Love and Peace in the Times of Kids in Cages
By Kelly Curry
Even after one solid year of cultivating and witnessing the magic of local peace economy, tumbling with it into the unknown is still a frightening thing.
Right now though, it seems like the only best antidote for the things happening in our world.
Like Jane Fonda who has been inspired to “upend” her life and move to Washington, D.C. in order to lend her voice and passion to demand action around climate change, on Saturday October 12th, I climbed into the car with neighbors and friends to head down to Tijuana, Mexico to lend a helping hand and bring back news of both troubles and hopes for folks seeking refuge at the US/MX border.
A child in one of the refugee camps at the border recently told us, “if we are going to survive we need hope and joy.” I realized in that moment that we will all need to find and share and bask in good news, joy, love and hope. Cultivate and conjure peace if we are to survive these times...these times of kids in cages and the warring of destructive forces that seem to be on a crusade to obliterate life.
So taking what I have learned here during my time on Earth and honing in specifically on the lessons of Local Peace Economy, I am committing my life, my time and my energy to hearing the stories of people who are attending to the intentional cultivation of peace from the Bay to the Border and beyond.
We will be bringing these stories to you.
The one thing I’m sure of is that I won’t be doing it alone.
Organizing local peace economy makes lots of friends, the kinds of friends who agree that there is justice and love for the migrant. They know that bullying, starving, emotionally maiming and hurting citizens of the world seeking refuge at our borders is a crime.
This effort brings together all of the folks I’ve worked with, talked to, built with, shared dreams, cried with...and prayed with...along on this journey.
That makes it a lot less frightening
My local Oakland peace economy has shown up for the journey...folks who are committed to food justice, environmental justice and overall human rights. Our travels will include a visit with our friend Pancho who walked barefoot from our Oakland community to the US/Mexico border where he unfurled a borderless Earth flag at San Ysidro Port of Entry and was promptly arrested by border patrol.
Upon his release to Mexico he joined forces with a refugee camp in Tijuana and began sharing his love of meditation, the practice of yoga and other stress relieving tools with the children at the camp.
As a blessing and a prayer for our trip we touched the border soil at the ocean and began by singing and praying for Pancho and the children at the camp and children like Jakelin Amei Rosemary Cael Maquin, 7 years old who perished one year ago in ICE custody and the thousands more who have perished.
We will continue by hearing about why Pancho is doing what he is doing and from the children about their meditation practices.
Please enjoy this song by Dina Erie, recorded at the US/MX border wall on the afternoon of Sunday, October 13. Dina is an artist and activist traveling in order to connect with her people, the Haitian community, also in Tijuana, seeking refuge, stability and home in the midst of climate change, the devastating impact of war economy and like the rest of us wanting to share love and peace in the times of kids in cages.