All posts by becks

Day 5: The Other Side

Community, Environment, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections
Donating to the Respite Center
Donating to the Humanitarian Respite Center

Today was very different than the last four days we have experienced. We were able to take a day and rest our bodies, so we could be fully recharged to continue searching for the unidentified at Sacred Heart Cemetery tomorrow. However, the true purpose of this day was to take some time to immerse ourselves in the other side of the humanitarian crisis occurring at the US-Mexico border. The side that we are used to includes the sadness of previously voiceless decedents who died in search of a better life, but our experiences today extended beyond that. We found that the side in which you interact with the people living with the consequences of US immigration policy are equally heartbreaking in so many ways. Last night, the UIndy team purchased a few bags full of useful food items and supplies that we wanted to donate to the Humanitarian Respite Center operated by the Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. Today we were fortunate to be able to bring our donations to the center and receive a brief tour of their facility.

I have never woken up wondering if I would be pulled away from my family and held in a detention center. I have never feared that my family would be deported, that I would lose the progress of my education, that I would never see my home again, or my family, or my friends at school. Today I saw some of the sweetest and happiest children in the middle of some of the most difficult moments of their lives. I saw exhausted parents who had been desperately holding their family together after days in an ICE detention center, hoping to be granted asylum in this country. There were women and children who just wanted a meal and some guidance before heading on their way. They were helpful and grateful for the assistance, not greedy. They were lost in an unfamiliar place. They were non-English speakers. They were in need of bus tickets back to their family members. I tried not to think about it too much in fear that I would start crying. It was deeply heartwarming to see that so many people in the community volunteer their time and resources to help keep this operation running to serve vast numbers of people on a daily basis.

After leaving the Respite Center, we headed over to the border wall. This was my second time seeing it and it still gave me chills. The Rio Grande River marks the official border between countries, but there are tall walls with barbed wire or massive, rusty metal fences on the US side of the land by the river.

Side view of the border gate and wall
Side view of the border gate and wall

Within 90 seconds of walking over to the wall, a Border Patrol truck rolled up on us to interrogate our purpose in the area. He left us alone after hearing that we were white folks from Indiana just interested in seeing the wall, but I know he kept watch from afar. There was a broken ladder, probably from the journey of one traveler as he/she shimmied up and over this 20-foot fence.

Broken ladder on the ground near the wall
Broken ladder on the ground near the wall

We imagined the fear and adrenaline coursing through someone’s blood as they committed to this risky journey knowing they too, may only have 90 seconds before Border Patrol discovered them. Yet, all we could do was gaze at the other side of the fence, never knowing what it would feel like to make a run for our lives that could determine our future or the well being of our families in a faraway home.

The end of our day was marked by the most wonderful dining experience. Peggy and Bill Clark invited the entire team of volunteers to their house for dinner at their beautiful ranch home. We were able to gain some insight into the other side of the Falfurrias community; the thoughts, experiences, and daily lives of those outside our immediate circle of human rights volunteers. We arrived early to help set up and were incredibly thankful to develop relationships with the two of them. Peggy’s grandfather founded the town of Falfurrias, so she shared some incredible stories and family photos with us.  Overall, they were just honest, kind, fascinating people who welcomed us into their homes with open arms and wanted to get to know us. I hope to be able to see them again in the future and value the conversations I was able to share with them.Dinner table
Sign that reads "Hollywood Camp Falfurrias, TX"

There is a quote from Sister Norma Pimentel, the director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley. She says, “Helping another human being is never wrong. It is never a wrong thing to do.” That really resonates with me, and I hope that people of all backgrounds can see the good in humanitarian work being done. I know we all learned a lot today, and I look forward to everything else to come.

Day 5 at La Mota Ranch
Day 5 at La Mota Ranch

–Sammi

Day 2: Community Impact

Community, Human Rights, Migrant Death

This was our second day searching for migrant burials in Sacred Heart Cemetery, and we truly began to notice how much this volunteer effort means to the Falfurrias community. Word of our presence has surely been spreading since we received many more visitors and curious spectators from the town. We experienced a variety of different reactions to our work. Some people stared as they drove by our site, some waved, some came and offered to bring the team lunch and thanked us for our efforts.

I had the unique opportunity of attending a press conference today that was organized by Eddie Canales at the South Texas Human Rights Center. As a graduate student, it is invaluable to observe professionals in the field as they interact with the public and media. I think it is incredibly important that experts in this topic have the opportunity to speak to the public and provide truthful information about the type of work we are doing and our motivations for doing it. It is so easy to spin things out of context and to politicize the identification of unknown migrant decedents. In reality, the core of this work is that all humans are treated with dignity in life or death and are given an equal chance at identification if we can provide the resources to help
do so.

Interview with the mediaDr. Latham sat on a panel with some other forensic experts who play an active role in identifying migrant burials. There was press from at least 4 news stations, and it was nice
that they were able to have a light question and answer session to discuss the roles and techniques employed by the different volunteer organizations.

After we finished the long day of excavating, we stopped at the gas station for some Laredo Tacos. And WOAH, let me tell you: this barbacoa taco I had was one of the best I’ve ever had. While we were there, a few of us were approached by some people in the community who took an interest in our work. They wanted to know what we had found so far and how it was going at the cemetery. Compared to the field season last January, there is already a huge difference being in Falfurrias at a public site. I appreciate the ability to feel how deeply the humanitarian crisis impacts the locals in different ways.

Day two group photo

–Sammi

January 2019: Digging for a Deeper Connection

Reflections

As we approach this coming field season, I sit here with a house full of people I love and a heart full of conflicting emotions. I am so lucky to have been born into such a privileged family. We are celebrating the holidays in the comfort of a warm home with plenty of food, water, shelter, coats, shoes, and unnecessary luxuries that we are so fortunate to have been able to obtain through hard work and circumstance. Every year when I visit home, I am able to tell the people in my life what wonderful things I have been able to accomplish and experience through my graduate program. I am able to experience the positive correlation of “hard work” that “pays off” in a way that many people in the world may never be able to, simply because I am an American citizen.

I recently read the creative non-fiction, Looking for Esperanza, which tells the stories of various migrant women who the author encountered while searching for Esperanza. She attempts to understand some of the hardships these women encounter in their lives here in America by joining them to work in the strawberry fields in Florida to experience their daily lives firsthand. She struggled to labor under the scolding hot sun, planting hundreds of pounds of strawberries throughout the day for minimal pay. This is one of the many forms of intense manual labor that these women face in exchange for minimal wages that pay for tortillas and trailers to feed and support their families.

Last January, I participated in my first field season with Beyond Borders. To us, moving enormous amounts of rigid, compact soil from the ground was quite difficult. Our bodies became sore, and we were burning through calories which made us hungry throughout the day. When it was cold, we had the clothing we desired. When it was hot, we had the water we thirsted for. When we were hungry, we had the security of a nutritious meal in our foreseeable future. We realized how fortunate we were, so we always carried on with our positive attitudes, hopeful to make a difference in somebody’s life.

This January, I will return to South Texas with Beyond Borders to continue our mission. Being able to participate in the project last year was a career-changing opportunity for me. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to go to the University of Indianapolis was with the intention of volunteering and learning how forensic anthropologists can help with humanitarian issues taking place around the world. Not only did I get a glimpse into the struggles and conditions faced near the U.S.-Mexico border, but I witnessed the difficulty in regulating the treatment and processing of the many individuals who perish on their journey.

I imagine this trip will be quite different from my last. This time, I will have a team member as my mapping apprentice, who I will be teaching the basic principles of field documentation in forensic archaeological contexts. Learning to map at this time last year was critical for my involvement in cases at UIndy and has provided me with many great opportunities that I am excited to share with another student. In addition, exhumations will resume at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Falfurrias, which will be different from my previous experience on the private property we worked on last year. Since we are returning to Falfurrias, we already have plans to meet with some incredible individuals in the community who will have a unique perspective to share with us. Our team with be

Learning to map from the previous mapping expert (January 2018).
Learning to map from the previous mapping expert (January 2018).

immersed in the sociopolitical climate in a way that I have not experienced before. This is why I believe the biggest difference of all will be the depth of understanding that I bring away from the things I witness and people I meet this season. I am excited to continue building my ever-growing emotional connection with this crisis and cannot wait to return.

–Sammi