Migration conference surveys injustices, jobs, theology

National Catholic Reporter, Oct 8, 2004 by Robert J. McCLory

[Robert McClory, a longtime contributor to NCR, writes from Chicago.]

Activist describes response to 9/11 in Mexico

Karla Martinez, who attended the International Conference on Migration and Theology at Notre Dame University, is a 32-year-old activist who first became interested in immigration when she attended a Jesuit college in her native Guatemala. "There was so much talk and interest in land reform and social justice," she said, "so after graduation [with a degree in business administration], I volunteered in a program run by the Scalabrini religious order."

For 18 months she worked in a shelter in Tijuana, Mexico, and it was during that time that the events of 9/11 occurred. Immediately, some 150 Iraqis who had been living in Mexico while seeking asylum were rounded up by the government and detained in her shelter as potentially dangerous aliens. "It was a difficult for them and for us," said Martinez, "especially since they could not speak Spanish or English, and we didn't know their language." But a major breakthrough occurred on Christmas 2001, she said, when she and other workers decorated the shelter, hung up pinatas and played music. Gradually, the Iraqis caught the spirit, said Martinez, "and suddenly we were all laughing and hugging and doing these different dances from our cultures together. It was like we were a family and it was so good--the best Christmas of my life."

Martinez is now working on immigrant rights with a community organization on Chicago's south side. Her clients are mostly Asian and Muslim families. "It is really challenging work," she said, "and I love it."

--Robert McClory

South Bend, Ind.