“The struggle is permanent. We will never live in a perfect world. But we will continue forward, step by step. Our hope lies not in the arrival, but in the journey. Triumph is not guaranteed. The only triump we can count on is to get up off the ground each time and start over ” (Pepe Mujica, Madrid, 2018).
On its XII Anniversary, we commemorate the joy and hope that La 72 Migrant and Refugee Shelter offers to thousands of people who have passed through this oasis. We thank them with some testimonies of people who multiply hope with their own hands as they volunteering at La 72. We dedicate this note to each walker, migrant and fighter who arrives looking for freedom.
La 72 does not stop. They keep moving vorward with a fighting spirit to forge dignified futures for people who are on the move. Congratulations, gratitude, and admiration for your great service!
Eric Luna
- Who exactly are migrant people, based on your experience?
People in mobility, migrant people, if we talk about those that La 72 and other migrant houses welcome, are those who have decided to leave or flee their countries of origin in search of a better situation for their lives and/or their families. These people on the move have often been forced by the migration policies of the Nation States to travel irregularly and undocumented in transit, which makes them vulnerable and exposed to many dangers that, ironically, they are blamed for suffering. People on the move, migrants in irregular transits, are as equal as any person I may meet, however, from my experience: they have a spirit of great strength, of great animus that helps to overcome any fear or doubt that appears along the way.
- What have you enjoyed most in your service as a volunteer at La 72?
Being in La 72 as a volunteer has made me happy, happy because I feel that I can help someone, accompany them and feel like that, just for a few days. I have learned to work as a team and appreciate the camaraderie of volunteering. This combination makes me say that I have enjoyed every moment depending on the circumstance and the weather: whether it is helping in the kitchen and serving meals, talking with the boys and girls, accompanying anyone who needs it, etc. I enjoy serving as a volunteer at La 72 because each activity I do helps me grow.
- How has this service marked you spiritually?
Spiritually it has led me to know my limits but it has also freed me; spiritually it has strengthened me and led to reflections that otherwise, I probably would not have. Spiritually it has marked my life as far as it goes, precisely because that humanitarian spirituality emanating from La 72, drives me to continue, care for and mature said service from my person and with those around me.
- Could you mention the name of a person whom you would like to thank for providing this service?
Andrea Montserrat Hernández
- Who exactly are migrant people, based on your experience?
We are all those people who, in exercise of our rights, move to different places either voluntarily or by force.
During my stay at 72, I was able to realize that everyone can be a migrant, however, not all people have the opportunity to migrate safely or reach their destination.
- What have you enjoyed most in your service as a volunteer at La 72?
There have been many things that I have enjoyed as a volunteer, but the main ones are the following:
Meeting people from other parts of the world, as they have helped me discover other ways of working, thinking and building a fairer world.
I enjoyed sharing spaces where they taught me that not even borders are capable of stopping dreams and goals.
Being able to create fraternal bonds and friendship despite the distance.
Finding my vocation, when I was at 72 I was studying law and I didn’t know if it was really what I wanted to dedicate myself to, however, while there I discovered that I am passionate about defending human rights.
- How has this service marked you spiritually?
I marked myself through each person I met at the shelter as I developed the ability to recognize Jesus in him and in the other.
Seeing Jesus being persecuted by the violence of the gangs but at the same time seeing Jesus in the help provided by the volunteers.
Being a volunteer opened my eyes to a reality that hurts and uncomfortable, during that volunteering I heard and saw extremely sad and unfair situations and having had the opportunity to live with friars helped me to process all these experiences, in addition to helping me to have another look at these contexts that cross us every day.
Could you mention the name of a person whom you would like to thank for providing this service?
There are so many names that go through my head, however, one of the people I was able to live with the most was Gasti from Argentina. I thank him for his kindness and friendship, as well as the smiles and looks of hope that he shared with each of the people who had the opportunity to meet him. In him I saw the face of Jesus.
Ana María Bonetto
- Who exactly are migrant people, based on your experience?
They are people who seek a better quality of life. None of them migrate because they like it, but they are forced to leave their place of origin for different reasons, trying to find a place that allows them to obtain opportunities to develop their potential in peace, with work, dignity and the money they need to pay for their lives. needs.
- What have you enjoyed most in your service as a volunteer at La 72?
Prior to La 72, I really enjoyed volunteering in the Peruvian Amazon. Due to the distance and economic vicissitudes, I have not been able to return to La 72 again, but I do not lose hope of returning.
- How has this service marked you spiritually?
It allowed me to grow in solidarity, service and gratitude, reaffirming the conviction that the essence of Franciscanism is walking alongside the most vulnerable brother, without judging or discriminating, including EVERYONE.
Could you mention the name of a person whom you would like to thank for providing this service?
I thank all the people who were part of La 72 at that time, especially Fray Tomás and Ramón Márquez.
Juan Arturo Cadena
- Who exactly are migrant people, based on your experience?
They are human beings in search of happiness and freedom, they are people who make us see the decadence of the human being, but at the same time remind us that we can still be respectful, humble, and that compassion still prevails in many of us who also We want a world and a future full of opportunities, where these people can enjoy justice and peace. Being a migrant is a right of each one of us. I prefer a phrase by Pedro Pantoja Arreola “when the young emigrate hope emigrates”
- What have you enjoyed most in your service as a volunteer at La 72?
Without a doubt, living with the migrant population and especially with my fellow volunteers, sharing experiences, tastes, learning from other cultures and languages, moments of sadness or joy, anger, but also words of encouragement and encouragement.
I still remember the afternoon I arrived at La 72 when James helped me with my suitcase, I also remember when Jana Douglas left and I cried inconsolably because I felt what it was like to let go of a friendship as valuable as hers.
I remember the first time I entered 72, I had two days after arriving and one afternoon when I was in the kitchen The Beast was already close and they began to yell the train! And I saw how women, men, young and old ran, parents pulling their children, leaving their suitcases or backpacks on many occasions, going towards an uncertain future leaving behind an uncertain life.
I really liked being able to teach my colleagues how to work at La 72 when they didn’t know how to do it, the camaraderie that is created within this place is magical, it surrounds you and unites you with each one of them, I learned a lot from the former director Ramón and of many human rights defenders. I remember that on my second stay at 72 I met María Boneto and Miriam Beccar, Argentine women with a lot of temper, a lot of peace and social fighters, they taught me the value of things and the meaning of life; I ask God to always protect them and to allow me one day to enjoy a mate with them again.
Strengthen ties of friendship in no time, taking into account that we are very different people, but with the same objective; help migrants in their journey and above all make them see that they are also human beings who do not need to leave their home, I thank life for having shown me Honduran people who taught me to dance “la punta”, the Salvadorans with their rich “pupusa” to each and every one who gave me their trust and vulnerability, thank you.
- How has this service marked you spiritually?
It touched my human sensitivity, it made me see that there are problems beyond my own, and that there are people I can help; It made me believe once again in social justice, just as migrants believe in God during their journey in search of equal opportunities and a peaceful society. Without a doubt, it marked my life forever psychologically, but my spirit of service was reinforced and my convictions are stronger.
If there is something up there I hope one day it will let me in.
Could you mention the name of a person whom you would like to thank for providing this service?
I thank each of the volunteers that I met during the 3 stays that I did, I carry them in my heart; I had many strong connections, but without a doubt I thank Hilda Leticia Zarate Cervantes for having been at La 72.
Miriam Beccar
- Who exactly are migrant people, based on your experience?
Migrants have become for me teachers of hope, walkers of a utopia of a more fraternal world. I have not seen anyone like them who knew the risk of the road, but also the motivating force of living with hope, even against all hope. They are admirable. And this utopia has no age.
- What have you enjoyed most in your service as a volunteer at La 72?
From the day I found out about the existence of Hogar-refugio la 72, I had an internal closeness with the situation of migrants. What they lived seemed so inhuman to me, that I couldn’t stop thinking about them, even without knowing them. My desire to go volunteering was very great, to be able to share their lives at that moment where they most need the contact of a human being, who looks at them and receives them as equals in dignity and rights, as brothers and sisters of the same Father God. . And when I had the blessing of being there, I found the welcome of the members of the house (friars and volunteers) and of the migrants who were already there, and it was not difficult to be open and fraternal, I immediately tuned in with the dynamic, because, at some point, we were all united by the same Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus.
- How has this service marked you spiritually?
I cannot define it only as a spiritual experience. The situation of migrant brothers and sisters is so dramatic that it challenges you as a human being and as a child of God. Engage all your senses, even your own history and the meaning of your life and the life of the human being. Definitely, I never went and will never be the same person who went to La 72, and I think that’s very good. It continues to be a shelter not only for migrants, but also for volunteers. I felt at home…
Could you mention the name of a person whom you would like to thank for providing this service?
Fray Jaime Campos Fonseca OFM
Fray Tomás González Castillo OFM
Ramon Marquez
