Border Joy, According to Rosy, Toya, and Ana

Welcome back to our end-of-year series on Border Joy: Celebrating Resilience. This week, we asked 3 Abara ladies to reflect on what Border Joy means to them.Each has a unique perspective on Border Joy.

Rosa Mani Thomas, Juárez Team Coordinator

Hello friends, My name is Rosa Mani Thomas, and I arrived to these precious borderlands 9 years ago. At first, things were very difficult for me. I didn’t have a great support system, but I decided to stay and live here. My decision came after that dark night in September when I was deported. This was a very sad time, full of uncertainty; however, God gave me the opportunity to pick myself up little by little, to walk in love, dignity, hope, strength, and A LOT of work. He also allowed me to flourish where he planted me, here in the middle of the desert. Today, to be able to walk hand in hand with others who find themselves in the same situation that I did 9 years ago has given deep meaning to my life. Juárez gave me a deep exhale in the middle of my desperation. I have learned to enjoy these borderlands, to breathe them in, feel them, love them, respect them, and above all to honor them. I have learned that all of us here smell like resilience, a resilience that sooner or later becomes joy. For me, it is the joy of walking with others, the joy of being family through sadness, the joy of forgetting our loneliness, because now, now we are one! The joy of enjoying every morning God gives me, every precious orange sunset that only Juárez could give. I am Rosa Mani Thomas, and I live in victory here in the desert.

Click here to read Rosa’s reflection in Spanish

Note: To go deeper on the topic of the resilience and faith in forced migration, check out page 15-18 of this PDF from our friends at the Hope Border Institute.

Victoria “Toya” De Anda, Research & Executive Assistant

It seems odd to be thinking about joy in the midst of chaos, and by chaos I mean harsher treatment of immigrants in the U.S., cultivating fear in their everyday lives, and no clear hope of any immigration reform or policy coming soon for those whose goal is to get to the U.S.. Yet, when I think about the border, the joy and chaos can co-exist at the same time. How? Well, as someone that is a border girl or a ‘fronteriza’, as I like to call myself, I can see the joy in Ciudad Juarez. I can see the joy in all the migrants that are able to attend English classes and music classes in our office in Juarez. I can see the joy in the migrant mothers who get to have a space to heal while their kids are being taken care of. I can see the joy in our staff every time we listen to how these migrants are changing our way of seeing life. Thus, yes, both joy and chaos can coexist at the border. Borders have always been surreal in that sense; resilient to survive in that sort of duality: joyous and chaotic. Borders nature is to embrace that duality and to allow them to create new ways of life.

Ana C, Program Participant

Note: Despite what might seem like unimaginable hardship Ana wanted to share with the community a little about her story, and finding moments of joy in the midst of tragic circumstances

Hello World! I would like to introduce myself. My name is Ana C. Born in Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua. Raised in Oklahoma for 33 yrs. Been deported for fifteen months now. I’m a single mother of seven beautiful children. And by the grace of God my mother has them back home in Oklahoma. I am a widow of twenty six months now. I have overcome depression! Learned and am still learning about letting things go and why I seem to harbor grief. I am a daughter of God! I am blessed! Found myself more humble then ever. Even more I am very grateful for the good and bad. Praying non-stop bc I know our Father in heaven listens and well just as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 Walk By Faith Not By Sight! A year ago I thought my life was over; but now, I am surrounded by amazing people from Abara most of all! They believed in me and THAT their motivated me to want better in life and take advantage to have a second opportunity at life! With nothing but love; God 1st. Sincerely, Ana C.

Si hablas español, puedes aprender más de la historia de Ana en este podcast producido por una organización colaboradora, Cómo Nacido Entre Nosotros.

This Is Border Joy—Watch Abara’s Newest Video Here