English
A remarkable, decimating work of reporting by award-winning journalist and priest Cristina Rathbone about asylum seekers trapped at a port of entry to the US: the trauma they carry, the community they create, and the faith they maintain.
The Asylum Seekers offers a rare narrative account of the horror of the US-Mexico border. Borders run through author Cristina Rathbone too, whose mother was a Cuban refugee. So in 2019 she travels to Juarez, unsure what to do but determined to learn.
Weaving intimate portraits of individuals with broader stories about the community, reporting from the border as a whole, and reflections on the meaning of faith in a place of suffering, Rathbone tells the story of Mexican asylum seekers living in a makeshift tent camp at the foot of a bridge. Life in the camp is both hectic and harrowing. Families arrive. Families leave. Families get through to the US. Families are returned from the US. Women weep, children squabble, and grown men sob over photographs of their murdered sons' mutilated bodies.
Here too, however, are beauty, and empathy, and hope. Over time, a leadership team emerges. The community begins to convene daily meetings, establish systems of distribution for donations, and start classes for the kids. Serving as an unofficial chaplain, Rathbone is there through it all: listening, receiving, assisting, and most of all learning about what authentic faith looks like under conditions such as these.
Written in the tradition of My Fourth Time, We Drowned and Rivermouth, The Asylum Seekers renders in startling, intimate detail the day-to-day lives of people who are determined to enter the US legally and who often suffer for it. The result is a fierce, poignant inquiry into the dignity of those who seek asylum--and into what we owe each other.
We recommend using this Discussion Guide, developed by Episcopal Migration Ministries, during your reading.
Resources:
Support the Work in Juárez and Beyond
To help provide housing, clothing, healing, food, and accompaniment for migrants through Cristina Coronado and the Columban Fathers, you can give in these ways:
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Online via Columban Fathers
Go to www.columban.org , click the red DONATE button, choose your amount, and in the memo write: “For Juarez Migrant Ministry.” -
By Check
Make checks payable to Missionary Society of St. Columban. In the memo line, write: “For Juarez Migrant Ministry.” -
Direct Online Giving
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Donate via PayPal to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church Tooltip LA Sacred Resistance: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=U858E4RD679QA&source=url&ssrt=1757522874387
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La Sacred Resistance: https://www.lasacredresistance.org/
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Additional Resources & Organizations
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Book: Caminemos con Jesús by Roberto Goizueta: https://orbisbooks.com/products/caminemos-con-jesus
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Support Undocumented College Students: TheDream.US — scholarships and support: https://www.thedream.us/
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Immigrant-Led Advocacy: National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON): https://ndlon.org
Español
Únete a la comunidad de EDS este verano para leer The Asylum Seekers: A Chronicle of Life, Death, and Community at the Border (Buscando Asilo: Una Crónica de la Vida, Muerte, y Comunidad en la Frontera) escrito por la Rev. Cristina Rathbone. Y únete a las conversaciones en comunidad que contará con la autora y varios expertos en el tema, el día 10 de Septiembre a la 1pm, hora del Este, o 10am, hora del Pacifico.
Un trabajo de reportaje notable y desgarrador de la galardonada periodista y sacerdote, Cristina Rathbone, sobre los solicitantes de asilo atrapados en un puerto de entrada a los EE. UU.: el trauma que llevan, la comunidad que crean y la fe que mantienen.
The Asylum Seekers ofrece una rara narrativa sobre los horrores que suceden en la frontera entre Estados Unidos y México. La frontera es un concepto que corre también por las venas de la autora Cristina Rathbone, quien es hija de una mujer refugiada cubana. En el 2019, ella viajo a Ciudad Juárez, sin saber que iba a suceder, pero determinada a aprender.
Entretejiendo retratos íntimos de individuos con historias más amplias sobre la comunidad, reportando desde la frontera en su conjunto y reflexiones sobre el significado de la fe en un lugar de sufrimiento, Rathbone narra la historia de personas mexicanas buscando asilo, y que viven en un campamento improvisado al pie de un puente. La vida en el campamento es a la vez agitada y desgarradora. Familias llegan. Familias se van. Familias logran llegar a Estados Unidos. Familias regresan de Estados Unidos. Las mujeres lloran, los niños se pelean y los hombres adultos sollozan ante las fotografías de los cuerpos mutilados de sus hijos asesinados.
Sin embargo, aquí también hay belleza, empatía y esperanza. Con el tiempo, surge un equipo de liderazgo. La comunidad comienza a convocar reuniones diarias, a establecer sistemas de distribución de donaciones y a dar clases a los niños. Como capellán no oficial, Rathbone está presente en todo momento: escuchando, recibiendo, ayudando y, sobre todo, aprendiendo sobre cómo se manifiesta la fe auténtica en circunstancias como estas.
Escrito en la tradición de My Fourth Time, We Drowned and Rivermouth, The Asylum Seekers nos regala una aterradora, pero íntima y detallada descripción del día a día que viven las personas que están determinadas a entrar a los Estados Unidos legalmente, y del sufrimiento que ellos viven para poder lograrlo. El resultado es una investigación feroz y conmovedora sobre la dignidad de quienes buscan asilo y sobre lo que nos debemos unos a otros.
Recomendamos usar la guía de discusión desarrollada por los Ministerios Episcopales para la Migración mientras leen el libro.
Recursos:
Apoya el trabajo en Ciudad Juárez and más allá
Estas son tres cosas que puedes hacer para proveer hogar, ropa, sanación, comida y acompañamiento para migrantes a través de Cristina Coronado y los Sacerdotes de San Columbano:
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- En línea a través de los Sacerdotes de San Columbano: Entra al sitio web www.columban.org , da clic en el botón que dice DONAR, escoge la cantidad, y en el memo puedes escribir: “Para el Ministerio de acompañamiento a Migrantes de Juárez.”
- Por medio de un cheque Puedes enviar cheques a nombre de la Sociedad Misionara de San Columbano. En el memo, puedes escribir Para el Ministerio de acompañamiento a Migrantes de Juárez.”
- Haciendo donaciones directas en línea
- Puedes hacer donaciones directas en línea a través de PayPal a la Iglesia Episcopal St. Stephen’s - Tooltip Ministerio de Resistencia Sagrada en Los Angeles: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=U858E4RD679QA&source=url&ssrt=1757522874387
- Ministerio de Resistencia Sagrada en Los Angeles: https://www.lasacredresistance.org/
Recursos y organizaciones adicionales
- Libro: Caminemos con Jesús de Roberto Goizueta: https://orbisbooks.com/products/caminemos-con-jesus
- Apoyando a Estudiantes Universitarios Indocumentados TheDream.US — becas y apoyo: https://www.thedream.us/
- Esfuerzos de abogacía para inmigrantes: Red de trabajadores organizados (NDLON): https://ndlon.org
Virtual Community Conversation Guests/Invitados a la conversación virtual comunitaria:
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The Rev. Cristina Rathbone (author of The Asylum Seekers)
Cristina Rathbone is an award-winning journalist, Episcopal priest, and spiritual director. She is the author of On the Outside Looking In: A Year in an Inner-City High School and A World Apart: Women, Prisons, and Life Behind Bars. In partnership with Episcopal Migration Ministries, she founded Neighbor to Neighbor, a national network that supports congregations as they accompany newly arrived asylum seekers. Rathbone is the mother of two sons and lives in Massachusetts.
Photo Credit: John Earle
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Cristina Coronado
Based in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Cristina Coronado is an oblate of the Missionary Society of St. Columban, an international and intercultural Catholic missionary organization, which works by “opening the horizons of humanity to the living mystery of God’s kingdom, and responding to the poor and suffering wherever they may be found.” Serving as the Columbans' Director of Migrant Ministries, Cristina has spent decades welcoming all migrants who find their way here, connecting them with resources including food, lodging, and schooling for their children. She runs the Migrant Welcome Center at the Cathedral in Juarez, and founded Casa Acogida, a home made up of women from Juarez and migrant women who met as a result of the exodus of thousands of refugees from Central America seeking asylum in the United States.
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The Rev. Dr. Francisco J. García
The Rev. Dr. Francisco J. García is an Episcopal priest, organizer, and theological educator. He completed his doctorate in theology, ethics and action at Vanderbilt University. He works as a Campaign Director with Bargaining for the Common Good at the Action Center on Race and the Economy, and teaches at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. He’s a co-founder and co-chair of Sacred Resistance (Sanctuary Task Force) in the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Francisco’s work centers around collaborative community, labor, congregational, and interfaith organizing that integrates racial, economic, and environmental/eco-justice efforts. He’ll soon be working on his first book stemming from his doctoral research, which involves the development of social movement-oriented ecclesiologies outside of formal church structures through an exploration of faith practices among Latine-immigrant workers organizing in their workplaces and communities.
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Roberto S. Goizueta
Roberto S. Goizueta is the Margaret O’Brien Flatley Professor Emeritus of Catholic Theology at Boston College. A native of Cuba, Dr. Goizueta is a former President of the Catholic Theological Society of America and a founding member and former President of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the United States. The National Catholic Reporter named him one of the ten most influential U.S. Latino/a educators, pastors, and theologians. Dr. Goizueta has published six books and more than 100 scholarly articles. His book Caminemos con Jesús: Toward a Hispanic/Latino Theology of Accompaniment (Orbis, 1995) was named one of the “Fifty Foundational Books in Race, Ethnicity, and Religion” by the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion.
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English
This event is in partnership with Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM).
EMM is the refugee resettlement and migration ministry of The Episcopal Church. Since 1988, EMM has resettled almost 110,000 individuals to communities across the United States. In addition to its long-standing work in refugee resettlement ministry, EMM is The Episcopal Church’s convening place for collaboration, education, and information-sharing on migration.
We recommend using EMM's discussion guide during your reading. Please keep note of your thoughts and questions for the author while reading and bring them to the September 10 event.
Español
Este evento es una colaboración con los Ministerios Episcopales para la Migración (EMM).
EMM es el ministerio de reasentamiento de refugiados y migración de la Iglesia Episcopal. Desde 1988, EMM ha reubicado a casi 110,000 personas en comunidades de todo Estados Unidos. Además de su larga trayectoria en el ministerio de reubicación de refugiados, EMM es el punto de encuentro de la Iglesia Episcopal para la colaboración, la educación y el intercambio de información sobre migración.