All posts by lathamke

New Year Resolutions

Reflections

For many of us, 2016 was a tough year. We witnessed widespread human rights violations across the globe,  terrorism, mass shootings, hate crimes, racism, political turmoil, and said goodbye to many influential people.  All this in addition to our own personal struggles.  At times we cried, we were enraged, we were heartbroken and we were empty. Some of us protested, some volunteered and some donated resources to do our small part to bring peace, love and acceptance to all.  We are looking for a way to be the hope/peace/love/joy we want to see in the world, and a way to right the injustices we see all around us.

I understand that my privilege allows me to volunteer my time and my resources to social justice initiatives even though my lived experience prohibits me from truly understanding. I will be starting 2017 in Brooks County at Sacred Heart Cemetery continuing the exhumations we started in 2013 and 2014.  We worked with Baylor University to remove over 100 unidentified migrants from the ground so they could begin their journey towards identification and repatriation.  Volunteering to bring awareness to this humanitarian crisis, to bring closure to family members and to give a voice to a marginalized population feels like the most appropriate way to start the new year and put the  trials of 2016 in the past.

This trip will be different than previous seasons in several ways. This year we will be joined by faculty and students from Texas State University.  We have worked with them the last two years in the lab and are eager to work with them in the field as well.  Our previous trips have occurred in May or June, so a January trip should be more comfortable for the manual labor we will be conducting at the cemetery.  In addition to the UIndy forensics team, we will also be joined by a group of cultural anthropologists from UIndy. Supervised by Dr. Alyson O’Daniel, they will be conducting participant observation at the cemetery and community outreach at the South Texas Human Rights Center.  My family will also be joining me to better understand what I do during these trips to Falfurrias.

I look forward to working with an amazing group of people from UIndy, TX State, the Brooks County Sheriff Office and the local community.  I am eager to catch up with our friends in Falfurrias and continue to contribute our small part to these identification efforts. Happy New Year to you all!

~KEL

 

 

 

A large metal cross with smaller crosses in the background in a grassy field.

Heroes

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections
Two team members excavating in a trench as others look on from above
Forensic Archeology

As I reflect back upon our trip to Texas this year I keep returning to the statement “The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.” We started working in Brooks County in 2013 when we were invited to assist with the exhumations in Sacred Heart Burial Park.  We worked hard and provided an important contribution to the work being started there.  As we moved on to supervise the exhumations the following year, conduct skeletal analyses, navigate the identification system and interact with the community, we became more deeply embedded in the issues and more aware of the extent and complexities of the humanitarian crisis on our border.

After being away from my son for almost two weeks, he asked if we could have a special day together and go see the movie “Captain America: Civil War.” The movie focuses on the Avengers, a group of superheros tasked with doing “good” for humans across the planet. Up until this point the heroes operated as their own independent entity. In this episode, the heroes are required to accept accountability for their actions by entering into a political agreement with the United Nations that requires them to follow specific ordinances and governances. This divides the Avengers team with some of them wanting to continue their humanitarian efforts without governmental interference and others accepting of the oversight. The end result is two groups of heroes working for “good” from different perspectives.  Throughout the movie I kept thinking of the efforts in South Texas to save the living and identify then repatriate the dead.

Three team members with a red cross flag
Building Water Stations

There are many governmental and non-governmental organizations working on these efforts, and everyone is coming from a place where they feel they are doing the most “good”.   Some of these individuals are bound by rules and standard operating procedures. They are functioning within the law. This means that they have greater access and resources due to their governmental standing but also less freedom to quickly change and adapt to different circumstances.  These rules and guidelines are an important part of standardization of approach and process within the medicolegal system.  Other organizations are operating outside of the law. This does not mean they are doing anything illegal. It means they are not restricted by the same rules as the governmental agencies. They have more restricted access and resources, but they also have more freedoms. They can modify their policies and adapt to new and unforeseen circumstances. I do not see either of these approaches as better than the other as each operates differently in different situations.  But, in order to make progress regarding the crisis on the border these groups do need to work together.  We need to remember our common goal of dignity in life and in death, and not let our different approaches distract as. As in the movie “United we stand, divided we fall”.

Map of migrant deaths in South Texas
Migrant Deaths in South TX

Forensic anthropologists working on the border are part of a team of people working from different perspectives to do “good”.  There are certain resources and permissions that we need from those working within the law since most of us are not employed by any governmental entity. There are also certain freedoms and flexibilities that we enjoy by working outside the law. At times we want that accountability and at times we are thankful for our independence.

By comparing those working on border issues to The Avengers, am I calling them heroes? From those that save lives through search and rescue or maintaining water stations, to those who lighten the spirit through a warm meal or the gift of hospitality, to those that identify and repatriate the deceased to a family that needs closure, to those struggling to change policy  – By touching one heart or saving one life, yes I think they are heroes to someone.

~KEL

Homeward Bound

Reflections
Three people sitting on a floor
Passing time at the airport

Our 11 days in Texas flew by quickly. It seems like we were just packing our bags to go and now we are already heading home. While our time there was short I feel like we accomplished a lot and made the most of our time. I am very proud of our UIndy team and, as always, inspired by our friends in Texas that work towards positive change on a daily basis.

Luggage sitting on a tarmac
I hope that’s not our luggage left forgotten on the tarmac

We started our time at Texas State University assisting members of Operation Identification with skeletal analyses.  While there, teams from UIndy and Texas State University completed forensic anthropological analyses on 17 individuals.  Next we drove to Houston to participate in Missing in Harris County Day. While there we worked with volunteers from a variety of organizations to collect missing persons reports and educate the community regarding the processes of exhumation and identification.  We spent the last leg of our trip in Falfurrias. We helped sister Pam make cloth bags for the Sacred Heart Humanitarian Respite Center, assisted the Forensic Border Colaition in mapping cemeteries in two counties and helped Eddie at the South Texas Human Rights Center to build, repair and fill water stations. If we were able to help just one person with our actions than we were successful.

But our work is not over. We have case reports to complete, case files to manage and plans to make, to name just a few tasks. We will continue to post daily blogs over the next week or so as we reflect upon our most recent trip to Texas. Thank you for reading and please feel free to share to bring awareness to this crisis on our border.

~KEL