Is it a tornado? Is it a twister?

These were the questions Christina Illarmo and Leticia De los Rios, IWES’ Director and Program Manager of our Collective for Healthy Communities (CHC) program, asked each other while they drove down I-25 in the semi-arid steppe between Santa Fe and Albuquerque. A week after tornado winds of up to 160 mph ravaged neighborhoods in New Orleans, Arabi, and Gretna, the CHC duo watched in awe as they approached the spinning column of wind and dust as it went over the sandy valley dotted with green shrubs. At this moment, Christina realized that the same reverence Pacific Islanders give to the ocean must also be the same that is given to the winds in this mysterious and magnificently beautiful Land of Enchantment. Later a local told them that this natural phenomenon is colloquially referred to as a “dust devil,” and this encounter with nature was just one of the many breathtaking and reflective moments that the two shared on the most recent eight-day trip throughout New Mexico and Southern Texas.

In April of 2022, the IWES Puentes Para Invitados (PPI) team returned to New Mexico to meet with a variety of community organizations and leaders united in serving migrant communities in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Deming, El Paso, and other regions of New Mexico. PPI is funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to support the creation of an asylee ecosystem in New Mexico that builds on local assets and expands the infrastructure for Trauma Responsive services for migrant families. Meetings were held with partners from a variety of fields such as legal, medical, shelter, and social services providers, and this gave the team the opportunity to see firsthand partners’ day-to-day work, understand their motivations in serving their communities, and listen with an empathetic ear about their healing journeys as providers serving migrant communities. A recurrent theme in the conversations was the importance of re-establishing a connection to the past to forge a healthier, more just future. The impact of historical genocide and ongoing systemic oppression leading to the forced assimilation of Indigenous, Black, and Brown bodies emerged as the root of modern-day suffering—from New Mexico’s mesas to the levees of New Orleans. There was also an emphasis on reconnecting to the land, traditional medicine (curanderismo), native languages, and other cultural practices as crucial elements to healing work and as survival tools gifted from the ancestors. We’re honored and humbled to continue to keep having such powerful conversations and finding the connections in our shared histories and fights to be able to learn from each other and work together to advance migrant/human rights.

To achieve our goals in this project we are not just taking on a role as a connector, network weaver, and thought partner, another aspect of the work we’re very excited about is our push to create narrative change through the use of media, storytelling and other interactive methods. Our vision with this work is to center humanity in the conversation about migrants and asylees and create a deeper understanding of how individuals and systems are impacted by the crisis at the New Mexico/Mexico border. During the visit, the PPI team sat down with our partners—both old and new—to record and document their narratives as we weave together the intricate audiovisual tapestry that this project continues to reveal. For example, we conducted interviews with migrants, DREAMers and other folks directly impacted by current and past immigration policies who are seeking to reclaim their narratives and share what is not commonly portrayed in the mainstream media. Keep up with our newsletters and announcements to see how this project continues to build and expand!

Finally we want to leave you with a special offering coming up this month that personifies the essence of this work. This May, the themes we’ve mentioned above and more will be built upon in a very special virtual convening geared towards service providers from across New Mexico and other areas serving migrant communities. Our Co-Founder, Dr. Denese Shervington, child and adolescent psychiatrist, Dr. Nithya Ravindran, and cultural anthropologist from Las Cumbres Community Services, Paola Garcia Noboa, will lead participants through Stories of Healing, a space explore and promote healing for providers and the migrant communities they serve. The event will be held on May 13 from 9am-11am MT and we’d love to see you there.

Please click here to to register for this event.

To learn more about Stories of Healing or Puentes Para Invitados, please contact Leticia De los Rios, MSPH, CHC Manager.