Desert Flowers

Mary, me, and Berit up on top of a stone building we came across in the desert.
Contemplating the beautiful scenery.
My host-mom, Laurie, and I.
Berit, Mary, and I in the windows.
Cute little flowers.
Poppies in the desert.
The people of the desert.

Spring Break in Eugene and Portland

Playing games at the Tea House in Portland. We made some amazing mole enchiladas!
Me, Jesse, Zach, and Dan soaking up the sun after a pretty steep hike up Spencer's Butte (I think???) in Eugene.
Jesse trying to warm me up during one of our afternoons of juggling, uni-cycling, and acro-yoga at U of O in Eugene.
Acro-yoga!
Pigging out on cheesecake the day after our hike in Eugene--on the roof of Dan's house.

Learning about weaving with Pastora at a women's weaving cooperative in Teotitlan del Valle, Oaxaca.
At Monte Alban.
Elaborately painted wooden figures or alebrijes in Arrazola, Oaxaca.
Me, having a heart-to-heart with my buddy Bonita outside of Oaxaca City.
The traditional dress of men in Acteal where there was a massacre in 1997.
Our family in San Caralampio.
Meeting with the Junta de Buen Gobierno, the leaders of the Zapatista community in Oventik.

Back in Tucson

I have been neglecting my blog for the past few weeks... But, I am now back in Tucson after an amazing month of traveling and an equally fantastic Spring Break in Portland.

We spent the last week of the travel seminar in Oaxaca City which I became very fond of. Throughout the week we focused more on culture and the arts than on economics and migration which was refreshing. We visited a women's weaving cooperative, some wood carving shops, and a farm. I managed to take a few step arobic classes that were very intense and in the evenings we would walk to the town square to get the most delicious mole tamales I've ever tasted, followed by ice-cream and to watch the entertainment of the evening. The last two days were set aside for processing. We brainstormed what action steps each of us can take in the future, ways to talk to people about our experiences, and the meaning of our trip. These four weeks were incredible and I can't believe I had the opportunity to have these experiences. I grew so much and learned a lot about myself. I can't wait to talk to you all in person to share some of my stories.

I flew out of Oaxaca and into Portland for break. It was about midnight when I was flying over Portland and I looked out of my window to see rivers of gold lights. There have not been many times in my life where I have felt like I am coming home--this was one of those times. I could barely contain my happiness at being back in the city of bridges and back with friends. I spent half of the break in Eugene and half in Portland. Jesse and I went to Eugene to hang out with his two best friends from home. It was so relaxing to laugh, go hiking, do acro yoga, and eat cheesecake on the roof. Back in Portland we passed the time playing guitar, catching up, playing games, and cooking with tons of friends. It was so good to see everyone from Lewis & Clark again and spend lots of time not really doing anything but enjoying myself and Jesse's company.

Now it's back to classes and work. It was difficult to come back after such an amazing five weeks. But, I feel like I came away from the travel seminar with tons of knowledge and I am excited to apply it to life back here in Tucson. We started off the week with two papers and I've been spending lots of time at Derechos Humanos doing Abuse Clinics. I feel very busy and like there are too many things I want to do but only a month left to do them in. My host parents, Laurie and Blake are wonderful and I am glad to be back living with them. We went to see Spike Lee the other night and we also had a wonderful Seder at their friend's house.

I'll post some pictures of the trip and Spring Break soon.

Photos of the last couple weeks

The street we lived on in San Caralampio.
Berit and I under the waterfall in Santa Anita.
Murals are a way to teach the youth of Santa Anita the history of the region.
Big houses built by migrants in Cajola.
Lunch at Cajola

At a waterfall in Santa Anita.

Poems

So much has happened on this travel seminar that it is impossible for me to tell it all. I want to share with you four poems that our group wrote. They are communal poems. We each wrote a line.


H.I.J.O.S. -- HIJOS is an organization of young Guatemalans who are fighting a symbolic battle to continue the voices of their parents who were "disappeared." It was a very meaningful visit for me and I really respect the work that they do to honor the memory, truth, and justice of those who were "disappeared" during the war.

HIJOS de toda America Latina, que se solidaricen ya!
A los padres, devuélvenlesla dignidad detrás de sus luchas.
Este es un proyecto simbólico, la única manera de tener un cambio es destruir el sistema.
Para continuar la lucha en la voz de nuestros padres y recuperar sus memorias, la justicia, y la verdad.
Es una lucha simbólica, sin armas, con palabras, y el poder de la memoria.
A powerful repetition of voices. History?
No-holds-barred nonviolence, tagging for your father, tagging for your mother.
Unforgettable, unforgivable, government issue assasination
"No olvidamos, no perdonamos" -- memoria historica.
Tragic history, uncertain future.
De cenizas salen HIJOS.
Not halted by the past, united in the present, gives hope for the future.


La Casa del Migrante -- La Casa del Migrante is a shelter for migrants from everywhere. They provide meals, clothes, and facilities for those going north as well as those who have been deported. One of their valid criticisms of the US is that it is illegal to help migrants so people are afraid to offer food and help to migrants because they are afraid they will go to jail. They ask, "What kind of law is that? That you cannot help someone who is suffering. That is not a law."

A safe space, a home to many. How many?
"En la iglesia catolica -- NADIE es Extranjero"
3 nights on the way there and back -- Guatemalans understand.
Migrants, refugees, because of the civil war.
And more -- the proceso de conscientizción in these tierras.
Held a gun. The giant is only invisible when you are sitting on its own eyeball.
What do we want? Space to dream and work on alternatives.
How can we build houses, schools, and hospitals if we are living to pay off our country´s debt?
¿Pero que paso a los 183 que nunca vinieron?
Neoliberalism in Guatemala facilita que las grandes empresas can rob el pueblo through tax paid contratos con el goverment.
A place for the misplaced, a refuge for the refugee.


Cajolá -- Cajolá is a community that is trying to fight against migration to the US by creating jobs locally. It was interesting to see a group drawing from what they saw as the best of capitalism and communism while at the same time trying to hold on to their Mayan traditions and roots.

Nosotros queremos una revolución, un cambio.

Están escogiendo la dignidad en los raíces de la vida del pueblo.

Quemos crear trabajo para prevenir la migración de nuestros niños.

Reunited families

Resisting Mexican eggs by producing our own makes our community stronger and self-sufficient.

Re-defining the Guatemalan Dream, in Guatemala.

Building a future that remembers its past.

Autonomy -- authority from within, so no fear of ideas from outside. In fact, we decide.

Hijo, cuando regreses, recuerda -- tráigame un "toaster," y los planes de este "space shuttle."

A sweet synthesis, the positive overlap of two worlds.

Synthesis that speaks to hope and a more just world.

Santa Anita -- Santa Anita is an autonomous, ex-guerrilla community that farms organic coffee and bananas. We spoke with Marconi, an ex-guerrilla, who told us about his years fighting in the mountains. I was on the brink of tears throughout our talk with him because I am so amazed at how gentle and hopeful he remains, despite the struggle and suffering he experienced.

Guatemala no es un país pobre. Es un país rico sólo que los flores, las plantas, las montañas, están en pocas manos.
La guerra se acabó pero la lucha sigue.
Necesitamos un gobierno que representa el pobre, los campesionos, no solo el sector de dinero.
No se puede seguir dando pain killers a una enfermedad seria. Se necesita una solución.
Una solución:¨Live in a way where my choices don´t hinder another, and rather support a system, a movement, and a lifestyle where others, animals, and the natural world live in a place that is just and fair.¨
Los sueños viven, y si nos unimos sí se puede cambiar...
Los murales son puentes, nuestra tierra, nuestras vidas.´
"No nos pueden sacar--si nos sacan, gritamos a los cuatros vientos."
Pero en realidad, no sabemos que va a pasar.
Cuentos de unos entrentamiento entre un pueblo y su país, el dinero, y la gente.

The Latest...

The group at the border in Sasabe.
At CCAMYN, the migrant shelter we stayed at in Altar, Sonora. From left to right: Program Director Riley, me, Berit, Mary, Harmony, Rachel, Leif, Sam, Mary Jeanne, and Assistant Director Brook.
Berit and I trying to get some perspective on the height of the wall. We did it quickly so the Border Patrol wouldn't think we were trying to jump the fence.
Making tortillas with Rosalva!

It's a rainy day in Tucson. My host dad, Blake, and I just shared a yummy chicken, spinach crepe in a little cafe downtown. Now we're sipping coffee and typing away on our computers. I'm trying to catch up on emails before I head out on Monday for a month-long travel seminar. Thursday was my last day of classes until we get back from the trip and I turned in a paper on neoliberalism yesterday...I'm pretty excited to be done with structured school for a while.

A lot has happened since my last blog. I've been so busy I haven't gotten the chance to update you all! So what's new.... Well, I have moved in with a new host family. My first one just didn't work out. I am very, very happy to be living with my new family. They are involved in immigrant and refugee issues and do a lot of work in rural Guatemala, teaching acupuncture as a form of health care. I am learning so much from them and I love talking to them about their experiences. They have two awesome cats (Guje, which means bob cat, and Zahava), a completely edible garden, and a fire pit where they sometimes cook dinner. I have only been with them for a week and am sad to leave for this trip when I am just getting to know them. But, I will feel like I am coming home when the trip is over.

Work at Derechos Humanos is always interesting. I have been taking on my own abuse cases which is really difficult but also important. We have all been working really hard on organizing the annual Corazon de Justicia Awards Dinner which is a huge banquet to honor people in the community who work on a variety of issues including human rights, women, youth, LGBT, etc. Over 250 people came and everyone said the event was a success. I spent all day setting up the tables and helping with the food. It was nice to be in the company of so many amazing people.

Tomorrow I'll be packing up and getting ready to travel. We'll be flying from Tucson to Guatemala City. In Guatemala City we'll visit a migrant house that takes in people who have been deported. We will also meet with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala. Then we bus to Xela (where I studied for two summers in high school!) where we will meet with several organizations involved with immigration. On February 27th, we head to Mexico where we will be accompanied by Witness for Peace. We will arrive in Tecun Uman and then travel to Tapachula. We stay in a migrant shelter, visit a shelter for migrants injured by the train, and hopefully meet lots of people. Then we travel to San Caralampio where we will stay with host families. Here we will meet several farmers and learn about agriculture and migration in the community. Then we're off to San Cristobal for a few days. Then Oaxaca until the end. On Friday March 19th I fly to Portland for Spring Break! I am super excited to travel and learn about migration along another border. And I can't wait to be back in Portland for a week to see everyone!

This is just a glimpse of what I've been up to. Here's a couple of links that you should check out if you are interested and have time.
1) The Border Film Project: http://www.borderfilmproject.com/en/index.php
This is a really interesting website. Disposable cameras were given to two groups of people on the U.S.-Mexico border--undocumented migrants crossing the border and Minutemen who try to stop them. Many of the photos are incredible and shed light on the journey across the desert and the type of actions the Minutemen are taking.

2) The Border Studies Blog: http://spring2010borderstudies.blogspot.com/
This is our group blog. All eight of us contribute to this blog. It is interesting to see how we each interpret the things we witness. Also, since I don't blog about everything we do--or even most of it--it might be interesting to check this out. We also post photos on here. We will be updating this every few days on our travel seminar so if you are interested in seeing what I'm up to during the next few weeks, read it!

Sand in my teeth

Early Friday morning we began our second trip across the U.S.-Mexico border. This two-day trip turned out to be incredibly amazing, though extremely difficult. Our destination was Altar, Sonora--a town about an hour south of the Nogales-Nogales border. It is a major crossing point for migrants heading north and is where many migrants hook up with coyotes to guide them across. We stopped several times along the way. Although each place we visited and each person we met provided me with another angle or perspective of the border, I became increasingly filled with questions and feelings--many of which I cannot begin to articulate.

(Tucson to Nogales to Magdalena to Altar to Sasabe and back to Tucson)

We drove through the U.S.-Mexico border at Nogales. I am still awed at how easy it is to cross the border into Mexico and how difficult and tedious it is to go the other direction, even as a person who holds a Passport that allows me to pass through legally. Right inside Mexico we stopped at comedor--a place run by volunteers and the Catholic church (I believe) that serves free meals twice a day to migrants (both men and women) who were recently deported. Some wonderful people dedicate their lives every day to cooking and serving food the hundreds of migrants who stop there. There is a tiny kitchen where the meals are cooked (on the menu that morning was eggs, beans, potato wedges, and tortillas) and enough seating for 90 people at a time. We helped hand out the food (which was received very gratefully), cleaned the dishes, and prepared the next meal. It felt nice to be helping people directly with such an immediate need. In the midst of all the people and commotion, I managed to have some conversations. I am so inspired by the will of these people to give up everything to try to make things better for their families.

On the way south to Altar, we stopped on the shoulder of the road to look at a few of shrines of Santa Muerte (the Saint of Death). Although clearly worshiped by some Mexicans (evidenced by the sheer number of these shrines and the upkeep and lit candles beneath them), they were not viewed so positively by some, resulting in the beheading of many of the statues/skeletons of the saint.


21 kilometers past the border anyone who is planning to stay in Mexico must get a visa. The tourist visas are free for those staying 1 week or less.

Then we continued on to the somewhat touristy town of Magdalena de Kino--named after Padre Kino, the Roman Catholic missionary who is remembered for improving the infrastructure of the area and supporting the indigenous people. His bones are in Magdalena and can be viewed by visitors. Like many towns in Mexico, a main plaza and church are the central architectural features. The grass around the plaza was so beautiful and green (and we were all excited because there isn't much grass out here in the desert) but ironically it is surrounded by knee-high fences so no one can walk on/enjoy the feel of it. Inside the church is a statue and supposedly if you can lift it you are free of sins. We had about an hour to walk around and grab lunch. Several of us enjoyed horchata--a cold, sweet, rice-based drink.

Next stop = Altar. Altar survives almost entirely by supplying migrants with supplies, services, and places to stay while in transit. This was immediately clear. There were lines of shops selling backpacks, water, gloves, hats, bandannas, shoes, electrolyte drinks, and anything else one might need for a long walk through the desert. Aside from the selling of these items, much of Altar's income comes from the dozens of casas de huespedes (guest houses) that house migrants who are passing through. Padre Prisciliano Peraza, the father of the church, showed us into several of these guest houses. Picture an average-sized bedroom entirely filled with bunkbeds--except these bunkbeds are wide, made out of metal with carpet on top, and there is about 2 feet of room between the top of one and the underside of the one above. Padre said migrants sleep next to each other like cigars in a box. The conditions are quite horrendous. We met several people who were staying in these rooms. One man said he had lived in Phoenix for the past 25 years. His whole family lives in Phoenix including his wife and 7 children. He has no family in Mexico. A couple days ago he was walking across a street in Phoenix and a policeman stopped him and asked for his papers. The next thing he knew he was being deported to Mexico. He says he has no choice--he has to try to cross because his entire life is on the other side of the border.

We then hopped back in the van and drove a few blocks to CCAMYN--a place run by volunteers that houses migrants for free for up to 3 nights. At CCAMYN, migrants are provided with bathrooms, showers, real beds, clothes, and food. Their mission is to provide a clean and safe space for migrants while maintaining their dignity by offering clean, free facilities. Since CCAMYN has no connections to coyotes or the drug mafia, there are far fewer migrants staying there (migrants are under tons of pressure as soon as they arrive in Altar to hook up with coyotes and these coyotes are networked with specific guest houses, shops, and vans that go north. It is very difficult for migrants to avoid getting caught up in this system). There were 5 individuals at CCAMYN while we were there--all from Guatemala. We had dinner with them and got the chance to hear their stories. Three men, not much older than myself, had been traveling from Guatemala for months. This was the first meal they had had in 3 days. One of them had been living in Florida with his wife who was pregnant with their child when he was deported 3 years ago. He has only met his daughter once, through Skype. There was also a brother and sister who are planning to cross tonight without a guide. We talked a lot with them and told them as much as we could about everything we thought they should know--how far away Tucson is, about desert conditions, where to go in Tucson to get food and shelter, etc. If all goes well, they should arrive in Tucson in about 8 days. My thoughts are with them.

In the morning we walked through Altar, stopping at the biggest grocery store to see the shelves stocked full of water, electrolyte drinks, and other supplies catered to travel. Berit and I hung out in the plaza and started some conversations with people. We spoke to an owner of one of the guest houses who explained that these migrants have no choice but to cross because they cannot support their families if they stay in Mexico.

From Altar we drove on one of the only roads connecting Altar to the border town of Sasabe. The dirt road slices through miles and miles of ranches and is owned by ranchers. Yet it is largely controlled by drug lords and is the main route taken by migrants to get to the border. Van drivers take out all of the seats in their vans and sometimes put 2x4 planks inside for benches. As many migrants as can fit fill the vans and they begin their 3 hour drive north on this insanely bumpy, often washed out road. Even sitting on my cushy seat, I was jerked about and had to hold on to the roof of the van so I didn't bang my head. We had to get out and check the road a few times to see if we could continue because the rains had created muddy lakes. We helped one truck get out of the mud. By the end, we were coated in dust.

We stopped in Sasabe and got out to walk along the Mexico side of the wall. The ridiculously expensive wall is completely symbolic because it doesn't stop anyone from crossing. Migrants just walk to the end of it and cross over the barbed wire fences. We spoke to some Border Patrol agents through the fence who seemed very young and not at all knowledgeable of the border.

(Berit, Mary Jeanne, and I felt weird about smiling in front of such a problematic wall; and note the layer of dust in our hair from the ride)

Out of everything I felt/feel about the trip, mostly I am just numb. I don't quite know what to feel in the face of this confusing world I find myself in. At CCAMYN one man asked, "Do you know what it feels like to walk for a week?" I will never have to know. He doesn't feel he has any other option. And this is the story of millions. Should I feel helpless? Sorry? Angry? I am confused. So I am numb--not because I feel nothing, but because everything seems and feels so incomprehensible.

First day of work

My first day of work at Coalicion de Derechos Humanos was the most overwhelming first day of work I've ever had. At Derechos Humanos there is no hierarchy which means everyone does everything. On the one hand, this is great because it means a young, inexperienced intern like myself is not relegated to the file cabinet to shuffle papers around. On the other hand, it means I am expected to do all of the things that the others do--and they do A LOT--hence feeling overwhelmed. One shouldn't be fooled by the little, slightly decrepit building that houses Derechos Humanos because this place is a powerhouse for fighting injustice in the Southwest.

As soon as I arrived on site, I was shown around and then plopped in front of a phone with some scraps of paper. My job? Listen to the 30+ messages and take down as much information as possible. This doesn't sound too difficult but it ended up taking a couple hours--mostly because my Spanish is not that great. Most of the messages were in Spanish which meant I had to replay them a zillion times before I understood what they were saying as well as what their phone numbers were. Then, I called each of them back to try to figure out how to help.

I responded to calls about several issues. Some people had relatives who were taken, either while crossing the border or while in the U.S. and they did not know if their loved one was deported back to Mexico or Central America or was being detained in the U.S. or what. I had to acquire as much information about the missing person as possible and then call an attorney. The attorney would look the person up on a database to see where they were being held or if they had been deported and then would call me back with the news. I would then call the family/friend back to report. It was utterly overwhelming when the name of the missing person did not show up in the database. I would have to tell the friend or family member that we don't know where they are. Other calls I responded to were about employers who were abusing workers by not paying them or about people without documents who were sick, pregnant, or had U.S. citizen children and wanted to know how to get health care. Some people just wanted to know what their rights were. Others had friends or family who were arrested and needed immigration attorneys.

By 7:30pm I was exhausted and emotionally drained from these conversations. Almost all of the people I spoke with were undergoing serious, confusing, and frightening experiences--it's hard for me to even imagine it. I can't believe I'll be doing this three times a week for the next few months. And next week, after I receive training, I'll be helping with the Abuse Clinic twice per week. At the clinics, law students and volunteers directly assist people who feel they are being abused--from workplace problems to landlord/tenant issues and housing problems to discrimination issues.

I was surprised at how patient the callers were with my Spanish--I had to constantly ask them to repeat, speak more slowly, or if I didn't understand at all I had to tell them to hold on so I could get someone to help translate for me. Despite feeling nervous and inept a lot of the time, I did have several moments of happiness and feelings of accomplishment which literally made me scream. Such as when I walked a father who didn't have documentation through the steps necessary to acquire and apply for health care for his American-born children. He thanked me profusely. And when a woman needed to find out where her husband had been taken after he was arrested. I was able to give her as much information as we knew. And telling a woman who was afraid to go to the Department of Economic Security (because they are required to report anyone who applies for health care who does not have documents)that she could come to Derechos Humanos and one of us would accompany her to apply for health care for her kids.

Working at Derechos Humanos is very difficult but there is something raw about it. It was the first time so far that I have felt useful--like I am doing what I came here to do, that is, actually help people.

"Que vas a hacer para ayudarnos?"

Orientation is almost over. I can sum up the last few days as being completely exhausting, incredibly mind boggling, thoroughly enlightening, and just plain fantastic. I feel like I have experienced every emotion possible in such a short time—from feeling overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and really, really sad to the point of crying to feeling genuinely happy, exhilarated, and laughing to tears. It seems like I’ve learned more in the last few days than I have during entire semesters at school. What I’ve learned has been so complex and so unexpected that my mind is constantly reeling, trying to make sense of it all.

The people I’m with are partly what have made my brief time here so far so wonderful. Both the director of the program, Riley, and the assistant director, Brook, are extremely knowledgeable about the border and are constantly pointing out of the van window to tell us about something. They’re also really in tune to how we are each feeling and enjoy hanging out and chatting with us all. The other students fantastic too. I’m surprised at how different our backgrounds are despite our common interest in Latin America. Their names are Berit (my really great friend from LC), Harmony, Mary, Sam, Leif, Mary Jeanne, and Rachel.

I have so much to say about everything I’ve done but for now I’ll just list some of the things we’ve done. We climbed a rocky hill to overlook the desert and watch the sunset, trekked around the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, crossed the border into Nogales, met with artists who put their art up on the wall on the Nogales side, visited El Grupo Beta to talk with migrants who were just deported, talked with women in Colonia Rosario who meet migrants as they get off the deportation buses to provide coffee and burritos, spoke with youth at DIF (Centro para menores repatriados) who were caught either in crossing or in the U.S. and are being sent back to Mexico, walked across the border from Nogales, Sonora to Nogales, U.S.A., and experienced being pulled over by the Border Patrol on the way back to Tucson and seeing the blatant racism of the officers.

I must also add that I am thoroughly enjoying the tamales, burritos, and salsa that are an essential part of my every day. Oh, and it’s nice to be speaking Spanish again, although it will take a while to pick up the border lingo and to feel confident with my Spanish-speaking abilities.

The most valuable but overwhelming experiences for me so far have been speaking with deported migrants. At Grupo Beta we met 20-30 migrants who had just been deported and were waiting to receive or make telephone calls and to either travel back to their homes in Mexico or attempt to cruzar la frontera again to reach their homes in the U.S. I spoke with one young man who had crossed three times and had lived in the U.S. for a total of ten years. He told me he would not try to cross again because walking through the desert was too difficult and scary—the last time he had walked for three days and three nights. Another man had crossed at least six times without a problem and had been living in the U.S. for twelve years. He would not try again either because he claimed that there are just as few jobs on the U.S. side as there are in Mexico. There were also two fourteen-year old kids who were there. They had not tried crossing yet and were waiting for the rain to stop before attempting. They said they would not hire a coyote and didn’t seem to know much at all about the difficulty of trekking through the desert. Almost all of the youth migrants we spoke to at DIF stated that they crossed the border to look for work to help support their families back in Mexico. They said they had spent two days to a week walking through the desert. At least one had been trying to smuggle drugs.

What has been most surprising is the migrants’ openness, especially the adults. They seem so willing to talk to us and to tell us about their experiences with border crossing. I was expecting more resistance. One of the young boys at DIF challenged us by asking how we plan to help the situation. This is something we are all thinking about but, at least for me, is difficult to answer. For now, I am on the border to learn. I don’t think it is very possible to change anything until I understand the complexities of immigration. Meeting with migrants is one way of acquiring this knowledge. But it would seem wrong to me to spend a semester here, listening to these people’s stories, if I were not planning to do something proactive. Few people have the opportunity to witness first hand what immigration is like. I must find a way to make this opportunity meaningful. I have no idea how I will do this but as my interests develop and my knowledge increases I will be more equipped to find a way. For now, I will tell as many people as I can about my experiences on the border so that more of us will be aware of the injustices in our country and the human rights violations that our government supports.

Orientation Photos

Our last night together...epic jam session.
We all got bikes! Berit and I fail at looking hardcore with our chain locks.
Art on the border wall on the Nogales, Sonora side.

My Address

I'd love to get mail from you all. My address here in Tucson is:

Jessica Himelfarb
Earlham College Border Studies Program
738 N. 5th Ave., Suite 205
Tucson, AZ 85705

The Program

As many of you probably already know, I’m off to study the borderlands. This blog will chronicle my life over the next four months.

As a student of the Border Studies Program I will examine the current political and economic climate of the borderlands and hopefully gain an understanding of past and current models that are being implemented in the Arizona-Sonora borderlands as well as along other borders throughout the world. The program is based out of the southern Arizona borderlands city of Tucson. Tucson is a great location for a program focused on immigration because it hosts an array of organizations involved in everything from human rights and civil liberties to the environmental impact of the militarization of the border.

There are four components to the program.
1) Academic:
We will be taking four classes. The Roots and Routes of Migration course involves both a Tucson-based study of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands and a study of immigration issues in Guatemala and southern Mexico. In this course we will be meeting people who are involved in immigration and hopefully they can help to answer questions as to why migration occurs, the problems it entails, and what solutions communities are coming up with. The second class is Research Methodology. In it we will learn all about oral history and ethnographic interviewing techniques which will aid us in conducting our independent research projects. Our third class is our Independent Research Project. We each design a research project that focuses on a topic of our choice, though it obviously must relate to immigration. The last class is called Identity, Privilege, & Social Change and is designed for us to discuss issues such as privilege, power, identity, sexuality, gender, etc and to help us understand the local, regional, and transnational contexts of our social change work.

2) Travel:
We will be going on several excursions throughout the semester. The first is a day trip to Nogales, Sonora which is a common crossing point into the U.S. for migrants. Originally we were scheduled to spend more than one day there but recent violence and increasing civilian deaths have shortened our stay. We will be staying away from public places and will only stop at specific locations. On another trip we will travel to Altar, Sonora where migrants from throughout Mexico as well as Central America pass through, often times hiring a coyote to navigate the desert from here to a point across the border. Our longest excursion is about a month of travel through both Mexico and Guatemala. We will be visiting Oaxaca, Chiapas, Guatemala City, and Xela as well as some other towns along the way. Our last organized excursion is a short 2-3 day trip to a point along the border that is yet to be decided. The location will depend on our desires as well as the safety level.

3) Field Study:
We will each complete 100+ hours of work at an organization in Tucson. I will be working with La Coalicion de Derechos Humanos which is an organization that focuses on human rights issues. I will be helping them with labor abuse cases (I am both excited and nervous!). More to come when I start on Monday.

4) Home stay
We are each living with a different host family in Tucson. My mother’s name is Isa and my father is Sergio. Isa works at a domestic violence center and sells clothes. Sergio drives a cement truck and drives to the coast to pick up fresh shrimp which he sells in the interior. I have three sisters—the oldest is 17 and her name happens to be Jessica. And they have a small poodle named Gucci. I am super excited to meet them.