CHERRY HILL — The large gathering here at the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light on Aug. 4 dealt directly with one of the times’ most contentious political issues: the treatment of migrants, especially children, at the U.S.-Mexico border. Yet the event resembled nothing so much as a wake, with people coming together for spiritual strength in the face of heartbreaking tragedy.
The “Free Our Children” interfaith vigil featured talks by clergy, an immigration lawyer, a social worker and others. But it was characterized less by overt political advocacy than by a communal expression of grief for the children who have died for coming to the United States, for those who have been traumatized, and for those whose fates remain uncertain.
The event drew some 150 people who filled most of the seats in the parish center, but on the stage were seven empty chairs, representing the children who have died while in the custody of U.S. immigration agencies, or shortly after being released from them, in the past year.
Two were adult chairs for the dead 16-year-olds, and four were smaller chairs, for those children ages 2-10. In front was a baby seat with a photograph of Mariee Juarez, a 1-year-old.
Last month Mariee’s mother, Yazmin Juárez, testified at a hearing before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. “We came to America, where I hoped to build a better, safer life for my daughter Mariee,” Juárez told the subcommittee in Spanish. “Unfortunately, I watched my baby girl die, slowly and painfully.”
At the end of the vigil in Cherry Hill, Barbara Long of the group sponsoring the event, Multifaith Action for Social Justice of South Jersey, read the names of the seven dead children. As she left the stage, her face was tense from trying to contain her emotions, and a man rose from his seat to embrace her.
His name is Luis Canales, and he was one of the evening’s speakers. To escape gang violence, he fled Honduras alone at the age of 16. Through perseverance and luck, he was eventually granted asylum and is now an immigration lawyer with a practice in Cherry Hill.
When he gave his presentation, Canales indicated the empty chairs on the stage and said, “I was one of those children when I came to the United States,” explaining that he spent two months under harsh conditions in a detention center.
His embrace of Barbara Long was emblematic of the evening which saw members of the clergy of different faith traditions emphasizing the need for tolerance and acceptance that is common to both their religions and America’s founding principles.
In speaking about fear that leads to the mistreatment of migrants, Mufti Niaz Hannan, imam and religious director, Islamic Center of New Jersey, asked, “Is this Christian? Is this Jewish? Is this Muslim?” Each time the crowded responded, “No!” Then he asked, “Is this American?” and again was answered with an emphatic, “No!”
“How can we be so different and be so united?” he asked. “Because we are the United States of America.”
But the evening included dire warnings as well. Mickey Steinitz of Saint Teresa of Calcutta Parish, Collingswood, a licensed clinical social worker, talked about the long-lasting effects children can suffer from being taken from their parents, even for short periods of time — trauma that untold numbers of children have already endured.
Father Gerard Marable, co-pastor of Sacred Heart Parish, Camden, noted that American history has had a dark side, and people are right to be justly outraged about what has, and is still happening. But, he warned, those fighting for justice must guard against being filled with hatred.
“If we are going to confront this, we have to confront ourselves,” he said. The controversy over the border is not simply about government policy, politics and ideology, he said. “It is a spiritual battle.”
Father Tom Newton, pastor of the Catholic Community of Christ Our Light, made welcoming remarks, and Father Kenneth Hallahan, a retired priest of the Camden Diocese, presided. Cheryl Dunican-Hein of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Cherry HiIl gave the opening prayer, and Rabbi Jennifer Frankel and Anita Hochman, cantor emerita, Congregation M’kor Shalom, presented a faith perspective.
Deb Celhar presented information about KIND (Kids In Need of Defense) which provides legal representation to children in immigration court. As participants left, organizers distributed envelopes encouraging people to donate to KIND so that migrant children would not appear in court alone but with appropriate legal representations.
at the bottom and then tap “Add to Home Screen”
