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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (March 25, 1999)
Editor’s note: The reporter wrote this story while on a spring break mis sion trip with 15 other UNL students. By Brian Carlson Staffwriter EL PASO, Texas - Hikers who reach the top of Monte Cristo Rey, in the extreme southeast corner of New Mexico, enjoy a panoramic view of the portion of the Rio Grande valley where the borders of two U.S. states and Mexico converge. Visitors perhaps can find no better perch than Cristo Rey’s summit, where a brilliant white statue of a crucified Jesus gazes east to meet the sunrise, to view the collision of two cultures - and the resulting social, political, economic and environmental problems that pose severe challenges for the border region’s future. A group of 16 University of Nebraska-Lincoln students and four sponsors traveled to the border region on a spring break mission trip sponsored by Cornerstone, a United Ministries in Higher Education campus ministry at UNL. “When we were standing on top of Cristo Rey, the differences on either side of the border were so obvious,” said John Kastning, a senior chemical engineering and German major. “Seeing those contrasts was something that really struck me.” To the east is El Paso, Texas - a city that sprawls along the Rio Grande and around a mountain jutting into its cen ter. To the west, one can see Sunland Park, N.M., including a neighborhood populated mostly by Mexican immi grants. Across the Rio Grande, another mountain stretches across the horizon. It bears an inscription that comple ments the crucifix atop Monte Cristo Rey: La Biblia Es La Verdad. Leela. (The Bible is the truth. Read it.) At the mountain’s base lies Ciudad Juarez, the Mexican border town oppo site El Paso. From the top of Cristo Rey, climbers can see the differences on opposite sides of the border. Juarez is more densely developed, poorer and generally gloomier in appearance than El Paso. This becomes especially apparent as the climber’s eyes drift to the southwest, where a vast settlement called Anapra has grown up to accommodate poor workers migrat ing north to the border for better jobs. And where the vast colonia of Anapra approaches the Rio Grande, a 10-foot high chain-link border fence extends into the sunset. I-1 WE'LL ERASE YOUR COLLEGE LOAN. If you’re stuck with a (federally insured) student loan that’s not in default, the Army might pay it off. If you qualify, we’ll reduce your debt—up to $65,000. Payment is either 1/3 of the debt or $1,500 for each year of service, whichever is greater. You’ll also have training in a choice of skills and enough self-assurance to last you the rest of your life. Get all the details from your Army Recruiter. (402)467-2221 ARMY BE ALL YOU CAN BE.* www.goarmy.com Amy Liebman, who works in the University of Texas at El Paso’s Center for Environmental Resource Management, said hundreds of thou sands of workers have migrated from Central America and southern Mexico to plaim factory jobs along the border. In an effort to economize produc tion, several multinational corporations have built maquiladoras, or twin plants, on the Mexican side to complement their operations in the United States. Many workers have found jobs in the maquiladoras. Although these workers receive just $3.50 per day, their jobs generally constitute economic advancement, Liebman said. Although the North American Free Trade Agreement has made this prac tice easier, it occurred long before NAFTA’s passage in 1993, Liebman said. In 1975, Juarez was home to 86 maquiladoras. Today corporations have built more than 300 in die city. “The maquiladoras have really cre ated a pull from inside Mexico to the border,” Liebman said. The maquiladora economy poses difficult ethical questions, said the Rev. Phil Reller, an El Paso minister who organized the UNL group’s work. On the one hand, Reller said, multi national corporations that set up opera tions in Mexico provide job opportuni ties that many workers otherwise would not have. But corporations have not always contributed to the community’s well-being, he said. “It’s a double-edged sword,” Reller said. “Certainly the maquiladoras are providing people with opportunities they haven’t had before. “The key issue is whether a corpo ration is a good corporate citizen or whether it is just exploiting cheap labor.” Reller said many multinational cor porations have been reluctant to give back to the community. Also, he said, their operations may keep wages in the region depressed. “They draw a lot of workers from other, more depressed regions of Mexico and in this way continue to exploit cheap labor,” he said. “One has to wonder: When they discover cheaper labor in central Mexico, will plants continue to move and abandon places where they first developed?” Liebman also pointed to the envi ronmental problems likely to arise in the future. Although El Paso, a city of 750,000, has four waste-water treat ment plants, Juarez has none despite its population of 1.2 million. Waste-infest ed streams - aguas negras - flow out of Juarez and miles downstream in the Rio Grande. For pre-schoolers and infants in Juarez, gastrointestinal diseases are the leading cause of death. Most ominously, she said, the El Paso area is projected to run out of water in 2025. As residents are forced to move to areas where water is more plentiful, she said, severe economic and social dislocations could ensue. “It’s our biggest environmental problem, and it’s going to be the biggest social issue and one of our biggest health issues.” More than 200,000 workers have settled in Anapra, an unincorporated neighborhood crisscrossed by dusty, unpaved roads full of large holes. The land’s owners have allowed res idents to squat on small plots squeezed closely together. To keep out the dust, most plots are circled by stone or wood en fences. The UNL group spent three days working at a small Presbyterian church in Anapra served by “Papa” Juan Mata. Mata is a short, friendly man with a &___j husky laugh and a strong sense of humor. As the UNL group worked to build a stone wall, lay tile in a small community center or do other odd jobs, he scurried around encouraging the workers with enthusiastic cries of “MUYbien!” The new community center will be a place where residents can come to pick up medicine or other needed supplies. Mata’s wife, “Mama” Chila, also enjoyed chatting with the members of the UNL group who spoke Spanish. As she stood atop the community center’s roof, which was receiving a coat of tar and more reinforcement, she pointed at the electric power lines that passed through the neighborhood. The development of las luces, she said, spurred rapid growth in Anapra. The building of the power lines, she said, was an example of Anapra’s suc cessful efforts to pressure the Juarez government for improvements in the settlement. This sense of community together ness also called to mind one of the first lessons Reller said he learned when he arrived in El Paso five years ago. At that time, Reller said, he asked Anapra residents what they considered their most urgent need. He expected them to say food, water, better jobs or better homes, but he was wrong. Anapra’s most urgent need, residents said, was for comunidad - community. Reller realized that Anapra residents could retain hope in the midst of eco nomic problems, if only they had a sense of community support “That had so much impact on me,” Photos Courtesy of Sarah Brown ABOVE: PARTICIPANTS IN A SPRING BREAK mission trip to the Mexican border region prepare to pour con crete for a small tennis court at a Sunland Park, N.M., day-care cen ter. The group, representing UNL’s Cornerstone campus ministries, spent three days working in Mexico and one day at the day-care center. LEFT: JUAN AND CHILA MATA take a break from work on a community center near Juan’s church in Anapra, a settlement near Juarez, Mexico. The community center will store medicine and other supplies for Anapra residents. he said. Members of the UNL group said they found the trip rewarding because they learned about the region and had a chance to serve. Kastning said he learned about the economic effects of multinational cor porations in the border region. He also said the firsthand experience made him better understand the reasons for immi gration from Mexico to places in the United States, including Nebraska. “Simply because we aren’t on the border doesn’t mean it isn’t our prob lem,” he said. Melissa Finlaw Draper, pastor at Cornerstone, said the trip was valuable because it allowed participants to leam about another culture and serve God by serving others. Participants can bring what they have learned back to Lincoln, she said. “We also know that we don’t have to travel 1,000 miles to be involved in ministry,” she said. “Certainly there is a lot in Lincoln that needs to happen.” Back in Anapra, the UNL group attended an afternoon church service outside “Papa” Juan’s church. In a ser mon'moving even to those who under stood little Spanish, Juan talked about the hope Anapra residents could gain from their faith. “El Dios es muy paciente,” he said. (God is very patient). Whether you live in Anapra, Juarez or the United States, he said as he swept his hand toward Monte Cristo Rey, you can receive la benedicion de Dios (the blessing of God). “Amen... y amen.” mad m Dfy Park F< Parking Available Every 1 Enter at 8th & S Streets, 1 bl< For More informc °NdAyS ip $1.00 Monthly Parking [onday!! Available )ck west of Memorial Stadium ition Call 474-2274
