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5.0 out of 5 stars
Compassion in the Arizona Desert, September 17, 2008
This DVD Beyond Borders is a vivid contemporary version of the parable of the Good Samaritan. Victims in this story are border-crossing Mexicans. Director Rebecca Bowman Woods interviews good Samaritans and other leaders of border ministry to explore the ethical and religious dimensions of the sticky issue of illegal immigration and narrates the tragic beauty of human drama taking place in the Sonoran desert. This DVD not only discloses the great need of ministry for border-crossing people and moving stories of the courage of good Samaritans, but also alludes to the role of Christians in organized efforts to prevent future victims. Director Woods touches this hot polemical issue of "illegal immigrants" from the perspective of Christian compassion and humaneness. Beyond Borders turns an abstract issue into an experience of the flesh and blood of real people. It is a significant Christian contribution to the national debate on immigration.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
immigrants are people, too., May 15, 2008
Amid all the talk of policy, it can be easy to lose the notion that people's live are affected by political decisions, and sometimes put at risk by them. This video contributes to the conversation about proper immigration policy by focusing attention on the persons that make up the swell of cross-border migrants. Because the crossing is risky, there is a humanitarian response going on to minimize deaths in the desert, and the video offers an explanation of how recent policy changes have made the crossing more dangerous. The director does not push any particular policy, or advocate for more liberal borders, but some time is given to Rev. Hoover's plan for regulating migration which has some points worth considering in a comprehensive border policy. On the whole, it is a good introduction to some of the border/immigration issues. It would be an excellent conversation starter for a study or discussion group.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A cup of cold water in the desert, May 7, 2008
With immigration talk often disintegrating into a political argument about how to enforce laws and protect jobs, "Beyond Borders: Faith and Action in the Arizona Desert" offers a different look at a complicated issue. The film focuses on a part of the immigration picture many people overlook -- the often lethal trek across the U.S.-Mexican border by Hispanic migrant workers and their families. More importantly, the 25-minute documentary frames immigration not only as a political or economic question, but a matter of faith.
The film features interviews with leaders of faith-based organizations providing humanitarian aid to migrants determined to cross the Arizona desert to work in the United States. In the movie, for example, a group called Humane Borders reports setting out 35,000 gallons of water in the desert during a recent year. "We have people say, 'You put water stations out, and you're encouraging people to come,'" one of the organization's leaders comments. "But people were coming long before we put water stations out, and ... they will continue to come until there's some resolution in terms of our immigration policy."
Besides showing how faith groups reach out to migrants at risk, the film invites reflection on injustices in the current immigration system. A priest tells about about eight young Mexicans who drowned as debris-filled waters rushed through a border-area storm drain after heavy mountain rains. The religious leader struggles to understand why these young people had to die just because they wanted a better life for their families.
"As I read the scriptures, I don't think we have any choice," the Rev. John Fife, retired senior minister of Tucson's Southside Presbyterian Church, tells the audience as he reflects on those his church and others serve. "I think Jesus is present in our midst in those migrant workers," Fife observes. "As we provide hospitality ... and care for them, that's how we deal with Jesus."
The DVD would be an effective conversation-starter for religious-education classes or small groups. It not only shows how some people of faith are responding to the humanitarian issues behind immigration, but encourages viewers to make the move from extending charity to working for justice.
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