It is always easy to compare oneself with others who look much worse than us. I remember when I was learning about slavery and the treatment of black and brown bodies during the European exploitation of the Americas in the 15th and 16th century, and was appalled to read the testimonies of so many religious men and women who could not see the dignity and image of God in those different from them.
In days like this, as Mexican women living in Tijuana, I can easily see the racism in the US as my family has experienced it. I can easily identify with the expressions against brutality and death. But what has been harder for me, has been to deconstruct my own identity and culture, which also privileges whiteness and European traits over indigenous faces and darker skin. It has been a process of recognition, lament, repentance and transformation. And, I recognize that my own process of identifying the violence and prejudice in my own heart has granted me the integrity and authority to resist and denounce the violence and discrimination around me.
As of today, we still don’t know when we will resume immersions into different countries, but we are invited to immerse in our own broken realities that might reflect our prejudice and family history. You could be someone like me; that in my own body runs the blood of the oppressor and the oppressed, because I am a “mestiza.” And that is good too, we all need to do the inner work for peace.
Alejandra Ortiz- Global Immersion Special Advisor and Regional director for Compa (Christian university ministry) for the Northwest region of México
Alejandra Ortiz is from Tijuana, Mexico and works as a Regional director for Compa (Christian university ministry) for the Northwest region of México. She is passionate about helping students live out their faith in the whole of life and use their studies to serve their local communities. For the past 6 years Ale has been leading students from Compa and other groups with The Global Immersion project, from all over México and the U.S., on learning and exposure projects to understand more about life on the border and immigration issues. She is a bridge builder between churches, students and local NGO’s. Alejandra, her husband and their young daughter have recently started a home church in Tijuana, living communally with others and seeking to join God’s Kingdom work in their local area.