By Flaviano Graciano
This past Sunday a loud, monotone horn sound could be heard all around campsite 187 deep in the woods of Mora, New Mexico. The sound, which originated from the blow of a huge pink seashell, without a doubt overpowered any miniscule sound in the already quite ambient of the woods.
The sound signified the closing of the New Mexico Dream Team’s fourth annual UndocuHealing retreat.
“We put together this retreat so we can emphasize the importance of our communities mental health in these harsh political time”, said Jennifer Garcia, New Mexico Dream Team’s UndocuHealing department fellow.
“We’ve noticed depression and anxiety within our [undocumented] community. So we really wanted to start incorporating natural health into our daily lives,” she said.
According to an article by Luz Garcini, found in the online publication Pacific Standard, a recent report showed that 23 percent of undocumented immigrant adults living near the border are at risk for mental health disorders, the most common being depression and anxiety.
“And these are numbers pre-Trump administration,” Garcini explained. “You can imagine how the estimates must be right now, given the current sociopolitical context.”
Garcia, who was one of the lead organizers of the retreat, said the retreat really focused on learning how natural medicine can be used to heal and deal with the mental health issues tied to being undocumented in this country.
“We experience trauma everyday, and we are constantly being thrown all these obstacles just by being an undocumented person. We live fear, we live with anxiety and it is super important to come back to ourselves,” Garcia said.
One of the participants of the retreat was Victor Esquivel, who traveled over 15 hours by car from Houston, Texas. During the closing ceremony, Esquivel stated he came to the retreat to use the spirituality of nature to reconnect with his abuela, who played a very important role in maintaining his mental health while she was alive.
Currently, Esquivel says that both of his parents are living in constant danger of deportation due to the implementation of the xenophobic and racist Senate Bill 4 –a clear open door for local law enforcement to racially profile people of color and act as immigration agents.
The bill allows for police, including higher education police, to question the immigration status of anyone they detain or arrest. Even victims and witnesses who talk to police when they haven’t committed a crime are targets.
“It’s really scary for them, especially because I have a younger brother, and he definitely still needs them to be around,” Esquivel said.
Garcia said the ultimate goal of these retreats, which she hopes to once again organize next year, is to help the affected communities heal so that they can continue to do the work that will keep them progressing.
Esquivel says he plans to take the herbal, medical, and spiritual training back to Houston in hopes to try and aid his family, friends, and coworkers mental health issues and stress.