First Days in Holden Village

Monday, August 3, 2009

Traveling to Holden is clearly a pilgrimage – a good reminder of how much of a “migrant” community this place is. Car, boat, bus and then carting suitcases up the hill to the Chalet. This is definitely a place apart: walking down to the dining room without a wallet (“come eat, without money and without price” beckons the prophet, and the rich table is truly set); watching people carrying suitcases down to the dock as they prepare to leave and others carrying up the hill to their housing. The nightly ritual of naming those who have come new to the Village and praying for those who will depart – daily reminders of the transitional nature of the place and of our lives.

Numerous conversations – in the kitchen where I volunteered to help chop some vegetables or around meals – focus on where people are from and where they are going. The former is sometimes easier to speak about – our roots, our towns, our families, our memories – than the latter, as where we will go next is often more uncertain. A place like Holden attracts those of us whose sense of the future is less firm and clear. Many of the people who are working here – from the directors to a college student volunteering for the summer – are not sure what awaits them at the end of their time in the Village. Isn’t that the life of an immigrant? A life of uncertainty about what lies ahead and a recognition that there are other things – God? – that will determine the next steps.

Tension Between Two Worlds

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

This week we have been staying with my brother-in-law, sister-in-law and their 4-year-old son in Woodland, Washington, which is about 30 miles north of Vancouver, Washington. It has been great. Like many of the towns near the Columbia, some of its industry depends on shipping by boat and also train. In addition, there are berry “farms” and tulips. I need to go see the tulip “operations.” According to Jon, the labor force is again all Hispanic in the fields. You can’t tell that by the areas of town where we have been, however. We’re staying a ways out of town, and out here views are gorgeous, lots are measured in acres and houses vary in size but tend toward the more expansive. Neighbors on one side have a few cows, on the other chickens, and across the street alpacas! But not much diversity when it comes to homeowners… The street names – and some of the people now living here – are descendants of Finns. Finn Hall is just down the road, Wiere Rd., Lathi Rd., etc. The main roads through here were originally logging roads, which are still evident as you get further up the mountain. But little evidence is visible of the Hispanic labor force that keeps things growing. I saw three guys working up on the roof of a gas station in the middle of the scorching heat. When I went to the grocery store around 6 p.m., I saw a couple of groups of men who had just gotten back from the fields doing some shopping and a couple of families as well.

These two worlds seldom meet. Is it a wonder that – sometimes when they do – there is tension?

News from Postville

Monday, July 27, 2009
 
I heard great news from Violeta at St. Bridget’s in Postville. Seven more women had their GPS “bracelets” removed today! I was struck by the change in expression in their faces from the “before” and “after” pictures. What has it been like to have been shackled to those things for close to 15 months? They finally removed them because of a doctor testifying to the physical and psychological impact that they have had on them. Was a doctor needed to state the obvious? Their lawyer, Sonia’s, dogged insistence that they be removed also bore fruit. She had repeatedly argued before the court that the devices were not what were keeping these women here. They have proven themselves worthy of trust, following up on every single request from the court, and are here basically awaiting resolution of their cases. If their cases would not be resolved, they are likely to want to return to their home countries anyway, rather than try to risk working here without documents. Who knows what will happen now and how long it will be before they hear on their cases. In the meantime, what’s important is to celebrate the moment. To recognize the importance – for these seven people – of having those things off. A sign that someone is listening. A hope that their limbo may some day end. And at the same time, I am sure it is a difficult adjustment. The fear that their plea is not as clear. The symbol of the “bracelet” has been a unifying image for them. What will they call themselves now? Only a few are now “las mujeres con brazalete.” Their plight has spoken of the injustice they have faced. Thankfully they have been released of that burden, but the absence of the physical evidence belies the reality of their on-going limbo and entrapment…
 
Luis Argueta spoke of flying with a group of people being deported to Guatemala. Divided, as usual, by gender. First he traveled with a group of women. This was the first time they were ever on an airplane for most of them – the contrast of their journey here on foot and then being flown back. The cycle of loss and disappointment, and the difficult future that awaits them. I spoke with my parents about Maynor, one of the men who was detained in Postville and then deported after serving a full year sentence. My family knew his family from years earlier.  He has yet to find work and has been back in Guatemala since March…

Wrapping up in Yakima

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Yesterday on our drive along the Columbia Gorge we saw breathtaking vistas all along the way – mountains, peaks, the river, water sports… It is really a beautiful part of the country. The landscape and vegetation varied dramatically, sometimes quite suddenly – one moment we’re driving through dry, brown grasses and nothing but very small shrubs, and then we cross an invisible line and we’re in the midst of a pine forest. Borders… Similar sudden shifts were visible in housing and lifestyle as we moved away from the agricultural valley to the tourism-driven economy of the gorge. Just as suddenly Native Americans – and at least the more visible Spanish speaking population – were also absent.

My time in Yakima was quite surprising. I could really have spent a few more weeks there and may seriously need to consider returning. In a week I ended up on the front page of their local newspaper, on the radio and offering a public lecture – one that was seemingly quite well received. The impact and appreciation of the conversations were evident in our conversation with Carole and Steve over dinner our last night in Yakima…but also the question about next steps.  Can churches be a resource to this conversation? I appreciated Steve’s skepticism and Carole’s desire for seizing opportunities.

I went to Yakima with the agenda of leading a Bible study with a group of immigrant women and spending time in the fields picking. The Bible study did take place, although with a much smaller group than I had envisioned. Was it the timing (during picking season)? The topic? (People are leery of church conversations and conversions, and perhaps just as much about talking openly about immigration). Still the conversation was rich and more than I could possibly absorb in the time that we spent together. Getting out to pick in the fields was another story. I can’t quite put my finger on why it didn’t happen. The arrangements I had made fell through because of the uncertainty and complexity of the harvest. In one case, the family ended up not picking the fruit at all because there is too much fruit in the market, and their crop had some issues and therefore the promised buyer didn’t want it. In another case, the grower I think grew cold feet about having me out there, so said instead he didn’t want to take work away from the folks who work for him regularly for whom this season is financially so significant. A number of other growers I contacted didn’t follow up. I could just have gone out myself to a large grower and asked for work, and I am sure that I would have found some, but I found myself hardly able to keep up with the connections I was making. I had incredible conversations with a wide variety of people and truly was just beginning to scratch the surface.

In the Bible study – like in the interview conversations and then later in the lecture – the challenge remains how to make this type of conversation happen and available to others. Carole’s reactions – and to some extent the reaction of others – was to place much of the reason for the nature of the conversation on me and the particulars of language, presence, style, etc. How do I write/create resources that can help others “do this at home”?

Constructive Dialogue & Engagement

Thursday, July 23, 2009

I don’t even know where to begin… The presentation at the Seasons last night went better than I could have expected. When I first arrived about 20 minutes before we were scheduled to begin, there was one person there. I spoke with her briefly, and she was clearly supportive. I imagined that’s what the group would look like and started to adjust for a very small group conversation. By the time we started shortly after 7:00 p.m., the place was fairly full! The best part of it was that there were people of all walks of life – the newspaper article and the coverage on the radio station did the work. The word of mouth invitations and the respect for the work of La Casa Hogar showed itself in the ability to convene a community conversation. And that is really what it was. Carole, the director of La Casa Hogar, did the introductions and welcome, acknowledging the other two sponsors of the event – Central Lutheran and the United Church of Yakima – whose willingness to officially sponsor the event also lent credibility to the conversation.

I moved around greeting people who had arrived. The first group I met were two older gentlemen and a woman who identified themselves as members of “Grass Roots of Yakima Valley,” a group opposed to illegal immigration. Carole had previously indicated that the woman in the group is part of the Minute Men. There were several pastors of congregations. Workers from the field who said they came because they heard the interview in the radio. Women from one of the English class at La Casa Hogar came as a group. Many other people from the community, including a number of young adults – I already miss hanging out with college students! One of them was carrying newspaper articles from about 10 years earlier when a series of immigration raids threatened to cripple the harvest season in the valley…

I started my presentation by asking people to raise their hand if they were born and raised right there in the city of Yakima. Four hands went up… I thanked those “locals” who serve as hosts to the rest of us “immigrants.” As has been the case in other presentations, the simple acknowledgment that most of us live away – across the state, the country or the world – from where we were born sets up the basic idea of the “pull and push” of immigration. People move either “pulled” by opportunities or “pushed” by fear. As an example, I outlined Yakima’s own history, starting with a population of 1,503 in the 1900 census, to the estimated 83,000 it has reached. I talked about the impact of the canals that brought water into an area that had been primarily desert and shared what I had been hearing and learning all week from growers and field workers alike about the impact of technology and trade on their daily lives. A grower who came in the late 1930s as a result of the economy crash of the Great Depression said the city ended at 35th Ave when he came. A worker who came from Mexico in the early 1990s said it had reached 65th Ave when she came. A pastor who arrived just eight months ago said the city was reaching the small rural community he came to serve around 106th Ave…

As people called out one Biblical character after another, we talked about those characters’ experience of immigration. I moved through the macro changes in economics, trade, production, transportation technology, political changes, etc., that have resulted in huge movement of people worldwide. Yet some people are excluded form this mobility by increasingly more limiting migration policies that do not match our economic realities and trade decisions. Postville, I said, happens in the crash between these two trends. We viewed the trailer to Luis Argueta’s documentary, abUSed - The Postville Raid and followed up with a few comments about why the Postville raid demands our attention – as the clear, unavoidable evidence of the need for a change in immigration policies. I finished my presentation in about an hour, and it was followed by an hour and a half of good, meaningful conversation. There was a good feeling in the space, as people dared to speak and engage, even when they disagreed. Carole asked people to indicate in the cards they received when they came in if they would like to participate in on-going conversation, and she said she had much more engagement than she has had before. 

There were many powerful comments, but two that have stayed with me. One was from a field worker who said: “Thank you for your words and courage. In 35 years this is the first time I hear a pastor, priest or any religious leader talk this way about immigration.” This was a powerful comment, but also a strong call to action to the religious community. He also said, “Anyone who doesn’t want me here, I invite them to join me out in the field tomorrow for three hours in 90 degree heat, and then we can return to the conversation.”

Meetings & Conversations

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

It was another full day. I feel as if I could stay here for many more weeks, just to be able to really take in the conversations that are available. I sat down next to someone just “by chance” at a meatpacking plant today, and – within a few minutes – he shared a powerful story. He came forty-five years ago, worked in the fields and now works at the plant. Every person carries a powerful story with them, if we could only listen to one another.

The local paper, the Yakima Herald Republic, ran a front page story on my presentation tomorrow and my visit here. It was somewhat overwhelming… Tonight I will review what I hope to say tomorrow. I can’t fully bring all of the conversations I have been hearing together for a presentation here, but I must speak in context.

I started the day with a meeting with Tomas Villareal. Our meeting was interrupted by an organizer from the UFCW who needed Mr. Villareal to go with him. We went to a local meat packing plant, Washington Beef. They employ around 800 people and process something like 1,200 cows daily. The facilities were so much bigger and seemed so much better than anything Agriprocessors has. They have been unionized for 11 years. That was an interesting experience, but very short as I needed to come back to Yakima to meet with Sandra Aguilar, the daughter of Isabel Aguilar. Sandra is a social worker with Catholic Charities Housing program. She shared with me about the program and gave me a tour of their senior housing complex. It is quite impressive to see the work they do – providing temporary housing for workers, low-income apartments throughout the valley, a first time home buyers’ program, educational programs and community building. Again, another conversation that could go on for hours.

Interview with a retired grower

Monday, July 20, 2009

I met this afternoon for a couple of hours with Ted Schmidt and his wife, Lois. They came to Yakima back in the late 1930s, early 1940s from the Midwest (North Dakota) – at different times but both families as a consequence of the Great Depression and the loss of family farms that followed. Ted was 13 when his family moved in 1939, and he bought his first orchard in 1952, getting his first crop in 1954. Shortly after, he and Lois were married. 

Over time they have seen huge changes in the valley. They sold their orchard in the early 1990s after 40 years of tending it. Ted spoke of the change in the valley over an even greater period of time, starting with the first canals that were built that transformed the place from a desert of sagebrush and low grasses into orchard heaven. He said changes began in 1907, and the canals were built over time, including major projects during the work projects of the 1930s. When they first moved out, his father rented an orchard that he tended for only a year. He and his brother also “went out to work” the following years, picking and doing other work in the area’s orchards.

In the 1950s, schools would close for two weeks during the harvest. Many people who had other jobs would do a few hours a week as well. Labor was made up of a wide range of people. Some Native American labor and workers from the community. Workers from “Front Street” (the street in town that runs along the tracks and where the original packing houses were). They were mostly people who were homeless or living with alcoholism, prison release, etc. Finally, there were a number of migrant workers that would come just for the season. By the late 1960s to early 1970s, labor switched completely to Hispanic labor. “There were no illegals,” Ted said, who used that term consistently and was puzzled by the use of the word “undocumented.”

I asked what had caused the change, and the answer ranged: government regulation that limited child labor, people’s own expectations, the need for more consistent labor and a growing market. Every part of production translated into changes in labor: from switching from the original wooden boxes that he used the first few years to the large bins that have come to dominate. The former would be loaded into wagons or small trucks and then transferred to larger trucks to be brought to the packing houses. From what I could gather, now the bins are placed on the back of trucks and transferred directly that way to the packing houses, significantly reducing labor. Chemicals used, refrigeration, transportation and the ensuing growing market have also meant a stronger fruit that can last longer. With some astonishment Ted talked about the fact that apples from the previous year’s season are still being sold a year later and taste just as if they just came off the orchard. Early on – with cooling houses and some minimal refrigeration – three months would have been the limit and then the unsold fruit would be lost. He expressed astonishment about the idea of cherries being flown on airplanes to Japan – and wondered with a laugh what they must cost there!

I continue coming across a frustration on the part of growers with increased government intervention. Ted wondered – with the government telling growers what to do so much through regulation – whether we are still a free country at all.

When I asked Ted what he thought had caused the shift in the origin of the labor force, he indicated that “there are just a lot of people coming.” The ready availability of cheap labor has made the need of the other labor pools less. His wife’s sense was more complicated than that: a mix of a more reliable, more “professional” labor force than the mix of part-timers, school kids, and “Front Street” folks; cheaper labor and better options for groups that had done the work in an earlier generation. There was clearly a sense of loss of a way of life for both of them – in terms of the willingness of people to work hard, life as more simple and even more free. “I am glad I am out of it now,” Ted said, reflecting on how complex and demanding – and often separated from the actual production – the work has become.