COVID-19 IN THE MOUNTAIN

 

It is always a pleasure to say "Hi" to Valentina when I drive by her house

People have been writing to me and asking about the COVID-19 situation in la Montaña (the Mountain) of Guerrero. It sounds like a simple question, but I find it difficult to give a simple answer. Forgive me for trying to explain the situation as best I can. But first, please allow me to give a little background.

Rosalinda graduated as a nurse thanks to a bursary from Mission Mexico

The Mountain of Guerrero has about 500,000 people living in about 700 villages and towns and one city. That city is called Tlapa de Comonfort. It has a population of close to 100,000 people, and it is called “the heart of the Mountain.” The reason for this is that it is the main place to go to in order to find hardware stores, banks, paper stores, government offices, hospitals, clothing stores, hotels, gasoline stations, autopart stores, restaurants, universities, etc.

These women from Tototepec are eating the first cobs of corn from the 2020 crop

Most of the people in the villages and towns belong to one of three indigenous cultures: na savi, me phaa, and nahuatl. Take away the teachers and the governing officials in these places, and you are left with people who seldom have a full-time job but who have families to feed. Most of the people plant corn and beans and maybe some squash or other vegetable in the rainy season (June to October), but even with a decent crop, life is difficult, and everyone has to try to do something to earn a little bit of money.

A family in Tlapa gave me some used clothing that I could share with this family

If someone is fortunate enough to get a job in construction or in a store or working for a not-so-poor family, a common salary is 1,000 pesos a week. That is about 60 Canadian dollars a week – about 10 dollars a day if you are fortunate enough to have to work only six days a week. Take travel and food and lodging out of that 10 dollars a day, and little is left over for anything else.

Josefa was walking to town to sell a heavy bag of squash; fortunately,
I passed by with the Mission Mexico truck

So everyone has to do something. It can be working in one of the stores or restaurants or businesses, doing cleaning or dishwashing or whatever might be needed. It can be wandering on the streets to sell fruit or vegetables or shoe laces or needles and thread or tortillas or bread or pens or plants or sandals or T-shirts – you think of it, and someone sells it. Other families (with children and all) just pack up during the dry season and go to work in the huge agricultural fields that have irrigation in the northern part of the country of Mexico. Many people (especially the young) illegally enter the United States and send a bit of money home every month to help their needy families.

Two of Mission Mexico's best friends: Abel Barrera, director of the Tlachinollan 
Human Rights Center of the Mountain, and Father Cesar Ivan Balbuena Sanchez,
parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi inTlapa

So life is difficult at the best of times. Any unexpected circumstance (an accident; an illness; a loss of a job; a death) can turn a difficult life into an almost-impossible life. Health care is not free here, and many of the indigenous peoples avoid going to a hospital simply because they know they can’t afford the care. Many of the indigenous also feel left out or discriminated against if they speak only their native language.

Kenia received her bilingual teaching degree (Nahuatl and Spanish)
thanks to a bursary from Mission Mexico

Now throw in COVID. Schools were closed; offices were closed; restaurants were closed; travel was restricted. People lost their jobs. People were told to stay at home. How could they do this when that home had no food in it? People were told to keep a safe distance? How could they do that when they were struggling to sell items on the street to everyone who came near? They were told to wear a mask; most didn’t because they didn’t want to buy one or because they prayed to the Virgen of Guadalupe, so they trusted that she would protect them. On any given day walking the streets in Tlapa, I daresay that still, not 20% of the population are wearing a mask or even giving a thought to safe distance.

Some little friends in Barrio Nuevo

So is there COVID in the Mountain? Of course there is. But it is not necessarily documented, so it is impossible to give numbers. As mentioned, few people go to the hospital. When they do, it is often after everything else has been tried (prayers, incense, candles, cleansing), and the medical personnel at the hospital (there is only one that receives likely COVID patients) lament that they came too late.

Fortunately, Roberto recovered without going to a hospital

The prevalence of the virus means that even now all classes at all age levels are online; no schools are open to receiving students in the classroom. In the Mountain, this presents incredible challenges. There are so many places without Internet, without electricity, without computers, without parents who read and write to help their children. I have an incredible respect for the teachers of the Mountain who do everything they can to help their students in some way. But certainly, nothing is easy.

I was fortunate this day; the dirt road caved in, but I didn't roll down the ravine;
these men came and got me mobile again.

A huge factor in terms of life here is the number of Mexicans in the United States (and some in Canada) whose life was changed because of COVID there. Hundreds of Mexicans died in the United States; one of Mission Mexico’s partners here, the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain, has been playing a major role in repatriating the remains or the ashes of victims; this is an important reality to the native families in their indigenous cultures.

Meeting in Teocuitlapa with youth assisting in children's education in their villages

But hundreds, if not thousands, of Mexicans lost their jobs in the United States due to the closing of so many businesses there. That means no more monthly payments sent to the needy families in the Mountain. Families who before counted on that money to just barely get by are now facing misery as they struggle to survive on their own.

Modesta appreciated getting some eggs on this day

So what is life like here in the Mountain during this time of COVID? It is heart-breaking; it is difficult; it is super challenging; it is desperate in many instances.

Mike with Cepillo and Checo, two Mexican Marist brothers who help
coordinate the Champagnat High School of the Mountain

But it is not hopeless. Mission Mexico has more than twenty years partnering with Mexican friends and organizations in trying to bring life and hope to this poorest region of Mexico. Our efforts have had to adapt to new situations, but we have not abandoned the struggle – and definitely we have not abandoned the people. Our efforts to make a difference, especially in the areas of health and education, are not flourishing at the moment – but they are ongoing. Lives continue to be transformed, hope continues to be nourished, and love continues to hold the upper hand in this most difficult of times.

On many of the roads I travel, I come across more burros than other vehicles

Gratitude is extended to the people of the Diocese of Calgary for not abandoning Mission Mexico during the time of this pandemic. Yes, the closure of Catholic churches and schools in Alberta meant necessary cutbacks in the support that could be offered in the Mountain. But the people of the Mountain understand that COVID is afflicting life in Canada too, and they pray everyday for your well-being and health.

Little Yashira almost died in April; without Mission Mexico,
maybe she would have. But she is fine now.

Is the future uncertain? Of course it is; no one knows what is going to happen next. But the Diocese of Calgary is trying very hard to maintain its commitments here in the Mountain. Please, people of Calgary, please consider going to www.missionmexico.com on the Internet; you can learn more, and maybe you will feel called to share just a bit with the impoverished indigenous peoples here in the Mountain of Mexico. And please consider being generous with the diocesan-wide "Mission Mexico Collection" in parishes on the weekend of December 12-13. Thank you, and God bless.

Driving the mountain roads in early morning or late night often offers
some incredible skies

National Award for Father Fred Monk in Canada

On July 1, 2020, the Governor General of Canada announced that Father Fred Monk, founder of Mission Mexico, was being awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (Civilian) for his labours on behalf of the indigenous, impoverished peoples in the mountains of the State of Guerrero, Mexico.

One of the reasons that Mission Mexico is able to provide assistance that truly transforms lives in the marginalized region of the Mountain of Guerrero is that we have incredible "partners" who accompany the people in their struggles for justice and life with dignity. One of those partners is the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain. When they heard that Father Fred Monk (founder of Mission Mexico) received the Meritorious Service Medal in Canada, the Tlachinollan team asked me to forward to him the following words of congratulations (I promise that the message is worth reading, to understand the world here and to understand the "quality" of our partners here):

Father Fred:

In the most difficult moments that Moses had to confront with the people of Israel,

he climbed the Mountain to strengthen his spirit and

to receive the tablets of the law of God.

One of the best teachings that Jesus left us

was the Sermon on the Mount:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the reign of heaven is theirs.”

A reign that has not arrived fully yet,

but that we continue building from the peripheries of the world.

Father Fred,

in your first visit to the Mountain of Guerrero,

you discovered the suffering faces of the children of the “people of the rain.”

You encountered simple, silent women

who live daily with a worldly suffering.

You were aghast at the subhuman conditions of their humble homes

where they eat and sleep on dirt floors.

You contemplated the furrows of hunger,

and you savoured the joy of eating corn with the common people.

You entered into the community-centered heart

of a sacred land.

Because the earth is a mother

who feeds her children

with the fruit of their labours.

On the crests of the mountain summits

the elderly wise women and men of these communities

read in the heavens the signs of the times.

They know if there will be abundance or if there will be drought

during the course of the year,

sickness or health among the families,

war or peace among the villages.

They pray that the sacred powers

calm their fury

so that the rain, the wind, and

the clouds be a divine blessing

that will cause the community’s corn fields to flourish.

The best gift from God

is to be a witness to this fellowship

that is practiced in the Mountain.

In the midst of the extreme poverty,

there lives a spirit of solidarity,

the fiesta that unifies families

around their patron saint

or around their mother,

the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The women and the men of the Mountain

understand life as a freely-given gift from God,

to whom they are to be always grateful.

For that reason, prayer

isn’t really prayer for them

if they don’t also present

an offering,

a candle,

and flowers.

With this simplicity and this mysticism,

the people of the Mountain

have evangelized us.

They have taught us how to really practice

the teachings of Jesus

in the midst of so many adversities,

both economic and technological.

Father Fred,

thank you for sharing your faith and your love

among the very least of the least

in this land forgotten by governments.

You continue being present among us here

through this life-giving project

that you so wisely baptized as

Mission Mexico.

You have allowed so many boys and girls

to be able to go on to higher education.

You have helped women and men in so many families

to receive training in different trades and professions.

Many people today, because of your assistance,

enjoy decent health.

They were able to have access

to lab tests, to medicines,

and on occasion, to be able

to bury a loved one with dignity.

We simply want to say to you,

as the team of Tlachinollan,

that you have been always with us in our labours

during our years of accompanying these peoples.

You have always been attentive to the neediest of the needy:

to battered and abused women,

to malnourished children,

to families in mourning

for the death of their father

in the fields of large agribusinesses.

Father Fred,

blessed is that moment when you, like Moses,

came to the Mountain;

and like Jesus, you have put into practice,

during your priestly ministry,

the gospel beatitudes.

You have been a prophet as well in your own land.

That is how we understand this recognition that you have received

from the Governor General of Canada,

the Meritorious Service Medal.

For those of us who know you,

We are filled with pride for you and we congratulate you.

Because we know that in your heart there resides

an infinite love for the sons and daughters

of this beloved plot of land:

the Mountain of Guerrero.

Receive our affection and our admiration.

Abel Barrera and the Tlachinollan team

                                            July 1, 2020

LENT IN THE MOUNTAINS: SILENCE AND SIMPLICITY

The cross in Acatepec, a traditional symbol for Lent

Here in the mountains of Mexico, Lent has begun. A unique custom here is that two or three or four parishes celebrate each of the six Fridays of Lent: First Friday, Second Friday, etc., right up to the Sixth Friday, the Friday before Good Friday. Each celebration involves music, dancing, sporting events, fireworks, processions, etc. It’s just a little different from the Lent that I experienced growing up in Canada.

Can there be a better photo to symbolize simplicity?

I like the simplicity of this time of year. I spend a lot of time driving on the isolated dirt roads of the mountains, and I try to spend more time in silence and prayer. It is the middle of the dry season, so I don’t have to worry so much about mud or landslides. I always hope that this time will help me to be a more compassionate and loving person, and I am always aware that my being here, doing what I am doing, is due to the compassionate and loving persons in the Diocese of Calgary who support Mission Mexico.

First Friday with friends in Cuixinipa

Since one of Mission Mexico’s focus areas is education, I spend a lot of time trying to help young people find places to continue their educational journey. Sometimes things work out; sometimes they don’t. But even the effort seems to nourish hope, and hope, I am convinced, is one of the most life-giving gifts that one can share here.

Friends in Barrio Nuevo

Just last week I attended a ceremony where Icodia, a young woman from Cerro de la Garza, one of the highest and coldest and poorest areas of the mountains, received her accounting degree. This is a first for someone from her family and from her village. She expressed her gratitude to Mission Mexico for helping her achieve her dream; Mission Mexico gave her a monthly bursary for several years of her university career.

Icodia with her family on her special day

And Edgar, a young man who is in a wheelchair for life after a nasty fall in the mountains three years ago, is registering to study psychology at university in the fall. As I write these lines today, Edgar is coming out of anesthesia in a hospital in Mexico City; he was operated on this morning, and the doctors told his mother that the operation went well.

Edgar (in blue), with Lindsey and Gerardo

The young lady in the photo above graduated as a physiotherapist, thanks in part to a bursary from Mission Mexico, and she and two of her friends recently opened a clinic here in one of the larger (and poorer) neighborhoods of Tlapa. Most of their work involves home visits to people who are bedridden.

Lindsey and her fellow physiotherapists in front of their small clinic

Elizabeth, a young woman who fractured her spinal cord ten months ago, continues to try to walk. I was saddened when her father told me the other day that he was going to leave his family for a few months and go to work in the neighboring state of Michoacan. There he can earn 200 pesos a day picking tomatoes. Seven days work will earn him 1,400 pesos a week: almost exactly one hundred Canadian dollars. That’s about double what he can earn here in the mountains in a week. So even though he doesn’t want to leave his wife and daughter and son, he feels he has no choice.

Elizabeth can stand, and one leg is stronger than the other and allows her to move

And this past week I went to the Champagnat High School of the Mountain, in Potoichan, to celebrate the birthday of Brother Salvador, better known as Cepillo. This wonderful Marist brother has been with the school since its beginning in 2004, and Mission Mexico has been a proud partner with him in offering education to more than 200 students a year.

Brother Cepi, or Cepillo... his real name is Salvador

One of the indigenous students, Gabriela, read to Cepillo a speech that she had prepared. I will end this note with a part of her speech. I think it reflects not only on Cepillo, but on Gabriela and on all the people here in the mountains who are partners with Mission Mexico in the struggle for life with dignity, justice, and love.

Gabriela reading her speech to Cepillonish)

Gabriela stated:  Good afternoon, Cepi. More than anything, I want to congratulate you on this special day when we are gathered to celebrate another year of your life. I want you to know that you are a very special person, much beloved and a real fighter. There is so much to be grateful to you for; please forgive us for all of our actions that make you feel bad. We give you infinite thanks for always being there for us as a father and a friend. We thank God for placing you in our path to be a light, a guide who always speaks to us truthfully so that we can be better persons tomorrow. We thank you for your advice, your affection, your attention in any circumstance that befalls us. Thank you for being a unique person who always wants the best for us. Thank you for your laughter, for your joy, for your upbeat ways, and for you being a part of our lives.

This is Gabriela's full speech (in Spanish)

You could have easily decided to stay in your own house and form your own family and have many comforts and lived with your loved ones. Nevertheless, you gave up all of that; you opted to form a family that God wanted, like the family formed by Saint Marcelino to help the needy….

More than seeing you as a great Marist educator, I, in your face and in your being, encounter the reflection of my parents and grandparents. I see those grey hairs that make my imagination soar to dream of being like you someday and to share experiences with those who surround me. I see that smile that always encourages me, even when I don’t see a way out; your words always give me hope; you are like the password for a doorway when I feel lost. Your positive attitude always helps me to keep dreaming and struggling to fly higher. Even your way of walking gives me security, teaching me to not weaken on the journey and to keep my eyes centered on my goals…

Please pray for my friend Juve, who has cancer and is very weak; on Saturday I will
drive him to his home village of Alpoyeca; he wants to visit his elderly parents there

Educational Bursaries in "México Profundo" in 2020

In 1987, a Mexican ethnologist and anthropologist named Guillermo Bonfil Batalla published a book called "Mexico Profundo: Reclaiming a Civilization." "México Profundo" could be translated as "Deep Mexico," "Profound Mexico"—perhaps even "Real Mexico." For the author, what unifies and distinguishes "México Profundo" from the rest of Mexican society "is that they are bearers of ways of understanding the world and of organizing human life that have their origins in Mesoamerican civilization and that have been forged here in Mexico through a long and complicated historical process."

Many of the bursary recipients are graduates of the Marist-run Champagnat High
School of the Mountain, a school constructed and maintained in partnership with MMEX

Such are the indigenous peoples in the Mountain of Guerrero. Such are the peoples with whom Mission Mexico partners in their efforts for justice, dignity, peace, life. Those who do not identify with "Mexico Profundo" are, in the opinion of the author, part of "Imaginary Mexico"—a Mexico that does not exist but whose ultimate project is to uphold the dominant civilizational program geared towards what we might call "Western" values and goals. 

Sharing clothes in the Mountain before the cold season begins in December

As the indigenous peoples here in the 700 villages of the Mountain from the Na'savi, Nahuatl, and Me'phaa cultures strive to survive and dream of flourishing in Mexico today, the challenges are many. Mission Mexico's solidarity with the peoples involves especially two areas: health and education.

Hopefully my friend Braulio will grow strong and continue his education someday...

I often wish that Guillermo Bonfil Batalla had not died in 1991. I would love to talk with him about the solidarity projects sponsored by the Catholic Diocese of Calgary and ask him about what he might consider its pros and cons. I daresay that it is impossible to have a "perfect" relationship when the rich or privileged or better-off interact with the poor and marginalized and forgotten—but I daresay that it is possible to have a relationship that is based on respect, listening, reflection together, joint decision making, and working together. And this is the "culture" that Mission Mexico tries to promote in its interactions with the peoples here. And Mexican "partners" here that collaborate with Mission Mexico, every bit as informed and astute as Guillermo Bonfil Batalla, continually accompany us in our journeys of solidarity.

The lack of electricity doesn't mean that supper can't be an enjoyable experience.

I recently sent to the Mission Mexico committee in Calgary a list of project proposals for 2020. This committee is composed of volunteers from Calgary who, out of the goodness of their heart, work to raise funds for Mission Mexico and to coordinate the use of these funds so that they are put to the best use here in the mountains. I actually felt bad when I assembled the different requests for bursaries that different young people had submitted to study a university career and forwarded these to the Mission Mexico committee.

Elizabeth fell and fractured her spinal column in June, but someday she hopes
to be able to continue studying.

Last year, in 2018, there were 27 students who wished to renew for another year their Mission Mexico bursary, and there were 13 new requests for a Mission Mexico bursary. This year, in November of 2019, there are 39 bursary renewals, and there are 36 new requests for a bursary. In other words, the numbers jump from 40 bursaries in 2019 to 75 bursaries requested for 2020.

This is the home of José, one of the present bursary recipients.

I have visited, spoken with, and know these young people. The need is real. Without outside support, the dream of a university education and a professional career will be just that: a dream. 

My 91-year-old friend Reyna, deaf-mute all her life, died last week. 

I share these thoughts with you, the reader, because, unless the donations to Mission Mexico increase in the very near future, it will be impossible for Mission Mexico to award 75 bursaries. At the moment, only God knows what will happen. But please, if you can assist in helping these young people achieve their goal, please consider a donation for Mission Mexico. Thank you.

Maria receives a MMEX bursary; her parents died; when I last visited Maria,
her grandmother prepared me breakfast on this, her "kitchen stove."

If you enter Facebook and go to MissionMexicoRC, you can see videos of a couple of bursary recipients and see photos of the reality of the mountains of Mexico. God bless.

Seven of these children walk three kilometers to school and three kilometers
back home each day. They appreciate the sucker from MMEX.

Mission Mexico and Human Flourishing

The Bible is about human flourishing…I suggest that while “human flourishing” is certainly not the only metaphor to describe the message of the Bible, it is a way of describing God’s work that needs to be restored to a place of stature and that provides insights into the whole message of the Bible.

-       Jonathan T. Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing: A Theological Commentary (2017)

Peter McWhir visited from Calgary and quickly became a member of the family here in Pozolapa

I can’t get this thought out of my head. The Bible is about human flourishing. Mission Mexico is about human flourishing. The Bible vision is in process. The Mission Mexico vision is in process. The Bible speaks to who we are as people and who we can and should become. Mission Mexico tries to offer people in the mountains of Mexico an opportunity to become whom they wish to become and people in the Diocese of Calgary an opportunity to become whom they wish to become.

These students, seen here with Brother Cepillo (Salvador), are learning to play guitar
at the Champagnat High School of the Mountain

Here in the mountains of Mexico, the task of human flourishing is a most challenging one. The realities of village life (little paid work, low salaries if there is work, low prices for local crops, difficult access to educational opportunities, little access to health care, high costs of transportation, discrimination against the indigenous peoples, etc.) make the simple task of survival a difficult one for many. But the Bible’s message is one of hope, and Mission Mexico does what it can to nourish that hope.

This youth group from the Cathedral in Tlapa works for human flourishing for all

Mission Mexico supports a number of “projects” year round, such as the Champagnat High School of the Mountain, or the Tlachinollan Human Rights Center of the Mountain, or the La Estacion Day Care Center, or the Xalpitzahuac Health Project, or the dozens of scholarships assisting students in different universities. Thousands of people benefit regularly from this solidarity. But every week seems to offer different opportunities to serve the people in this quest for human flourishing.

Father Ruben Torres is a priest and anthropologist and works tirelessly for human flourishing

For example, the hope is that in this month of May (and if not, surely in June) the rainy season will begin. The soil here in the mountains is not very rich, and for years the government has offered fertilizers to the impoverished peasant farmers. But there has always been a lot of corruption and mismanagement with this program. A new federal government that took power in Mexico in December of 2018 is trying to assure that the fertilizer reaches the needy farmers, but many of the farmers are not aware of the changes in the “rules of the game,” and they often lack the documentation necessary to prove just how much fertilizer they need or proof that they really do have a piece of land that they wish to plant. So I have been driving all over the mountains recently trying to “help out” in as many cases as I can.

With the rainy season starting soon, there will be days that I won't be able to get to where i want to go

It’s the same thing with education at this time of year. Most schools and universities begin offering registration and/or “entrance exams” in May or June for the new school year that will begin in August. Graduating high school students are especially challenged because the university or teachers college or technical school where they hope to study is often located in a city to which the student has never traveled. So I have tried to be as “helpful” as I can in many of these cases. If anything, it will be education, I daresay, that most nourishes the hope of “human flourishing” in the impoverished indigenous villages.

Marist Brother Wicho (Jose Luis) is the director of the Champagnat High School
of the Mountain, where the message of "human flourishing for all" is exemplified

And there are the “usual” daily crises that impact the lives of so many families: unexpected illnesses; unexpected deaths; unexpected emergencies. For example, in recent weeks I have taken a thirteen-year-old girl three times to a psychologist for therapy after a violent sexual assault by several men. The girl was so traumatized that she couldn’t even speak for a week after the incident; she just sat on the dirt floor of her house crying. The sessions with a gentle female psychologist who speaks her language is helping the girl immensely.

Preparing corn (pozole) for visitors to a village festival; the local religious leader,
Tomás, is blessing the corn

And sometimes there are “occurrences” that work out favorably for this “human flourishing.” A few weeks ago, a hardware store went out of business, and Mission Mexico was able to buy at cost price a large supply of materials for “Alex’s Welding Shop” at the Champagnat High School of the Mountain. “Alex´s Welding Shop” offers training to students in welding, plumbing, and electricity, and is named after Alex Graf, a young man from Medicine Hat who died in a traffic accident in 2014; his family and friends sent a donation to begin this project, and they continue to support each year.

Marist Brother Checo (Sergio) is in charge of Alex's Welding Shop

All of these attempts to assist the poor in their situations of need are possible because of the generosity of people in the Diocese of Calgary who support Mission Mexico. I mentioned in the first paragraph that I see Mission Mexico as an opportunity for people in the Diocese of Calgary to become whom they wish to become. I am thinking of the desire of people to be good human beings, to share with those in need, to witness to the message of Jesus that we are all sisters and brothers. For parents, I would hope that it is an opportunity to educate their children that we can journey together in this struggle for human flourishing. I thank all of you for your solidarity with this cause. God bless.

The chapel at the local Diocesan Seminary of Tlapa has three flags flying in front: Mexico, the Vatican,
and Canada. Why Canada? Because of the incredible solidarity for the Mountain from people
in the Diocese of Calgary, Alberta, Canada