The Magic Chef - El Comercio de Colorado

AFFECTIVE | Victoria and Turi workers at Home Depot in El Paso. (Photos / Morgan Smith)

It’s 103 degrees and my son, Nelson and I are at Home Depot in El Paso to meet Dr. Eva Moya from the University of Texas at El Paso. Our goal? To buy a freezer for a shelter in Juárez named Respetitrans where there are roughly 240 migrants, mostly families and only one freezer.

This is part of an extraordinary program called Dignity Mission which was started by Jack and Cheryl Ferrell in Placitas, New Mexico, a program dedicated to putting together loads of food, clothing and items of hygiene to take to El Paso and unload in Dr. Moya’s garage. She and her volunteers would then take everything across the border to different shelters like Respettrans.

Dignity Mission has grown enormously. When I visited the house of Jack and Cheryl in May, they and other volunteers were loading a large U Haul with roughly three tons of food and clothing.

On my first trip to Respettrans, when Dr. Moya mentioned the issue of the freezer, I agreed to help.

At the Home Depot, we found two very helpful employees, Turi and Victoria who showed us a freezer named the Magic Chef which we bought and loaded in my car to take across the border to Juárez.

The Mexican customs always scare me but this time the agent looked at the Home Depot receipt – $247.89 – and let me pass.

The multi-story Respetitrans building is close to the border bridge and there is a narrow street next to its entrance where we can park in the shade. Most of these migrants are from the Central American countries of Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras but we also meet a family from Ecuador and several from the state of Michoacan in Mexico. There are 24 newly arrived families and Eva gives each one a back pack filled with basics hygienic items.

MICHOACÁN FAMILY | These family are part of the 240 migrants in Resetitrans.

Grecia Herrera, the manager helps us. It’s a moment of extreme happiness as the Magic Chef is unloaded and carried inside and as the newly arrived families open their backpacks. I want to stay and watch the installation of the Magic Chef but the brutal heat had exhausted us so we headed back to El Paso.

Buying the Magic Chef is just a drop in the bucket compared to the needs of just this one building with its 240 migrants but it’s a positive, visible gesture and very gratifying for Nelson, Dr. Moya and me, even knowing at the same time that there is more to do. Next will be a new refrigerator.

Vice President Kamala Harris has now visited the border, former US Senator Ken Salazar from Colorado will make a fine Ambassador to Mexico, and the Biden administration will relax its restrictions and allow US shelters like the excellent one in Deming to reopen. Nonetheless, humanity on the border will always be dependent on people like Dr Moya, Grecia Herrera and Jack and Cheryl Ferrell. It’s an honor to be able to work with them.