An Interview with Gaby Zavala of #TeamBrownsville
Team Brownsville Kitchen for Asylum Seekers is a group of volunteers who provide support to asylum seekers at points of entry along the border near Brownsville, Texas. Gaby is a Team Brownsville volunteer.
Tell me about Team Brownsville and how you got involved.
I took on coordinating Team Brownsville — Kitchen for Asylum Seekers a couple of months ago when looking for a new life’s mission. From purchasing supplies, to planning who is going to make the main dish, to asking for volunteers to prepare side dishes, I do a lot of the “behind the scenes” work with #TeamBrownsville that’s an integral part of making our mission successful.
I’m mostly involved with coordinating the bridge mission that requires volunteers to buy, make, and carry food and supplies across the bridge daily to ensure that all asylum seekers are fed a hearty evening meal. Asylum seekers are tallied every day, so we know how much food to make and who needs what supplies. It’s a scramble sometimes to meet individual needs, such as a pair of size 11 men’s shoes and a size 3T child’s jacket today, and three pairs of women’s leggings and a size 8 child’s sweatshirt tomorrow!
Why is there a “bridge mission”? Why are asylum seekers camped out on the international bridge?
Before the current administration, asylum seekers could cross directly over Gateway International Bridge to request asylum. What has changed is that they have established a checkpoint in the middle of the bridge that pre-screens people for documents. That leaves the Mexican immigration officials with the task of generating a list of people who are seeking asylum. People wait on the bridge because it is not an organized system. So if you are not there when your number is called, you lose your place. The process can take anywhere from a week to two months. It leaves these individuals in an even more vulnerable spot — vulnerable to weather conditions, to organized crime, and to all kinds of predators.
What is the most rewarding thing about your work with Team Brownsville?
The most rewarding part about my work with team Brownsville is knowing that we make a direct positive impact on each and every one of the asylum seekers that we provide meals and assistance to. Asylum-seekers often tell us that if it were not for us, then they would not eat that day. When the children run up to us and hug us every time we get to the bridge, it tells me that it is a job worth every sacrifice and every minute of our lives that we dedicate to it.
Tell me a story about one of the asylum seekers or families you have helped.
One story that really speaks to me is one of a young mother who was staying at the Gateway International Bridge with her three-month-old baby. The mother was a 24-year-old from El Salvador. She was alone there with her baby and would quietly accept the meals that we brought.
Just the idea that there was a such a small baby on the bridge struck my mother instinct. I could not help but want to provide as much as I could for this mother and baby.
So I would bring items daily: I would bring clothes and baby formula and water. I reached out to our community and the community also responded by donating $100 towards items for the mother and baby. I took the young mother a baby thermometer and taught her how to use it. I gave her my phone number so that in case the baby’s temperature rose too high, she could call me. I also spoke to her about immigration and what to expect. I told her about how to demand medical attention for her child just in case she was taken or called into U.S. immigration at any point while we were not together. Because I had gained her confidence and trust, this young woman opened up to me about how fearful she was because the sponsor that she had was no longer willing to sponsor her because she was very frightened. We exchanged contact information. I told her that if she needed help to call me.
By the next day I was contacted by another asylum seeker on the bridge and was told that a human rights organization had picked up this young woman and her baby and expedited her crossing the bridge. I was both happy and sad because I feared that I would no longer get to see her and follow up with the baby. However about four days later, on Christmas Day, I was contacted by an unknown number. I answered and it was U.S. immigration calling me and advising me that I was listed as the young woman’s contact.
She had requested that the baby be seen by a doctor, and despite the fact that the Border Patrol officer — a woman — had initially refused the request, tearing away the baby’s blanket and accusing the mother of bringing the baby just to help her asylum case, the young mother had stood her ground. The baby had been examined by a doctor and had ended up requiring surgery to remove a bowel obstruction.
Officials were going to release the mother and child to the Gateway International Bridge, and they asked if I could pick them up. I immediately screamed Yes! A mother and a baby being released and seeking shelter with me on Christmas Day was absolutely the best Christmas story I have ever experienced. I am crying as I’m typing this.
As soon as she was in my home, I received an outpouring of support from the community. And so far, four days later, the baby is cute and healing and eating well and gaining weight. She is a completely different baby! And the mother is now in my house healing from her journey, as well. She is so grateful and humbled by the fact that she’s received so many donations, so many clothes for the baby, and so much love from the community.
We immediately had an immigration attorney visit our house to help the mother sort through paperwork and to help ease her fears as she was a little tired, overwhelmed, and just overcome with emotion. By the next morning, we had a personal private physician and a private nurse visit her, as well as dozens of people bringing gifts on Christmas Day and the day after — pampers, clothes, toys, money — anything that you can think of to set her up.
I noticed that when you post pictures of this mother and baby and other asylum seekers on Facebook, you put hearts over their faces. Why is that important?
I always place hearts over their faces because we don’t know what conditions they are fleeing in their home country. Many tell tales of violence — from violent cartels to violent gangs. So protecting their identity is for safety reasons. But it’s also for preserving their dignity at such a vulnerable and sad time in their lives.
What are the best ways people can help you and Team Brownsville?
The best ways people can help are by supporting us and recognizing our efforts every step of the way. It validates that what we’re doing is worth our sacrifices because it can take an emotional toll. The work challenges our physical and mental capabilities at every turn.
The next best way is donating. Team Brownsville is a very humble operation. To really help improve lives, provide medical attention for the children, and provide dignity, monetary donations are needed. People may donate here.
Last but not least, persons can donate by helping to provide a meal, clothing, and toiletries or by helping us cross meals, supplies, and donations to Mexico.
I can be contacted at gzavala83@icloud.com
Interviewer’s note: When I talked to Gaby on the phone to ask her some follow-up questions, she was cooking stuffing, green bean casserole, and mashed potatoes for a New Year’s Eve dinner for asylum seekers on the bridge. She was simultaneously teaching the young mother she has taken into her home how to cook these dishes — in case she gets a job as a domestic worker and is asked to cook them some day.
