Six Billion Paths to Peace reaches Mexico
Steve Herrera takes a group of Buddhist and Catholic teens to Mexico for an exploration into service and interfaith dialogue.
In July of 2007, Steve Herrera once again led a team of teenagers to Tijuana, Mexico to work together with the local population on a public works project to improve conditions at an elementary school. Highlights of the trip included a visit to Casa Del Migrante, a place of refuge for Mexican migrants who have been deported from the United States, and a memorial of white crosses set along the US-Mexico border that commemorates those who lost their lives attempting to cross the border, seeking a better life for themselves and their families.
The trip was not only intercultural but interfaith as well. The team of teenagers, composed of Catholic youths from the Diocese of San Jose and Buddhists teens from the Shinnyo-en Temple, participated in numerous dialogues focusing on the similarities between the two religions and their respective viewpoints on service.
Mr. Herrera and a teenage participant on the program, Deanna Alexander, recently sat down with staff from the Shinnyo-en Foundation to talk about their experiences.
Shinnyo-en Foundation: Could you tell me a little bit about how this Mexico program got started?
Steve: A year ago, I was talking with Haru [Inouye, Executive Director of the Shinnyo-en Foundation] and the Foundation about collaborating on a trip between the Diocese of San Jose and Shinnyo-en. We began by talking about working on a grant but then it was also suggested we bring some members of Shinnyo-en community. So two years ago we did an exploratory trip with two adult members of Shinnyo-en, and then last year we recruited several teenage members of Shinnyo-en, to go and do volunteer work in Mexico with the Catholic teens from the Diocese.
SEF: And how would you say this trip compares with last year’s?
Steve: This year’s trip in July 2007 was exceptional because we had more participation from Shinnyo-en than ever before, and the Catholic teens got to talk in much more detail with members of Shinnyo-en who were also teenagers so they had a lot in common. So it definitely exceeded my expectations and was better than any of the other trips I’ve lead in the past 15 years. Not only did we do volunteer work to help improve the conditions in Tijuana, but we were also able to have interfaith dialogue and to learn to respect each other’s religious traditions and in doing so, see how they are both founded on service and compassion.
SEF: Can you give any highlights about working with the local Mexican community and what came out of that experience?
Steve: Basically what we do in Mexico is interact with community members as we mix concrete which is later used to help improve schools and build parks in low income areas of Tijuana. We also visited the border and a place called “Casa Del Migrante” where we talked to people who had been deported from America and hear their migrant stories and about what happened to them and their journey trying to get to the United States. So it was a combination of interaction with the locals and service carried out by mixing concrete and interacting with the kids and other community members.
Deanna: It’s definitely an eye-opener for everyone, because the within the community of Mexico, everyone knows everyone and it’s like a giant family. But it’s much different here in America, specifically California because everyone is a little more separate in their own private spaces. It’s amazing to be able to interact with these people and communicate with them, even if it’s just laughing at something funny, it’s just such a good experience and that you’ll remember for the rest of your life. I’ve never seen people work so hard except on these trips; they’re mixing cement by hand. And we’re helping them, which is great. And this year, because we had more participants, we were able to do a little less work and a lot more interaction with the community which made this trip even better than last year.
SEF: Where you mostly interacting with adults? Or kids?
Deanna: It was definitely a wide range. On some days we even got to hang out with some teenagers our own age which was a lot of fun. And there were a lot of adults and kids, like 9 and younger. And we had the chance to spend a whole day at an orphanage where the oldest kid was 14 and the youngest was just learning how to walk. And it was so much fun being able to spend time with everyone in the community and they really showed how thankful they were that we were down there.
SEF: What surprised you on this trip?
Deanna: Well, at the Casa Del Migrante, we were learning a little about the history of the border and the whole situation with people getting deported and such, and some people we met there who speak English and are amazing and know everything about California. One man knew where I live now because he has been there before. And he got deported after living here for 30 years which I found completely shocking. And it’s just amazing because you get all their stories first hand and it’s much more powerful because you’re hearing directly.
Steve: In addition to that, having the Catholics and the Buddhists there together, that interfaith aspect, was exceptional because people got to talk to each other about their faiths, and they got to express what it means to be Buddhist, what it means to be Catholic, and so a lot of these kids had never had a chance to share their faith openly and to feel accepted, and to feel affirmed in their own religious traditions. So just being able to listen and to hear each other’s stories, that act of sharing was huge and healing for some people because where these kids go to high school they can’t share their Buddhist faith or Catholic faith as freely as they were able to do there. So it was very positive in that respect.
Deanna: And also through the interaction and the sharing of cultures, we realized a lot of the similarities between the two religions. When we would watch each other during prayer, we would notice a lot of similarities. And it was very impressive that these two different religions hold a lot of the same morals and values, and they come together in so many ways.
SEF: Is there any moment that sticks out in your mind as you reflect back on your experiences throughout this trip?
Steve: One of the most startling things that we witnessed was when we walked along the border. One of the things you notice as you walk along the border fence is you can see miles of crosses that commemorate people who have died in their attempts to cross the border. And so there are over 4,500 people who have died trying to cross the border, so it’s kind of shocking to see that people are so desperate and so poor that they are willing to risk their life to cross the border to make money for a better life for them and their families. So that was kind of startling and still sticks in my mind to see all those crosses as a memorial to all those people who died.
Deanna: For me, I was really shocked when we were at the orphanage, just the state of living these children and the love they have for each other even though they aren’t actually related. And as we were leaving my friend just broke down into tears, and I thought something was wrong, maybe that something had happened. My friend couldn’t face the fact that these kids are never going to live anywhere else but this orphanage, and she was just so appalled by it, so saddened. And then I couldn’t stand watching her cry so I started to cry as well; kind of a ripple effect. But these kids were so nice to us, they would teach us how to do soccer moves and play games and they were all very good teachers. I think they were so sad to see us leave, just as much as we were sad to go.
SEF: How does this trip to Mexico, with all the interfaith dialogue that accompanied it, resonate with the ideas of Six Billion Paths to Peace?
Steve: Well the path to peace is not paved with good intentions, the path to peace is paved by interfaith dialogue, and I think what we were able to do was talk to each other and share each other’s faith and appreciate it and respect that. So peace came and occurred on the border when we able to listen to each other and respect each other’s beliefs without trying to convert each other. Peace came from the understanding between the teens from Shinnyo-en and the dioceses of San Jose. But also, we tried to bring peace to the border because worked to improve the living conditions and give these Mexican kids an educational advantage that they might not otherwise have. So peace also comes from increasing the amount of educational opportunities. And at the end of the trip I gave everyone a t-shirt of the Six Billion Paths to Peace initiative so that we could visual represent what we were trying to accomplish by helping to build elementary schools in Mexico. So in a way, this trip really encapsulates the ideas of Six Billion Paths to Peace.
more photos coming soon
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