The Border Crisis

As many of you know, there is a crisis along the southern border. Hundreds of thousands of people each year are trying to gain access into the United States. The crisis has raised intense political rhetoric and cost the lives of countless immigrants and more than a few Border Patrol agents. The issues cannot be addressed in sound-bites. They are far more complex than most people realize.

However, to place human faces on the border crisis, I would like to introduce to you Ronald and his father, Oswaldo. They are two Venezuelan refugees whom I recently met. In case you are not aware, over 7.3 million people have fled Venezuela due to its socio-political and economic collapse.

Ronald and Oswaldo first fled from Venezuela to neighboring Colombia. Earlier this year on January 5, they set out from Colombia on-foot with only a handful of belongings hoping to find refuge in the USA.

I hope it catches your attention, as it does mine, how desperate someone must be to attempt to WALK to the United States from Colombia. The Venezuelan exodus is one of the greatest humanitarian crises in history. Yet, oddly enough, it has received little or no attention in Western media.

Ronald and Oswaldo journeyed across Colombia before walking through the infamous Darien Gap. This tiny isthmus connects Panama with Colombia. The Darien Gap is 60 miles long deep in the jungle and notorious for robbery, rape and human trafficking, along with wild animals, insects and the lack of clean water. It is the only section without a road in the Pan-American Highway that stretches from Alaska to the tip of Chile. Last year, an unprecedented 248,000 refugees crossed the Darien Gap. This year the number is expected to rise above 400,000.

Ronald and Oswaldo were robbed of the money they carried while crossing “the Gap.” It took them eight treacherous days. They said it was the most difficult part of the journey. They had to sleep in the open with pouring rain. They walked on foot from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, twelve hours a day.

Eventually, they crossed Panama and arrived in Costa Rica. Ronald and Oswaldo were in Cost Rica four months. They sold candy in the streets and washed car windows to make a few cents to purchase their next meal.

ECF partners with Esperanza Urbana feeding the homeless in downtown San Jose. That’s how we met them. Ronald and Oswaldo visited our Sunday service on June 18. Shortly after that, they continued heading north. Sometimes they walked. Sometimes they rode on top of cargo trains. Sometimes they took buses.

Once they made it to Mexico, they submitted their refugee paperwork to the US Consulate. After weeks of waiting, they were given the green light to cross the border. They said the happiest day in their lives was Sunday, September 3, when they legally crossed into the USA. Their perilous trek carried them through six different countries and took 242 days!

Ronald and Oswaldo are now in the Chicago area with extended family. They are hoping to secure work and begin their new life with freedom and opportunity.

This is the border crisis with real faces. I’m not sure if this story makes you cry or if it makes you angry. (It makes me cry and it makes me angry.) But I hope it affects you. Refugees are real people with real dreams who matter to God and they should matter to us.

Friends, the world is broken and hurting. Shouting at each other doesn’t help anyone. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” (Matthew 5:7)

With love,

Steve and Pam