An inter-Mennonite newspaper, putting the Mennonite world together every week since 1923
Last Updated February 4, 2004
THE VIEW FROM THE BORDER
Where two worlds collide:

A report from the
U.S.-Mexico border

Icons of Our Lady of Guadalupe, above, who Roman Catholics revere as the patroness of the Americas, are a common image throughout the
U.S.-Mexico borderlands, emblematic of strong religious faith as well as of desperate hopes for the future.

STORIES: »» Economic hopes or social justice in Nogales?
»» Increasing militarization along the border
EDITORIAL: »» Open eyes and hearts needed for churches to address border issues

PHOTOS, FROM TOP: »» 1. A street scene in Nogales, Ariz., contrasts sharply with the poverty-stricken housing on the hillsides of Nogales, Mexico, just across the U.S.-Mexico border.

»» 2. Houses and outbuildings hug the steep hills of Nogales, Mexico, in this scene from the Colonia Bella Vista neighborhood. Many of the city's 400,000 residents are low-income workers who came to Nogales from southern Mexico in search of jobs in American-owned factories.

»» 3. Cecilia Guzman, left, who runs the Casa de la Misericordia in Nogales' Colonia Bella Vista, with Tom Brenneman of Tucson, Ariz., who works with Guzman to promote dialogue and peacebuilding in the border region. Casa de la Misericordia, or House of Mercy, is a community center that focuses on helping local children and offering people from north of the border a chance to learn about life beyond the Mexico frontera.

»» 4. Workers in Nogales might earn about 50 pesos, or $5, a day from an American-owned maquila, or factory. Though they often live in housing like this, workers are grateful for the higher wages. In southern states such as Chiapas or Oaxaca, they might earn only 50 pesos a week, or less.

»» 5-6. Squatters' shacks line a steep hill near one of Nogales' industrial parks, where state-of-the-art maquilas have been built in the past decade. Workers can apply for better, government-sponsored housing (below), but must earn the equivalent of three maquila salaries to qualify. As a result, better housing is often out of their financial reach.

— All photos by Robert Rhodes/MWR