- Sami Dipasquale runs a faith based

non-profit in El Paso.

I actually met him earlier this summer

while I was there reporting on the border

and he joins us now with more

of what's happening in his community.

Thank you, Sami, for joining us.

We are just all incredibly grieved

about what is happening there.

I understand a number of pastors were

talking about the shooting yesterday

in their services, including your own

and that you attended an interfaith

prayer vigil last night.

Tell us about that.

- Yeah, thank you, Heather.

I was at a vigil that was right behind

the Walmart where the shooting took place

and it was hosted by an interfaith group,

many different Christian denominations,

protestant, Catholic and then leaders

of other faiths as well as our mayor

and a couple of our members of congress.

And I think the overwhelming message

coming out from there was

of love overcoming hatred.

It was a time memory, atime of coming together,

a time of unity.

I left with hope.

I left with hope for El Paso.

As maybe some of you have heard, this is

a very welcoming, kind city, one of the,

I guess one of the kindest,

most hospitable places I have lived.

It's 83% Hispanic, madeup of many immigrants.

I have felt welcome here thewhole 15 years I've been here.

I've never felt in fear.

It was devastating to hear yesterday

friends from El Paso and particular those

who are Hispanic expressing fear

for the first time in their lives

being here on the border.

So, it was an amazingtime coming together.

- Yeah, I'm really gladto hear about that.

Are there any commonthemes that you're hearing

from people in response to this shooting

other than that unfortunately,that feeling of fear?

- I think the fear, the feeling of hope

and of love and hospitalityand of that overcoming

and it's a highlyfaith-filled community here,

including so many of the asylum seekers

that are landing on theborder, of deep faith,

coming from deep faith, many of them

from protestant evangelical backgrounds.

And so, I think thatthat feeling that God is

with us and that fear will not overcome,

that love will overcome fear and hate

and that is I think the overriding message

that we're hearing right now.

That has been the case in the past

and that it will continueto be that in the future.

- We understand thatvery few victims names,

if any, have been releasedso far, but that fund raising

has started for their families.

Can you tell us about some of the efforts

to come around alongside these families?

- Yeah, a couple of foundations locally,

The El Paso Community Foundation

and the Paso Del Norte Health Foundation

both have set up avenuesfor people to give

to the victims of, from the shooting.

Also, many of the churchesare expressing concern

and interest in how they can support.

Also, the organizationthat I lead, Ciudad Nueva,

if there are, when the names are released

if there are any family members or members

of our community that weserve, we would be looking

to help support those families as well.

- And Sami, I know thatdefinitely there are people

who want to specificallypray, who are really

trying to think through whathas happened in El Paso.

Any thoughts that you can offer in terms

of how people can specifically pray

for individuals in the community?

- Yeah, I would say definitely of course,

pray for the families of victims

and for those who are fighting

for their lives.

Pray for the city as a whole.

Pray that as a city, we could model

love overcoming hatred and probably

more than anything I would say,

we just pray for ourselves.

Pray for our communities and our churches.

I think what we say matters.

The attitudes we have towards those

who are different than us matter

and sometimes feelingsof pride, superiority

creep in and can reallymanifest themselves

in really ugly ways and I think we need

to examine just pride and prejudice

in our own hearts.

And I would pray for that in all of our,

in all of our churches because I know it's

been concerning for me being on the border

feeling that what the representation

of what's happening on the border

and of the types of peoplethat are coming to the border

have not been accurate in my experience.

Most everybody that I'veinteracted with, and I've

interacted with hundreds, maybe thousands

of migrants on the border,who for the most part

are people of deep faith and are kind

and have been generousand have prayed for me

and yet the attitudes that I have heard

often are those thatbeing fearful of who's

coming in and I think we need to be

examining our own hearts and praying

for God to reveal to us any of the bigotry

in our own hearts.

- All right, well Sami Dipasquale,

thank you, thank you for what you're doing

on the ground there and we appreciate

your time right now.

- Thank you, Heather.