took and mixed in with three measures of flour until
all of it was leavened." Matthew 13:33
From the April/May 2007 Issue
Community Among the Mushroom Workers:
Lessons for Home
Krista Zabor
Krista Zabor is a first year master’s degree student at USC’s School of Social Work where she is focusing on community organization and public administration. She hopes to continue working as an organizer for immigrants’ rights and/or organized labor issues in the future.
As my plane made its final descent over Guanajuato, Mexico, I felt a surge of excitement run through my bloodstream. I had been dreaming and planning for this three-week trip to Mexico for many months. I was about to embark on one of the most incredible experiences of my life—both formatively and spiritually. Although I was nervous about the logistics and the final outcome of the mural I would be painting, I felt a sense of tranquility and unity in the community I encountered in Moroleón, Mexico beginning from the first day I arrived.
The events that brought me to Mexico began in 2004 with my decision to join the Jesuit Volunteer Corps (JVC) upon graduating from college. I became one of dozens of Jesuit Volunteers from around the country to sign on for one or two years of service and community living in underserved areas of the U.S. Jesuit Volunteers are invited to incorporate elements of spirituality, social justice and simple living into their communal lifestyles. Living this type of counter-cultural lifestyle alongside others for two years forged my values and perspectives in a lasting way.
My motivation for joining JVC was rooted in my radical Catholic faith and my belief that no one is free until we are all free. As I reflect on the experiences I had as a Jesuit Volunteer, I realize that shared community is the cornerstone of my faith. I have a direct responsibility for all of my brothers and sisters. This concept comforts rather than overwhelms me. I feel compelled to use my talents and energies with and for others to work to build the kingdom of heaven on earth. As a person who has been privileged with education and material comforts, I am totally compelled if I truly want to follow Jesus. Sometimes the weight of this obligation seems crushing to me and I am tempted to despair. But eventually I accept that when I carry a spark of love and communal intention in my heart, God will guide me towards unification with my brothers and sisters.
In the fall of 2004, JVC placed me in Camden, NJ at a small non-profit organization that calls itself a farm worker support committee—the acronym in Spanish reads El Comite de Apoyo a Los Trabajadores Agricolas or CATA. I immediately fell in love with the mission of the organization and I felt myself pushed by it towards new and challenging aims. Carrying out the organization’s mission proved to be tremendously difficult in the face of growing anti-immigrant sentiments in the U.S., not to mention the oppressive economic structure of the food industry. I quickly learned of gross injustices and horrible conditions brought about by exploitation of workers. I also learned of the detrimental effects of immigration policies on workers’ rights and how these impacted families and entire communities in a worker’s country of origin.
In the summer of 2006, I learned that CATA had decided to create a visual representation of the experience of immigrant workers in the form of a mural. I was overjoyed to be able to head up the project design. I began by interviewing workers, asking them how they would describe their experience of immigrating to the U.S. to work in the mushroom industry. Over the course of the summer, I conversed with workers who told me about their journeys across the border. They spoke about their suffering due to family separation. And they shared with me how it was for them to work long hours picking mushrooms for little pay. As they shared this part of their history, the workers always seemed to mention their families and hopes for creating a better future for their children.
The workers offered me concrete ideas for images to include in the mural
such as the whip as a symbol of oppression. A man who had immigrated and
worked picking mushrooms for twenty years told me to include the sun and
moon as symbols of the power of nature and the duality of life. I adapted
other ideas over the course of the designing process and the image began
to take shape. The focus of the mural, titled 
“Organizing to Cut
the Whip for a Better Life,” is ultimately the action of cutting
the whip of oppression. The act of working together to cut the whip represents
the power of organizing and collective action. United we can overcome even
the harshest injustices through nonviolent means. The theme of solidarity
and organizing is an integral part of CATA and its mission. I would also
say that it is an integral part of my Catholic faith.
(Click above to view larger image)
The experience of painting a mural in Mexico was made even more profound for me because of the sense of community I felt. The pace of life in Mexico was remarkably serene which helped to create an atmosphere of mindfulness and attention to human interaction. Even though I was a stranger in a strange land, I felt completely embraced by the people of the town. Passers-by the work site constantly gave me support and encouragement. They welcomed me in a genuine way with their words and sometimes even offered me a bite to eat.
As I traveled back to the U.S. after feeling the intimacy of the community I experienced in Mexico, I couldn’t help also feeling a sense of loss. My challenge now is to understand how to build that same sense of shared community in the U.S. where individualism and competition reign supreme. I am extremely grateful that I could learn from the example of my Mexican brothers and sisters. My experience has renewed my dream that my country would welcome the stranger and the lonely in our society in the same way in which I felt welcomed. Only then can we hope to create a deeply interconnected community of mutual love and support—a sort of heaven on earth.
For more information about CATA and/or how you can help go to www.cata-farmworkers.org.