Arrested for saving life along the Mexico/US border

It is estimated that during the summer of 2004 231 migrants died in scorching heat as they tried to cross in the desert from Mexico to the United States.

A group which calls itself "No More Deaths" patrols the deserts looking for migrants in distress who may need medical care such as water to offset life threatening dehydration. No More Deaths has invited the Christian Peacemaker Teams to set up a project in Arizona/Sonora, and the Christian Peacemaking Web Site reported that on July 9th, 2005 two volunteers for No More Deaths were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents for assisting 3 migrants in serious medical distress.

"On Saturday morning, 9 July, the U.S. Border Patrol arrested two No More Deaths-No Mas Muertes (NMD) volunteers while they were evacuating three migrants in severe medical distress. The NMD volunteers encountered a group of nine migrants that morning who had been lost in the desert for several days. The volunteers provided food and water to the group, washed their feet and cared for their blisters. Three of the nine reported vomiting and diarrhea, and one reported blood in the stool-- conditions that are symptomatic of life threatening dehydration. After consultation with NMD medical personnel and legal counsel, the volunteers made the decision to evacuate the three most in physical distress. The Border Patrol arrested the two volunteers and three migrants en route to medical treatment in Tucson."

It is interesting how people who are working for peace and justice get arrested while those who promote hate, war, and death are regarded as national heroes. Instead of Christians putting yellow ribbons on their vehicles which say "support the troops" I wonder why we see so few Christians with "support Christian Peacemakers" on their vehicles.

Perhaps gentle reader you will take some small steps to supporting peace in the world by getting in the way of "system" to help the subjugated and oppressed.
Link: Christian Peacemaker Teams: committed to reducing violence by "Getting in the way.".