The Vigil at Adelanto
By Dori Fotsch
FUMC Ministry Coordinator
Team Member, Cal Pac UMC Immigration Strategy Group
Members of the Cal Pac Immigration Strategy Group gather at the Adelanto Detention Center.
Cal Pac UMC Immigration Strategy group hosted a prayer vigil at Adelanto Detention Center in mid-June. Many UMC pastors, laity, partners from CLUE, Church World Service, and Resistance Singers showed up in the desert to offer hope to detainees and to their families. We gathered in solidarity; sharing their grief and bearing witness to the harm done by ICE.
We commemorated 5 men who lost their lives while in custody at Adelento: Jose Guadalupe Ramos-Solan, 52, Ismael Ayala-Uribe, 39, Gabriel Garcia, Aviles 54, Alberto Gutierrez Reyes, 48, and Irvin Cruz Nape, 44. We also remembered all 46 people who have died in ICE custody across the U.S. Their lives were needlessly cut short because of inhumane conditions.
A woman named Sandra, whose brother is currently detained, shared that he needs medical attention and that he and others like him are not receiving medical care. Tearful and afraid, she expressed her fear for her brother’s life. She spoke of terrible living conditions, and the lack of food and due process for the detainees.
As part of the vigil, we read difficult stories and poems written by the detainees. The poem that follows was written by Sylvester Owino who was detained at El Centro Service Processing Center and Otay Detention Center.
When you detain me
by Sylvester Owino
When you detain me,
You’re detaining my spouse,
And my daughters and sons,
too.
And my uncles and aunts and grandparents,
too.
And my friends and neighbors.Free one day, like me,
Imprisoned the next.My family is outside the cellblock,
Outside the pod,
Outside the walls,
Outside the detention center.But inside the pain,
inside the horror,
inside the fear,
inside the anger.Sharing the sobs,
the separation,
the loss.Waiting,
wondering,
hoping,
worrying,
praying,
asking why.I plead, I beg, I pray;
Save my family!
All these families!
Save me.
UMC Pastors and lay leaders, as well as partners (CLUE, Church World Service) read about each of the 5 fathers who died in Adelanto and prayed for their families. Large photos of the men were displayed on crosses. A singing group from Minnesota led resistance songs. We prayed in both words and silence and walked among the “makeshift” cemetery of 46 small crosses which displayed the names of each person who had passed away in ICE custody across the country. Then we read our closing prayer:
God of the detained and forgotten,
stand beside every person behind these walls tonight.
Sustain the hunger strikers in body and spirit.
Comfort families separated by fear and detention.
Disturb our silence when systems deny human dignity.
Give us courage not only to pray, but to act.Protect the vulnerable.
Strengthen all who hunger and thirst for justice.
Let no human being be treated as disposable.
Amen.
As we gathered our belongings to leave, one of the security guards shouted, “When are you leaving?” Although we had to leave, we know that God is always with those unjustly detained.
With God’s help, we will continue to fight for justice and call to SHUT DOWN ADELANTO. To learn more about how you can take action. Visit the ACLU of Southern California’s site about Adelanto.