It Takes a Village: Brownsville, Texas

Dollie members Darleen and Deirdre recently spent several weeks on the Texas/Mexico border, being of service in many different ways to refugees seeking a better life in the United States.  We sent them with Dollies, Teddy Bears, scarves, caps, and small blankets.  This is their first hand story of what they experienced. 

IT TAKES A VILLAGE: BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS

Humanitarian visit by Darleen Guien and Deirdre Roney

October 2019

Deirdre and I went to Brownsville, Texas with 80 Dollies and Teddy Bears to be distributed at three respite centers for refugees. We went with a long list of things to do and places to visit and were joined on some of our visits by friends of friends and total strangers. 

There were many other individuals there from all over the country who were concerned by the humanitarian crisis at the border: retired nuns, social workers, journalists, writers, college students, church groups, etc.  We met so many amazing, caring people who were as heartbroken as we were by the situation there.

We left our Dollies at three respite centers:

1. La Posada in San Benito was founded by Catholic nuns from the Order of the Sisters of Divine Providence  and offers shelter, legal help and English classes to asylum seekers who are waiting for their court hearings.  We spoke at length to two young African women who were asking for asylum because they had been arrested and  tortured in their countries for taking part in peaceful marches asking for human rights in their countries. They had managed to escape and made the long, dangerous  trip from Africa to South America, through Central America to the Mexican border.  One of the women  was six months pregnant and I let her choose a Dollie for her unborn child. She chose a purple- haired Dollie in bright red clothes and with tears in her eyes caressed her belly with the Dollie.  We left 20 Dollies and Teddy Bears with Jorge, who would give them to children as they arrived at La Posada. 
2. The Good Neighbor Settlement House in Brownsville has separate facilities that take care of the homeless population as well as asylum seekers.  Here, people who were dropped off by ICE after a period of detention are offered a hot meal, a shower, clothes and a backpack with supplies for the bus trip that would take them to stay with a family member somewhere in the United States until their next asylum hearing.  There was a Honduran family waiting in the common area before being taken to the bus station for a long trip to the East Coast.  I went up to the little boy sitting with his parents.  I asked his name and, in one long breath, he proudly recited his first name, two middle names and his two last names. A very long name indeed!  He said he was three.  When I asked where he came from he said, “my house in Honduras”.  His father, who was sitting behind him, slowly shook his head sadly and closed his eyes.  There was no more house in Honduras.  They had fled for their lives.  I gave him a Teddie and he hugged it closely. When his mother stood up I noticed that she was pregnant, actually 36 weeks pregnant, and about to embark on a very long bus ride.  She said she was expecting a second boy and I gave her another Teddy Bear for the new baby. She held the Teddy to her heart. We gave 30 Dollies and Teddy Bears to Marianela (the director) who said she would give them to the children to put in the backpacks they get when they go  to the bus station.

A volunteer at Good Neighbor Settlement House

3.  At the Iglesia Bautista (West Brownsville) a respite center was set up in a few spare rooms on the church grounds 184 days ago because Pastor Carlos Navarro and his wife Diane could not stand idly by and let the refugees suffer once they were released from detention.  They set up a few rooms for them to rest, plus a nursery, a dining room, and outdoor showers. Everything was beautiful, clean and peaceful.  Diane took us on a tour and said she ensured that the dignity of the refugees was respected by keeping the rooms pristine and in good repair. They had a storeroom with donations that were neatly arranged in bins and the refugees were given clothes and food for the long bus trips. When we arrived the last refugees for the day had already left for the bus station and we couldn’t give  out  any Dollies, but we left 30 for Diane to give to the children who would arrive in the days to come.

We crossed the border four times from Brownsville to Matamoros, Mexico, which is directly across the bridge.  There, right at the end of the bridge are two refugee camps.  We helped serve dinner to 1000 people four nights in a row to the upper camp. 

The lower camp was too dangerous to enter because of the presence of drug cartels. Here in these camps the refugees wait for an asylum hearing, sometimes for months.  Living conditions are extremely difficult: they live in tents with only a few articles of clothing and a few blankets.  Volunteers bring over food, supplies, diapers, books for the children.  There was a torrential downpour one day and some people from Brownsville brought over tarps to cover the tents. Two days a week the churches in Matamoros provide the meals and five days a week, volunteers in Brownsville buy food and cook the evening meal at Good Neighbor Settlement House.  The meal is brought over the bridge in small blue wagons and dinner is served by at least a dozen volunteers from Team Brownsville, Angry Tias and Abuelas,  visiting church or college groups, or concerned individuals.  To give them something special, Deirdre and I filled 3000 small baggies with Halloween candy to offer a treat at dinner to everyone and distributed them  on three separate occasions. It was a very big hit!

On Sunday morning, volunteer teachers set up a sidewalk school right next to the bridge and give English, Spanish and math lessons to the children who can no longer go to school.   It’s not much but it allows the children to interact with caring people who want to give them a tiny bit of the education they are missing.  At the same time, immigration lawyers set up tables to help people with their asylum paperwork.

We couldn’t give Dollies or Teddy Bears to the children in the refugee camps because once they can cross over the border they are not allowed to take any possessions with them, just the clothes on their backs.  These children would be forced to permanently leave behind their Dollie or Teddy Bear. That would just add to the cruelty.

Deirdre and I came away from our visit exhausted, saddened, and greatly distressed by the incredibly difficult situation in the refugee camps, the respite centers, the bus stations. 

But we were nevertheless heartened by the outpouring of generosity of the people of Brownsville, on an institutional level and a personal level.  Everyone, from the church members, the students, the taxi drivers (who take them to the bus station), the store keepers, the grandmothers, the teachers is working together to help people in dire need of support. 

It definitely takes a village. And big hearts.

Darleen Guien, Dollie member and Ambassador