Developed by Jim McGinnis©Our Sunday Visitor Curriculum Division

Written and directed by Gerard Thomas Straub

Endless Exodus: The Sorrowful Flight of the Migrants

Study Guide

Introduction to the FilmEndless Exodus is a film about migrants from Mexico and Central America who cross the border into the U.S. without any documentation. But the film’s focus is not political or social; rather it looks at the problem through the lens of spirituality. The film captures the face and presence of Christ in the face and presence of the migrants, many of whom will die trying to cross the desert to get a job nobody really wants. During the last ten years, more than 3,000 migrants have died trying to cross the border between the U.S. and Mexico. But it’s not just a film about empathizing with migrants who only want to survive. The film parallels our own spiritual journey through our own desert of doubts and confusions, as the migrants teach us about sacrifice, fearlessness, dedication, and faith in the face of grave circumstances.

Gerry’s own statements of his deeply held and courageously lived out religious convictions and his poignant visuals disturb and challenge viewers at many levels. He makes us see what we would rather not see. He invites us to feel and empathize more deeply, to think more critically, to pray more faithfully, and to act more courageously. His personal witness is as inspiring as it is troubling. And while he says the film is not a political reflection on immigration, it will have a significant impact on how we think about and speak about the problem of immigration that is dividing the U.S. electorate. As an expression of the Gospel, Gerry’s life and films are indeed “good news for the poor.” But they await the viewers’ response to become even “better news for the poor.”

A Note from the Filmmaker, Gerry Straub“Endless Exodus will expose a poverty so acute that it forces people into migrating for survival. There are no easy answers to the problems the people in this film face. It will take nothing short of a revolution in our thinking and acting to improve their lot. You will need to stop your life for an evening (or more) in order to understand what it will take to give life to the people in this film. Surrender to the film. Allow the images and words to slowly wash over you. Don’t just watch the film—pray the film.”

A Note about the Filmmaker, Gerry StraubAs the result of his life-changing encounter with the spirit of Francis of Assisi in 1995, Gerry Straub left a profitable and successful career as a producer of Hollywood soap operas for a radically different vocation. He spent months living with the poor all over the world, so that he could capture their faces and share their stories to all who would open their eyes, ears, and hearts to see, listen, and be converted. His radical conversion reveals the radical message and witness of Jesus. Gerry challenges us to join him in following this Jesus who is to be found in the lives of God’s special people, the poor and marginalized of this world.

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Outline(Time and Description of the 46 Segments)

Prologue1. 3:10 “The desert is a cruel killer” 12. 2:20 God’s plan for justice2. 5:10 Gerry Straub’s own migrant journey 13. 9:00 Tijuana’s garbage dump & more Act One: Poverty Propels Exodus 14. 1:20 Beauty of the land3. 1:45 Statistics that drive the poor north 15. 1:40 Jesus’ “good news” for the poor4. 1:45 Jesus challenges us to care 16. 2:35 NAFTA increases poverty5. 1:00 The desperation of migrants 17. 2:10 Fernando’s annual migration6. 6:55 Stark contrasts in Cabo San Lucas 18. 1:55 Plight of the women left behind7. 3:50 What the poor can teach us 19. 1:40 Concluding song in Spanish8. 1:20 Jesus embraced poverty9. 1:45 Poverty in El Salvador Segments 1–2 = 8:2010. 5:40 The hard life of one family Segments 3–11 = 30:4511. 6:35 Painful story of Moses & his mother Segments 12–19 = 22:40

Act Two: The Perilous Journey20. 9:15 Unwanted migrants, border walls 27. 0:45 Perspectives on the “desert”21. 1:20 Some provide water in desert 28. 2:20 Migrants as “disposable people”22. 0:50 Where we will find Christ 29. 1:45 Horrors of the “tunnel kids”23. 1:10 Migrants crossing Native lands 30. 1:40 Parents die in the canal24. 3:20 Newspaper stories of migrant deaths 31. 4:05 Song: “Open the doors on a bus”25. 2:20 Hard questions, no easy answers26. 4:55 “They have no other choice” Segments 20–31 = 33:45

Act Three: Life in the States Epilogue: The Real Journey32. 1:55 Dangers of train rides 41. 1:55 Gerry’s search for God33. 1:10 One family’s struggle 42. 2:10 Service is not an option34. 3:15 Struggle for housing 43. 2:55 Our own spiritual journey35. 5:20 Dolores Mission, Romero quote 44. 0:45 No cross? no resurrection36. 1:05 “Quiet racism” against Mexicans 45. 3:20 We must not judge37. 2:10 Oberto: one who succeeded 46. 1:30 Song: Francis’ Peace Prayer38. 3:05 Migrants “treated as tools”39. 0:55 Migrants are “no one to anyone” Segments 32–40 + 46 = 23:4540. 3:20 Poverty is a scandal like terrorism Segments = 32–46

Planning Your Time Together

This 130-minute DVD can be used in a variety of settings, including adult faith formation sessions, high school or university classrooms, parish Advent or Lenten retreats, parish social justice committee formation meetings, RCIA sessions, parish staff meetings, pastoral council meetings, and more. If you have time for only one or two segments to insert into a meeting, consider the ones highlighted in bold.

One Session (Half-Day or Full-Day Retreat)Plan time to view and discuss the entire film (or most of it for a half-day), share simple food, pray together, and plan a parish, group, or class response.

Three to Four Sessions (60 to 120 Minutes per Session)Follow steps 1 to 3 and 4 for segments 1–11 or 1–19 in the first session (or 12–19 in a second session).Follow steps 1 to 3 and 4 for segments 20–31 in the second (or third) session, plus add step 7. Follow steps 1 to 3 and 4 for segments 32–46 in the third (or fourth) session, plus add steps 5 to 7.

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Steps and Directions for the Session(s)

1. Open with prayer. Start by asking for the courage to open your eyes, ears, and heart to the often silent cries of the poor and the victims of violence and for the grace to respond with compassion and courage.

2. Share feelings and reflection. Because the visual images are so overwhelming, participants may need time to reflect on their feelings before discussing their reactions to the film. Begin with these questions:• What image(s) or scene(s) most disturbed you? • What were your feelings as you watched?• Why are many of these images so difficult to see? • Why do we resist “seeing” those who are poor?

After a moment for silent reflection on the first two questions, you might have participants share their answers in pairs or small groups before a discussion of the last two questions as a whole group.

3. Identify challenging statements. Invite participants to identify any statements or statistics that especially challenged them and the questions that the statement(s) raised in their minds.

4. Discuss “Quotes and Questions.” Select quotes and questions from the segment(s) you viewed, then follow the steps below.

• Read the quotation aloud, have someone in the group read it aloud, or replay it from the DVD. • Ask participants to reflect silently for a moment on the question(s) following each quotation, share

their answers in pairs or small groups, and invite them to share their responses with the whole group, depending on time.

• Any action suggestions that are identified in these responses could be posted on newsprint.• A good final question, if time permits, would be:

As you watched the film, what changed about the way you see the life of people in extreme poverty, especially migrants?

5. Consider action suggestions. • Invite questions on any action suggestions that may have been identified and posted on newsprint during

your discussion.• Duplicate and distribute “Suggested Responses” and discuss the action suggestions from each of the

three sections according to the time available. • Also depending on time, invite participants to identify additional action suggestions.

6. Move to decisions. • Invite participants to decide on their next step as an individual or family, sharing their decisions in pairs, if

time permits. • Discuss and decide whether to come up with an action for the whole group, class, or parish and what that

action might be. Create an implementation plan for the action.

7. Conclude with prayer. • Use the song at the end of each Act, plus add a spontaneous prayer.

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Quotes and Questions from Specific Segments

[6] “When we make space for the newcomer, the alien, we make space for the Son of God to be born again. Hospitality is the secret to unlocking the mystery of the Incarnation . . .”• What does this mean?• How can you do this individually, as a family, as a parish/school/group?

[6] “We are all migrants. We are all poor. I need to reject the false security I seek and accept my inability to control the future. Christ asks [us] every day to surrender more of ourselves to the all-embracing love of God. This is hard, very hard indeed; but it is the border we must cross to find a better life in God.”• How are we all migrants and poor?• What is this “false security”? • What “borders” do you need to cross?

[7] “They [the poor] trust God for everything while caring for each other.”• How would your life be different if this was your “motto”?• What else can you learn from the poor?

[8] “God is at home among the poor. Jesus was born in the midst of their poverty and rejection. Like the poor and oppressed, Jesus was despised and rejected . . . hungry and discouraged . . . an outcast living among outcasts . . .”• What would this Jesus say about your lifestyle?

[9] “We ignore the heartbreak and are quick to judge the poor as lazy or illegal . . . The mind needs to be connected to the heart before we speak.”• What do you usually say about the poor and migrants when you talk about them?• How can you connect your mind to your heart? How do you educate your heart?

[10] “This was the first time I actually lived with the poor, sharing fully in their daily struggles and it was a real eye-opener . . . I couldn’t imagine working so hard just to stay alive.”• What did you notice about how they lived?• What things would have been especially hard for you?

[11] “Moses is, without a doubt, the saddest person I have ever seen.” “Seeing Moses crying broke my heart.”• What were your feelings as you watched and listened to this story?

[11] “This humble mother’s love reminded me of Mary’s unselfish, self-emptying love for Jesus.”• Imagine yourself as Moses’ mother. If you were to write a letter to your husband or an entry in your journal

about your day with Moses, what would you write?

[12] “As we traveled, Fr. Dan and I found the poor to be great teachers.” “Life really is beautiful . . . but suffering teaches you how to live. Suffering teaches you what’s most important.” “This is one of the most amazing things, that people can find gratitude in the midst of all the difficulties of life.”• How does suffering teach you how to live? How to be grateful?• What is “most important” in life? How can suffering teach you this?• What else can you learn from the poor?

[20] “To be a migrant is [to live] a life of constant uncertainty . . . forced to face a wall of ingratitude . . . a life of being unwanted and unloved.” “A migrant will endure all of this for a lousy, demeaning, unfulfilling job that will pay him squat!”• Why would they endure all this?• What do you think of the border walls that our government is building?

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[21] “Many people applaud [the blue flags and water sites as humanitarian] offering a humble drink to very thirsty souls. Yet, others condemn it, saying it only encourages the migrant by making it easier to cross the deadly desert . . . Some people actually put poison in the water . . .”[22] “Christ would be in this desert giving water to those who are dying of thirst, giving hope to those who are thirsting for a better life.”• Do you agree that Christ would be giving water in the desert? Why or why not?• Which of the three responses to providing water sites do you favor and why?

[26] “The ugly word ‘alien’ is not in compassion’s vocabulary. Compassion sees everyone as equal and does not divide people into camps of friends and enemies, neighbors and outsiders . . . We are all part of one body . . . When one suffers, we all do.”• How do we all suffer when someone else suffers?• Do you see “neighbors and outsiders” in your community? How so?• What can you do to break down this wall?

[26] A migrant dying in the desert said: “The biggest temptation was to give up . . . But it was the memory of my children . . . that gave me the strength to keep going . . . to try to make it to the United States so that I could get enough money [to send it] back home to feed my family.” • How do these stories affect you—emotionally, spiritually, behaviorally?• Do you think you would have made it to the U.S.? Why or why not?

[38] “They come here for only one reason—to survive . . . They will live a life of perpetual transition . . . in a maddening isolation . . . the invisible illegal underclass that makes life more comfortable for the legal overclass.”• What do “underclass” and “overclass” mean?• Do you see yourself as part of the “overclass”? Why or why not?• If you do, how can you begin to renounce that unearned privilege?

[39] “Migrants feel disconnected from any community that cares about them . . . like they are no one to anyone. They see themselves as little more than arms and legs, insignificant parts, of an economic machine . . . [with] no sense of dignity . . .”• How would you feel in their position?• Are there any ways you could connect the migrants in your area with your own community?

[40] “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that’s wrong with the world.”• Do you agree? Why or why not?

“Poverty is as great a scandal and scourge as terrorism. And it needs to be tackled with similar urgency.”• Do you agree? Why or why not?• What’s the relationship between poverty and terrorism?

[41] Of his own search for God, Gerry Straub says: “God was not where God was supposed to be.”Where was God “supposed to be”? Where did he find God?• How has this film changed your mind about where God is to be found?• What are you going to do to find and be with this God who so identifies with the poor?

[45] “This film has taught me one essential lesson—We must not judge others [like the migrants] or hold ourselves up as better than them.”• Was this one of the lessons you learned from this film?• What other lessons did you learn?

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Suggested Responses

Individual, Group, Class, or Parish

“What can I do?” “Oscar Romero reminds us, ‘We cannot do everything.’ And there is a sense of liberation in realizing that. This enables us to do something and do it very well. It may be incomplete, but it’s a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.” [35]

Pray• Read, listen, watch serious news stories, pray for the poor in these accounts, and pray for wisdom,

creativity, and courage in responding.• Call to mind an image from the film or place a photo of a poor person where you will see it often and use it

as a reminder to pray for the poor.• Choose one or more of the “Quotes and Questions” on which to focus your prayerful reflection. • Pray for political and religious leaders to have the courage to challenge poverty and promote immigration

policies based on justice and love.• Ride the bus occasionally; notice peoples’ faces; recall the words of the song “Each one a story. Each one

a precious life… Each one the face of Christ”; and pray for them.• Recalling those dying of thirst in the desert, say a prayer for migrants each time you drink water.

Adjust your lifestyle“The poor help me unmask my own poverty” [7] • What do you cling to and refuse to give away?• Recalling the food thrown away on cruise ships [6], how can you reduce your own food waste and share

more with others?People who participated in the Mission Immersion Project in Cabo San Lucas [6] “learned the difference between wants and desires.”• Plan some kind of immersion experience, especially to a place like the Dolores Mission in East Los

Angeles [35], for yourself, your family, and/or your class, group, or parish.• Make a list of your possessions and activities; label each as a “want” or “need”; make a plan for reducing

some of the “wants”; and share those things or savings with those in need.“Our desire for comfort and certitude must be surrendered, so we can enter the experience of vulnerability and focus on the realities of hunger, need, and prayer” [28]• Why do we need the experience of vulnerability?• What comforts and certitudes could you let go of to be more vulnerable? Perhaps a second car?

Other lifestyle possibilities• Reach out to a newcomer/migrant in your community and make them part of your family.

Perform other works of mercy and justice, individually and/or as a parish or school“The Incarnation pushes us to . . . work for a society in which there is space for all . . .” [6]• Explore how your school, parish, and/or other group could reach out to immigrants in your community and

make them welcome.“We live in a world of cruel poverty, terrible injustice, iniquitous inequality. We need to face this reality, analyze its causes, and demand structural changes to eradicate these evils.” [13] To do this,• Get involved in the ONE Campaign.*• Contact the Network for Spiritual Progressives* and join their efforts to promote “A Strategy of Generosity”

and a “Global Marshall Plan” to fight global poverty.• Contact the US Catholic Conference Migration and Refugee Services* for legislative and solidarity action

suggestions to help migrants.“The poor defy the American doctrine that hard work cures poverty. Of course, some . . . do escape poverty, but most do not and never will.” [40] The United Farm Workers* and National Farm Worker Ministry* provide action suggestions for supporting migrant farm workers.