Louder Than Words

Feb. 1, 2020

Knights bring food, clothing, medicine — and a Posada celebration — to migrants on the border

By R. Daniel Cavazos

Feb. 1, 2020

Knights unload food and supplies for the migrant families at the Casa del Migrante in Matamoros, Mexico, Dec. 13. (Photo by Spirit Juice Studios)

Servando Salinas Rios and a dozen other Knights hoisted the last boxes of food and supplies over their shoulders and carried them to the nearby Casa del Migrante, a migrant shelter in Matamoros, Mexico.

“Helping people who don’t have anything to eat, or a place to live, fills me with a lot of joy,” said Salinas Rios, 23, a member of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe Council 16378 in Matamoros, just across the border from Brownsville, Texas.

Inside the shelter, young mothers holding toddlers balanced music sheets with their free hands to sing during a Posada celebration hosted by the Knights.

Among those participating in the Dec. 13 event were Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, who had earlier blessed the truckload of supplies, and Bishop Eugenio Lira of Matamoros. Bishop Flores noted that Las Posadas — an Advent tradition reenacting Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter before the birth of Jesus — can be viewed as a reflection of the whole immigrant experience.

“At times, the world closes its eyes and does not want to recognize the difficulties of human existence,” Bishop Flores said. “I’d like to thank the Knights for raising awareness and reaching out to people who are on the peripheries.”

The event in Matamoros was part of the Order’s initiative, announced at the Supreme Convention last August, to provide vital humanitarian assistance to migrant families in cooperation with dioceses and councils near the U.S.-Mexico border. Knights in Texas and Mexico have similarly distributed aid in Piedras Negras and Ciudad Juárez, where Central American immigrants seeking asylum await lawful entry to the United States.

A TEAM EFFORT

The story of the K of C border initiative begins in El Paso, Texas. Knights there, in conjunction with local parishes, had spent $54,000 by mid-2019 to purchase food, prepare cooked meals and rent showers for migrants across the border in Ciudad Juárez.

Border towns like Juárez have struggled to accommodate the growing number of men, women and children waiting to be considered for asylum in the United States.

“Parishes and councils were simply running out of money,” said Supreme Director Terry Simonton, a past state deputy of Texas.

Simonton approached the Supreme Council for help, and his request led to the initiative announced by Supreme Knight Carl Anderson at the Supreme Convention in Minneapolis.

In his annual report, the supreme knight stated, “This is not a political statement. … This is about helping people who need our help right now.”

The Knights of Columbus has since delivered more than $270,000 in aid to help meet the humanitarian needs at the border. With each delivery, Texas Knights have been welcomed and assisted by their Mexican brothers.

“I can’t say enough about our brother Knights from Mexico and the United States, working together to help make the migrants’ lives a little better,” Simonton said. “The bonds that our brother Knights made at these distributions will never be forgotten.”

Armando González, a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus/San Felipe Neri Council 11980 in Hidalgo, Texas, and a former district deputy, said it was gratifying to help those in need so close to home.

“We have helped people in many parts of the world,” he said. “Today, we are helping our Hispanic brothers who find themselves here in Mexico.”

The migrants need more than food and shelter, said Servando Salinas Rios, who also helped with the delivery.

“We should support people in need with food and bread,” he said, “but more importantly, with love and an embrace — taking the time to meet them and talk to them and listen to what they have to say.”

Bishop Flores echoed this sentiment when he spoke to the shelter’s residents.

“We are here to give this testimony — that you are to be treated as a person, not a problem, a number, a statistic that does not have an identity,” Bishop Flores said. “You have an identity that God has given you as sons and daughters of God.”

Bishops from both sides of the border visited the Matamoros shelter with K of C leaders. Pictured left to right (front row): State Deputy Juan Manuel Quintanilla Balcázar of Mexico Northeast, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Bishop Eugenio Lira of Matamoros, and Auxiliary Bishop Mario Avilés of Brownsville; (back row center in white): Texas State Secretary Alfredo Vela and Supreme Director Terry Simonton, a past state deputy of Texas.

JOY AND SORROW

Fraternity and love of neighbor were especially evident during the shared Posada celebration, which was followed by a hearty lunch of tamales and festivities for the children. Excited boys and girls swung sticks at piñatas and then scurried to scoop up the candies that had fallen to the floor.

Yet the joy and fellowship felt at the event were interspersed with painful reminders of what drove the migrants on long journeys from their homelands. Edwin Reyes, a young Nicaraguan barely past his teenage years, spoke emotionally of fleeing the political repression in his country.

“I am one of the people who defends our country, civically and democratically, and yet the government has tried to kill us,” he said. “Like many who are here, I am asking for an opportunity, because we fear losing our lives.”

Another migrant, Wendy Concepción Castro Cruz of Honduras, spoke of being separated from her husband and son while staying at the shelter with her daughter. Her husband and son are awaiting initial asylum hearings in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

“It is difficult being apart,” said Castro Cruz, who worked daily at the shelter kitchen in Matamoros to show her gratitude. “We hope to be back together someday and make it to the United States to work hard, do our part, and provide for our children.”

The Knights witnessed the character and resiliency of the migrants, along with their gratitude for the distribution of food, shoes, medicine and hygiene items.

“At every distribution, the people were so appreciative,” Simonton said. “There is no doubt that these events have changed the lives of the migrants for the better. It has also changed the lives of the Knights who have participated.”

Bishop Eugenio Lira of Matamoros connected the distribution of aid to Christ’s “golden rule” about treating others as we would want to be treated.

“This is what the Caballeros are doing in expressing love and solidarity with migrants who are going through difficult circumstances,” Bishop Lira said. “The testimony of what’s actually done is stronger than words.”

For Simonton, the response of the migrants says it all.

“The smiles on the faces of the children and their parents are priceless,” he said. “I’m so proud of what the Knights have done.”

R. DANIEL CAVAZOS is a veteran journalist based in Brownsville, Texas.

Archbishop William Lori blesses survivors of human trafficking.

Louder Than Words

A TEAM EFFORT

JOY AND SORROW

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