Lejos de Casa: Far Away from Home

Over 13,000 steps. 6 miles. We can safely say we walked all around Tijuana. Our day was packed, continuing with the theme. After breakfast at 7:30, we went out on the town with (Mr. Dawkins always reminds us) our tripods, cameras, and SD cards. Our first stop was Casa De Luz, a sanctuary where members of the LGBTQ+ community are safe to wait there for their asylum hearing. These people come from all over the world and most of them are persecuted in their home countries and by their families. We met young people there from Mexico, Russia, and Ukraine. 

 

We split into two teams. One team baked and cooked food to serve later in the day at the binational church service, and the other worked the garden. We also had a special guest come visit us at the house. Luis, the cinematographer for a short film that had a premiere screening in Friendship Park just a few hours later, joined us for a Q&A about his filmmaking process. 

 

The film, Lejos de Casa, is about migrant children who are unaccompanied and seeking asylum in the United States, but have to wait in Tijuana for their asylum hearing.

 

We sat down with Luis, the cinematographer, as he told us about the film and why it was made. It certainly proved to be helpful, as this class is about the art of documentary. 

 

Luis was able to give us insight into how to create a story on such a tough topic. After the interview, we visited our guide, Ricarból’s, house, which is an art collective. There, a few of us got gift for our families. After running a bit behind, we took a quick pit stop at a local store to get some snacks. 

 

Arriving in Friendship Park, we went to the bi-national mass given by Pastor Guerrillero. The most influential part was when the whole congregation walked up to the wall, placed our hands on the wall, and said a prayer for the migrant and immigrant families and all those affected by physical boundaries and laws. After the mass, we took the food cooked and baked from our time at Casa de Luz and passed it out after the mass. With a break before dinner, we were able to interview mass attendants and collect b-roll at the park. Then we headed to El Cascaron, the restaurant ran by the two people who have been making us our breakfast and dinner each day. After another meal of fantastic--and I truly mean fantastic--food, we listened to the story of Leo and Caro on how Leo became a cook and came to run his own restaurant. After dinner, we returned to Friendship Park to end the day by watching the documentary Luis and his team of four worked on. The film highlights the experience of unaccompanied children in Tijuana and their journey to enter the United States.

 

The stories that we as a group (or individuals) have heard have truly been remarkable. The lasting impact of the people around Mexico that we have visited and the views we have taken in have been memorable. We have come to understand that borders do not stop people from dignifying their humanity, but only hinder their resilience to be reunited with families, start new lives, or finally breathe a sigh of relief. At the end of the day, we are all human. 

 

“The good Samaritan recognized the dignity in the other and cared for his life.” -  Luke 10:25-37

Owen Weis