Solidarity with Immigrants

By By Ann McGovern, RSM

Posted on 5/15/2017

A critical concern of the Sisters of Mercy is “to stand in solidarity with immigrants and to address policies that push people to flee their countries.” This commitment is what motivated me to invite Mary Lesser to share her “Immigrant Journals” exhibit in our art gallery. I thought the exhibit would also be thought-provoking in light of the anti-immigrant, anti-refugee rhetoric and policies that are being activated in our country.

As a daughter of Irish immigrants, I can see myself in some of Mary’s haunting photos.

One in particular took me back to a family photo taken prior to a journey “home" to Ireland one summer to visit our grandparents and family. We were only able to afford such a luxury because of my Dad’s more than 40 years of employment with Pan American Airlines. When I reflect on what my parents sacrificed for the sake of a better way of life here in the United States, namely employment opportunities, I realize it is no different than what today’s immigrants — or many of the Jewish immigrants in Mary’s photos — seek.

They simply desire a better life for their families in terms of employment, personal safety, education and perhaps healthcare. But something else breaks my heart open when I reflect on these journals, the remembrances of separation from family that immigrants and first-generation descendants experience. Deaths or tragedies in families are all the more heartbreaking because of the separation. I remember very emotional goodbyes to my grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins because I never knew when the next hello was going to be, if ever!

Perhaps this is why Pope Francis’ recent description of mercy in his April 23 Regina Coeli address caught my attention: “Mercy … opens the door of the heart and enables us to express closeness especially to all those who are alone and marginalized.” Indeed, it does. In much the same way, the hand-sewn red thread that Mary has sewn into some of her pieces represents the ties we all have with each other through our shared humanity. If you haven’t taken the time to visit and pray with Mary Lesser’s “Immigrant Journals,” I strongly encourage you to do so. The exhibit will be on display until May 21.

To debunk some of the misconceptions about today’s immigrants, I suggest “Ten Myths About Immigration.” And if you would like to join the Sisters of Mercy efforts to advocate for a more just and humane world, go to their website.