valor.  During the day Gladys would look for a way to escape.  After almost a year she and a few other young women stumbled out of the house and were fortunate to escape over the block fence dividing the neighboring homes and make their way to Houston, Texas, with the help of an undocumented gardener.  During her time in Houston Gladys learned how to run her own street food cart.  After about 24 months she owned four different carts. She was sending regular payments to help with her son’s education and living expenses.

Gladys’ dreams came crashing to a halt one night when a pickup truck pulled up next to her in the parking lot in her apartment complex.  She saw it was one of her captors from her time in the brothel.  She ran, but he was on her quickly.  She lashed out and screamed.  Neighbors called the police, who arrived promptly.  Gladys was relieved.  However, the police did not handcuff the man, but handcuffed her.  There was a deportation order on file for her.  She was rushed into the deportation process.  Within weeks she was back in El Salvador.

Gladys knew that there were no opportunities for her in El Salvador and that her only option was to return to the U.S. This time she traveled on her own.  Since she knew the way, she was able to ask for assistance from truck drivers.  She was lucky; they treated her kindly and took her where she needed to go.  As she neared the border her anxiety grew.  She had to turn herself into the U.S. Border Patrol.  During her time in the deportation center, she had learned her rights and understood she had a strong case.  She could give important information about the trafficking ring in Eloy, Ariz.

For three years, while detained in New Mexico, Gladys would appear in court and refuse to sign the deportation agreement, based on reasons of trafficking.  Finally the judge became exhausted with her and processed her case, allowing legal counsel.  The Paseo del Norte Center for Hope stepped in to provide that counsel.  When we talked with her in July, her trial had just ended.  Several members of the trafficking ring were found guilty, and she was offered a path to residency in the U.S.

It was Gladys’ own tenacity and understanding of her rights that proved unshakeable.  Gladys is clear that without her own faith and without the faithfulness of others, she would not be telling us her story.  It reminds me of how the angel warned Joseph of the dangers and encouraged them to seek safety.

As I write this letter, I have been notified that the funding level for our sending and support for 2015 has not been fully covered this year.  Will you please pray about this situation?  If possible, will you increase your gift for this year or advocate for this ministry with neighboring congregations?  We would appreciate your help!

We thank you for the kindness you have shown through your gifts.  Your generosity is appreciated by those we work with and by our family.  During this Advent season, we are truly witnesses to God’s hopeful promises.

Advent and holiday blessings,
Amanda and Omar (and Alejandro and Matteo)

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, p. 44