All posts by cantore

A view of the Sacred Heart Respite Center from the street.

Our “Day Off”

Community

Several days ago, our team took a day off from the physical exertion in the field to volunteer at the Sacred Heart Respite Center in McAllen Texas. We arrived at the center sometime in the morning on a very rainy and cold day (especially for Texas), where we were greeted by our friend Sister Pam. She led us inside and gave us a sort of orientation about the history of the Respite Center, the role the center plays in the migrant crisis, and instructions on how we would be able to help out while we were there. The purpose of the center is to provide migrants who are being released into our country with food, toiletries, clothing, and the first shower that they have likely had in days. These individuals were previously being detained by Border Patrol after crossing the border and seeking asylum and this center is really the first place since arriving where they are shown any type of humanity.

Before setting us off on our volunteer work, Sister Pam conversed with a migrant and his daughter who had recently arrived at the center, asking them questions about where they were from, their family, etc. Without going into too many details, this conversation was very eye-opening on just what these individuals had to go through to get to the US, and the calmness with which they regaled this information highlighted just how typical their situation was for all of the migrants attempting to cross the border – and let me tell you, their situation was far from what anyone would consider ideal.

Surprisingly, out of our group of at least 30 volunteers, there were only a few of us who spoke any Spanish. Jorge, who traveled with our group from Indianapolis, is fluent in Spanish and so he acted as our main translator. Otherwise, Justin and I were the only others who were able to converse in Spanish. Because of this, Sister Pam enlisted us in kind of floating around to help translate for anyone who may need it, as well as to talk to some of the families as they went through the process at the center. We were also asked to walk with Sister Pam and others from the group to greet the migrants being dropped off at the bus station. While there, Sister Pam had Justin and I usher families to the waiting area, explaining to them that we would take them to the center shortly. After explaining this to one family, a young boy, who had previously been quite rambunctious playing with his friend in the station, surprised me by giving me a big hug, which I was not at all prepared for but it was extremely heartwarming and reminded me how relieved these families must be knowing they are finally on their way to their families in the US.

Back at the center, things became very chaotic very quickly, with about 30 migrants being moved through to receive their supplies, clothing, and food, as well as to allow them time to wash up and shower. Acting as a translator, I very quickly became overwhelmed by people asking me for specific clothing items, as well as by other volunteers asking me to help translate. It was a good kind of overwhelming, however. In fact, it was wonderful. I felt like I was really able to help these people and that, even though our communication was limited, I was able to connect with them on some level. These individuals were going through a very tough situation, and probably had not experienced much kindness in the past couple of weeks, so it felt good simply being able to smile and say “Hola, Bienvenidos” to all of them. Even better was being able to ask “¿Qué necesitas?” or “What do you need?” I don’t think they had heard that from many people since entering our country and it was amazing being able to help, even in a small way.

This experience at the center was much more intense and eye-opening than I could have ever imagined it would be. I heard stories from people that were heartbreaking and shocking and seeing their resilience was awe-inspiring. I am so grateful for this opportunity to have been able to be of some small help to these individuals and their families. I only hope that the amazing work that the Sacred Heart Respite Center is doing will continue on until there is no longer a need for it. If you would like to help out as well by donating items or by making a financial donation, check out their webpage here.

Erica

Shovels standing in a large pile of dirt with people walking in the background.

Breaking Ground

Human Rights, Migrant Death

These first few days of working out in the field have certainly been eventful and have held true to our team’s mantra of “expect the unexpected.” Not an hour into our first day at the cemetery, I found myself holding a very expensive and fancy piece of equipment, a GPS with base station and rover, or as we call it “The Magic Stick.” I have heard of equipment such as this but have never seen it in action, nonetheless been able to operate it myself. I was simply inquiring about how the equipment worked when Dr. Nick Herman, a professor of anthropology at Texas State University, thrust it into my hands and set me out mapping the scene using the GPS technology. So quickly into our work here in Texas I was given such a great opportunity to work with a tool that I may have never otherwise gotten an opportunity to experience, and it felt pretty cool.

A team member holding the middle of a tape measure with another team member holding the end in the distance.The next day, we broke ground and began the exhumation process (you can read more about it here). It was a day filled with excitement for many reasons. It was exciting to be a part of a team that worked so well together and adapted quickly to new and challenging situations. Additionally, the exhumation process itself was incredibly exciting and rewarding to be able to participate in. Another excitement factor, however, was somewhat expected but not quite to the degree to which we experienced it – the media. We were all told to be prepared for possible media presence at the cemetery but I don’t think any of us expected there to be such a significant amount of personnel following our every move. I know I certainly did not expect to be interacting with the media so closely myself. Through working on forensic cases back in Indianapolis, my instinct is to have tunnel vision when it comes to the media and so I tend to pretend that they aren’t even there. This was nearly impossible to do yesterday – they were everywhere and all around us, often getting very close into our personal space. I have to say, I was not always comfortable with the situation. Never did I feel pressured or unsafe, though some of the media personnel behaved better than others, but it was just something that I was not used to and did not expect. It was definitely a unique experience.

Today was unexpected in the sense that it lasted several hours longer than we had Four team members taking depth measurements of a burialanticipated. We were out in the cemetery from sunup to sundown, just about 10 hours, and we were busy for all of it. Today was the day where I think we all fully realized the importance of being prepared for anything. The first half of the day went pretty much as we had planned, and we thought we had just about completed the excavation of our area. However, some of the officials who have been involved with this human rights work for some time assured us that there may be more work to be done before we move on to a different area. We attempted to probe the ground with steel T-probes to detect any disturbances or objects in the soil; what we Team members using t-probes in the soilfound was areas where the soil was so soft we could probe right through and other areas where we had to use our entire body weight just to move down a few inches at a time. We were not confident enough in these results to draw any major conclusions about whether there may be more remains in the area or not so we decided that the best way to proceed would be to dig a trench throughout the entire section in order to be sure. Unfortunately, at this point the sun was already setting and so we were going to have to resume this on our next day in the field.

I think all of us are feeling quite tired and sore tonight as we finish up our work at the hotel. Tomorrow, however, we have a break from the physical work in the field as we take a trip to volunteer at the Sacred Heart Respite Center. Though we will not be shovelingA wooden cross, metal marker, and flowers for a burial. massive piles of dirt and moving buckets upon buckets of soil, we will be challenged both mentally and emotionally as we immerse ourselves even further in this crisis situation at the border. I am both nervous and excited for whatis to come tomorrow, and as much as I have been told about what our volunteer work will entail, after today I am reminded to expect the unexpected and to be prepared for anything.

Erica

Planes, More Planes, and Automobiles

Reflections

At last, we have made it to Falfurrias! We gathered at the Indianapolis International Airport at 6:00 am this morning, where we began our long journey to South Texas. Our first flight brought us to Dallas swiftly and safely, with everything going impressively smoothly thus far. However, as any member of my immediate family would tell you, the Cantor curse ensures that no trip is complete without at least a few hiccups. So perhaps I am to blame for the longer-than-expected day of travel that was to follow. After a delayed flight in Dallas, we arrived in San Antonio a couple of hours behind schedule. Fortunately, all of our luggage arrived with us, which is something I think we were all very grateful for. However, difficulties with the rental car company delayed us even further and so at about 3:30 pm we finally set out with our 3-car caravan on the 3-hour drive to Falfurrias, Texas.

We arrived at our hotel at about 6:30 pm, just over 12 hours after our journey began. Needless to say, it was a long day of travel but our work for the day was not yet complete. We briefly settled in our hotel rooms before our stomachs got the best of us, so we picked up pizza from across the street and hunkered down to plan our first day out in the field. After plans had been made, several of us traveled to the only grocery store in town to grab supplies for lunch, as well as to pick up any personal items that may have been forgotten (lets be honest, no matter how many lists one may write, odds are that something will be left behind). At last, we had fulfilled all of our duties for our first day in South Texas and I know that by the end of the night, everyone was ready to begin our work in the field the following morning.

Something that surprised me through all of the setbacks and complications that we experienced today was that everyone on our team remained in remarkably high spirits. After two flights and waiting outside the rental company for at least an hour, the daunting 3-hour drive seemed to fly by and was actually quite enjoyable. I rode shotgun in a car with my fellow graduate students, Justin, Leann, and Jessica. We jammed to some good old AC/DC Pandora radio and watched the gorgeous sunset over the vast Texan expanse. Justin educated us all on several native bird species and we discussed our thoughts on the work and days to come. I think our persistent good spirits and optimism throughout our 12-hour journey reflects each of our excitement for what is to come. I think we are all more than ready to begin doing what we can to help and I can honestly say that I am incredibly proud to be a member of such a driven and determined team.

Erica