Dr Jeanette Pinto –
“We are born of love; Love is our mother”- Rumi
This is the story of a heroic mother Xiomara in May 2020, who fled gang violence in El Salvador six months earlier, and worked slavishly in Mexico to afford bus tickets for her three children and herself to get to the border and enter the US. When she finally reached the border, she was nine months pregnant and feeling contractions. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection offered to take her to a hospital. But she had heard about family separations and feared and worried about losing her children if she was hospitalised, so she refused the offer. She was sent back to the streets of Ciudad Juarez at night. Imagine her horrible plight, alone with three children ages 10, 6 and 4 and one on the way. “It was very sad, and I started to cry,” said 33-year-old Xiomara in Spanish, “I really thought they would let me through to the U.S.”
Jesus loves, cares with compassion for each one of us and He will never abandon us. He sent an angel in Juarez who told Xiomara the name of a shelter he knew. She hurriedly took her children to that place only to find that it was full. Besides she was told that she and her children would have to quarantine in a hotel for 2 weeks before being allowed into any shelter. The distraught mother looked up to heaven with a sigh, and the Lord’s mercy prevailed. An official from the nearby Hotel Flamingo known for its reputation of helping migrants came to pick her up.
There, she met another angel, Leticia Chavarria, a Juarez physician and advocate for migrant women. She examined her at no cost. Imagine it was the first time Xiomara had seen a doctor throughout her pregnancy. She could not afford a doctor’s visit which would cost her more than 3,000 Mexican pesos, about Rs.11,000/- She didn’t have that kind of money. On June 6, a fortnight after Xiomara was turned away from the border, Chavarria helped her to a hospital, where she delivered a healthy baby girl. Were her troubles and journey over? Not at all. Xiomara and her four children have now been living under God’s protection at San Juan Apostol (SJA) shelter for quite sometime now.
The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900’s as a result of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis. Following her mother’s death Anna conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honouring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. Mother’s Day is celebrated in different ways by different countries. The story of Xiomara is one mother struggling to survive with her children. Does one really know what each and every mother experiences to raise and see her children go through life? Everyone’s life journey is different but certainly challenging.
Mothers play a critical role in the family, which is a powerful force for social cohesion and integration. The mother-child relationship is vital for the healthy development of children. Mothers are not only caregivers they are also breadwinners for their families. They are the emotional backbone of the family. They provide the holding place for everyone’s feelings and do their best to keep their loved ones from being hurt. Tell me, who would kiss your boo-boos away to make you feel better if she were not around? Mothers have the magic touch and kiss to heal us of our wounds, physical and emotional. A mother gives the family her time and undivided attention. She makes countless sacrifices, gives up sleep, leisure time, and a carefree lifestyle to see and make sure her children are fed, comfortable, happy and thriving.
One of the greatest traits a mother has is selflessness. She genuinely wants the best for her children without asking for anything in return. She has taken care of you and raised you since you were born. Our mothers are our family rock bending over backwards to support the family, loving you no matter what. A mother’s love is immeasurable and every child acknowledges that, it makes every mother too, proud of her powers. Different countries celebrate Mother’s on different dates, but that does not matter, it is wonderful we set aside a special day to celebrate our very dear mothers.
Xiomara is without doubt a heroine. Like her there are countless mothers who are heroines. God surely has put into a mother’s heart selfless love and an invisible bond. Truly, “Love as powerful as your mother’s, for you leaves its own mark. To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us protection forever.” J K Rowling.
Dr. Jeannette is former Principal of Sophia College, member of Human Life Committee and a parishioner of Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Chembur – Mumbai