Suzanne Conti Martin shares- Last night, we crossed into Matamoros, Mexico with a team of women from Alabama who needed help hauling & serving out dinner. I was nervous-- Matamoros is considered to be a Level 4 Security zone which is as dangerous as like walking into Syria.1/8
I pictured chaos & pushing & shoving for the food. We each walked across the bridge with a wagon full of food. About 12 of us & about 2,000 asylum seekers living on the bridge. Things could have EASILY gotten out of control.2/8
Instead, we walked past an enormous line of people who had already formed & were patiently waiting for us to serve dinner. It took my breath away. I had to choke back the tears as I walked passed the hundreds of people waiting in line peacefully for us.3/8
Afterwards, little kids hung around & asked us our names & we asked them their names. Joking around with the kids was fun. There were so many little kids & families. Then, one boy came up to each of us & just started giving us big hugs but...4/8
... the kind of hug where he didn't want to let go. It wasn't the normal kind of hug... it was a hug that said "please, get me out of here". Each tent was only inches away from other tents. One woman was in her tent quietly singing to herself.5/8
As we left, many of the little boys grabbed wipes & started cleaning/wiping down where we served the food. We started to walk away with our now empty wagons & as we did, many of the children shook our hands, yelled "Adios" or gave us high fives. It broke my heart.6/8
Photo credits by Laura Willoughby Perry. 2nd picture was when we had a great conversation with an NPR contributor/reporter who is doing a story which will air on NPR on Monday at some point. As he said to me & I'm paraphrasing, This whole thing could be avoided.7/8
It doesn't have to be this way. This is a CHOICE by our government to stop asylum seekers from seeking refuge in the United States. #WITNESS #DontLookAway #MPPisEVIL 8/8 
