Border

By Gabriela

This is a poem we heard while in the desert.

A los Caídos en los Desiertos de la Muerte

En memoria de aquellos que por buscar una mejor
vida,
Lo único que encontraron fue la muerte,
En recuerdo de aquellos que todo lo arriesgaron y
todo lo perdieron,
Se fueron con la esperanza en los ojos
Y el desafío en el alma.
El sol los calcinó, el desierto los devoró,
Y el polvo borró su nombre y su mirada.

En recuerdo de aquellos que nunca más regresarán
Ofrecemos estas flores…
A ellos con respeto los decimos:
Su sed, es  nuestra sed.
Su hambre, es nuestra hambre.
Su dolor es nuestro dolor.
Su angustia, su amargura, y su agonía,
También son nuestras.

Somos un grito que demanda justicia…
Para que nadie, nunca más tenga que abandonar
su tierra,
Sus creencias, sus muertos, sus hijos, sus padres, su
familia,
Sus raíces, su cultura, su identidad…

Somos un silencio que se hace voz…
Para que nadie tenga que ir a buscar un destino en
otras tierras.
Para que nadie tenga que ir al destierro
Y consumirse en soledad.

Somos una vos en el desierto que clama:
¡Educación para todos!
¡Oportunidad para todos!
¡Trabajo para todos!
¡Pan para todos!
¡Libertad para todos!
¡Justicia para todos…

Somos una voz que el desierto no puede ahogar…
Para exigir que la patria les dé por igual a todos su
hijos
La oportunidad de una vida digna y decorosa…

Here is the translation

To The Fallen in the Deserts of Death:

In memory of those who, when seeking a better life,
found only death,
In memory of those who risked risked everything and lost it,
Who went with hope in their eyes and challenge in their souls.

The sun calcified them, the desert devoured them,
and the dust erased their name and their face.

In memory of those who will never return
we offer these flowers . . .
To them, with respect, we say:
Your thirst, is our thirst.
Your hunger, is our hunger.
Your pain, is our pain.
Your discomfort, your bitterness, your agony
Are also ours.

We are a shout that demands justice. . .
In order that No One, ever again, will have to
Abandon their lands, their beliefs, their dead, their children
their parents, their family, their race, their culture, their identity. . .

We are a silence that has a voice . . .
In order that no one will have to look for their destiny in other lands.
In order that no one will have to go to the desert and be consumed by loneliness.

We are a voice in the desert that cries out:
Education for all!
Opportunity for all!
Work for all!
Bread for all!
Liberty for all!
Justice for all!. . .

We are a voice that the desert cannot drown. . .
In order that the country offers equality to all its children
The opportunity for a decorous and dignified life. . .

“For the right to live in Peace”
Mexico, Winter – 2004
Othon Perez (Poet)

 

These are pictures I took during our experience near the border wall. Starting and ending with surveillance towers to show the fact that They are always watching.

 

Today’s Itinerary:

Tuesday, March 14th

Border Militarization and Policies of Death

7:00am: Breakfast

8:00am: Drive to Nogales; Border wall infrastructure and Jose Antonio memorial reflection

10: 00am: Drive to Arivaca

11:30: Picnic Lunch in Arivaca

12:30pm: Chat with People Helping People in the Border Zone

2:00pm: Desert Walk with Tucson Samaritan volunteer and Reflection

4:00pm: Drive to Tucson

7:00pm: Dinner

8:00pm: Reflection

People Helping People in the Border Zone is a rural community organization that was formed in 2012 by a group of Arivaca residents involved in providing humanitarian aid in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands. PHPBZ grows community support for borderlands residents giving humanitarian aid to those crossing and dealing with Border Patrol encounters. Arivaca is a small rural community located in the militarized border zone. With a population of about 700, Arivaca is a small yet vibrant rural community. As with many border communities, residential life in Arivaca has been deeply impacted by mass migration and the arrival of thousands of US Border Patrol agents and infrastructure to the area. All residents and visitors to the area must pass through an immigration checkpoint to confirm their citizenship in order to enter and leave town.

A reflection by Molly and Lillian:

Sitting around two long tables, covered in cloths of traditional Mexican pattern, a distinct silence fell over our meek group of 19 traveling in Southern Arizona. Not realizing that we had fallen into a concentrated silence, each of us sat, eating our lunches, completely immersed in the chilaquiles that lay before us. The voice of one of our leaders perked up to rouse each of us from our exhausted stupor, calling and inviting us to reflect on our day so far.

What a day it had been. We woke up and collected ourselves preposterously early (meet time 4am), embittered by the lack of sleep for daylight savings time. Traveling to the airport, we checked in as a group of individuals, not yet having cultivated the sense of community that would surely come later. We traveled together, ate breakfast, sipped our coffee, fell asleep and complained about overhead storage together. We began developing a team, laying a crucial foundation for the work that would await us in the desert land of Arizona.

We arrived in Tucson and were immediately immersed in the culture of BorderLinks, learning about the history of immigration and its relationships with inequity throughout our country’s history. We reflected and were thoughtful, engaging in some of the sad realities forced to unfold by an unjust history of prejudice and capital interest. Frankly, we were exhausted in both a literal and figurative sense. Many of us felt the weight and magnitude of the issue of immigration, as well as the depth of its roots in our society.

But, despite this, as we gathered again for dinner, a whopping 15 hours since we first met this morning, we shared a lively conversation that reflected both our hopefulness and passion for this cause, ready and excited to move forward tomorrow (after some sleep of course).

Today’s Itinerary:

Sunday, March 12th

3:45am: Initiate phone tree

4:00am: Arrive on Campus

6:00am: First of two flights

12:28pm: Arrive at Borderlinks

1:15pm Lunch & Clean up

2:00pm: Orientation

· Welcome and Introduction to BorderLinks/ Border History and Vision

· Popular Education Spiral

· Acuerdos/ Itinerary Review and Roles

· Lluvia de ideas/ Little Questions, Big Questions

4:00pm: Legal Immigration Simulation Reflection

5:00pm:  Border History

7:00pm: Dinner out of kitchen

Border History – Learn about the evolution of the U.S./Mexico border—how has it been shaped by government policies and social realities.