Witness for Peace

I recently joined the board for an organization called Witness for Peace Northwest, and I had the honor of being with this body for their annual face-to-face meeting this weekend in Seattle. WFP works to change US policies that impact Latina America so they are just and sustainable. They take people on educational delegations to teach about the economic and political realities for people living in Latin America and empowers participants to work for change in their local communities and at a national/international level. I traveled last May to Oaxaca, a state in southern Mexico, and to the US/Mexico border with WFP to learn about the roots of migration and the migrant journey. Why are so many people leaving their homes and what is the experience of going north like? It was a stunning, life-altering experience and I am passionate about changing our current immigration system and trade policies so that they take into account the realities of our sisters and brothers to the south.

I encourage you to watch this video made by people who traveled on a similar delegation to Oaxaca and the border this year. It is powerful.

It was really wonderful to spend time these past days with such powerful and inspiring folks from all over the Pacific Northwest. One board member is currently living on an organic farm in Canada. One lives and works in an intentional community in Washington that worships in English, Spanish, Triqui and Mixteco (indigenous languages in Oaxaca). One is head of an interfaith coalition to end homelessness. One has spent two stints in prison for civil disobedience (crossing the line at protests at the School of the Americas and at another miliatary base). One has heard Fidel Castro speak in Cuba. There is a nursing student, a young dad, a person who does guerilla street theater, and a cook in an organic/local kitchen. Most speak Spanihs. All have traveled all over Latin America, work for justice, and live out their commitment to sustainability in different ways. What a gift to spend time with these folks and to begin this journey of working together with them toward something we all believe in.

Here is my delegation with some men from Central America at a migrant center in Oaxaca. They were on their way north and shared their stories with us.