All posts by lathamke

Day 5

Snapshots

UIndy team holding up 5 fingers for day 5 while standing on increasing amounts of wooden palettes

Here’s to another full day in Falfurrias.   Last year we learned to expect the unexpected and that rings true for this year as well.  The UIndy team spent more time mentoring the Baylor undergraduates today than working on their own area of the cemetery.  Forensic archeology is a slow and complex process. The lesson of the day was slow down and strive for success.  In this particular situation, success is making sure we investigate every centimeter of this area in which burials could be located.  Success and progress are not only measured by the number of individuals we exhume each day, but by knowing that we are systematically investigating this plot of land so that all burials are detected and none are left behind.

As we were nearing our usual stopping point in the day (when the sun is so strong that just standing in direct sunlight can bring you down in minutes) we got a call that a skeleton had been located on a ranch. We were privileged to accompany Chief Benny and Border Patrol to the ranch to do the recovery of the individual.  We spent several hours in the baking sun working the case.

Green and white border patrol vehicle in the brushOnce we finished on the ranch we headed to the station with Chief Benny.  The individuals exhumed from the cemetery are temporarily being stored in a refrigerated trailer at the station.  We went to see the station and take a quick inventory on the recoveries to date. As you can see, there is never a dull day in Falfurrias. We came to work and we are working hard.

Over the past few days we have had the pleasure to meet and spend time with freelance writer Ananda Rose (http://anandarose.org/home.html).  Ananda has been investigating and writing about immigration issues since her graduate school years at Harvard.  Her dissertation work was compiled into a very powerful book called “Showdown in the Sonoran Desert: Religion, Law, and the Immigration Controversy.” I was first contacted by Ananda a few months ago because she wanted to write a piece on what we are doing surrounding issues of migrant death in South Texas for Scientific American.  After many phone calls and email exchanges over the past few months we finally got to meet in person.  The UIndy team and I got to share several meals, laughs and stories with Ananda over the three days she was in town.  I am so happy to have met such an amazing person who is working so hard to bring awareness to this issue! Not only is she an incredible author, but an incredible person as well. We miss you Ananda!

UIndy Group photo with Ananda

~KEL

Day 4

Community, Snapshots

Day 4 group picture sitting on a pile of dirt with 4 fingers in the airDay 4 has been such a full day that I don’t know where to begin! The heat and humidity are taking their toll on everyone. The Baylor team decided to make today an optional day to allow students to rest, which resulted in a smaller than usual crew at the cemetery.  But instead of slowing down with less people to work, everyone went into high gear and made exceptional progress. The UIndy team did a lot of digging today. We also had a burial that tested our forensic archeological skills and was emotionally challenging. Not only was today a heavy work day, but it was filled with friends and adventures as well.

Our new friend Sarah Friedland, a documentary film maker, left today after being with us in the field from day one. Her co-director Esy Casey left yesterday.  Our work will be part of their new film called “Memorials” (https://www.facebook.com/memorialsfilm).  While the team and I have known them for just a few days we will forever be friends united by our experiences here in Falfurrias.  This human rights mission and the experience of Sacred Heart Cemetery have the ability to bring people together in a way that very few other experiences do. We wish them the best and look forward to keeping in touch with them.

For the past two days Guy Housewright of Guy Housewright photography (http://www.guyhousewrightphotography.com/) has been with us at the cemetery. Guy is an old friend and amazing photographer that my university hired to capture our work in Sacred Heart. He embedded himself with us, beginning with breakfast at 5:15am and ending with debriefing and late dinners.  He truly wanted to understand the issues and why we were doing the work here in Falfurrias. It was great to have him with us for two days and we hope he isn’t too exhausted after staying out in the hot sun with us.  We also asked Guy be a part of our Day 4 picture (shown above). We can’t wait to see the images he took of us working and hope he was able to capture the emotions we feel at Sacred Heart Cemetery each day we are there.

Pictures being taken of UIndy team members taking measurements of a burialRyan, Jessica and Cheneta had the opportunity to tour parts of El Tule Ranch today.  The security manager of the ranch, Lavoyger Durham offered to take them to the ranch to see the type of environment the migrants journey through. Also traveling to the the ranch with them was Ananda Rose, author of “Showdown in the Sonoran Desert”. We’re going to tell you more about our time with Ananda tomorrow. I know Ryan, Jessica and Cheneta are very excited to talk about their adventures at El Tule, so I’ll stop here.

Finally, the day ended with an amazing diner and relaxing evening at Arturo’s house. His family invited our whole team over for an evening of amazing food, dancing, singing and fun.

~KEL

Day 3

Environment, Snapshots

DAy three group picture with 3 fingers in the air

Before we get to day 3, I need to re-visit day 2.  If the word of the day on day one was “tamales”, on day two it was definitely “hot”. While the temperature was similar to day one, the cloud cover did not linger and the humidity increased. But with the sun on our backs we lifted our trowels and began our excavations.  I’ve worked in this heat before and knew to keep hydrated.  I diligently checked my students throughout the day to make sure they were drinking water (and peeing).  We completed our day, went back to our hotel and had our normal debriefing meeting.  And that’s when it hit me. It started with an excruciating headache radiating from the right and left temples and quickly progressed to shakiness and nausea.  At first I was embarrassed because it was a sign of weakness to let the heat get to me and I tried to hide it from my students.  But they know me well enough to know something was wrong.  They got me to my room and I tried to think back through my day to figure out what went wrong. I was sick most of the night and the only person I can blame is myself. I was so worried about everyone else that I forgot to worry about me. I’m not blogging about it for pity, I’m blogging about it because being in this environment is no joke. You don’t feel heat exhaustion creeping up on you. By the time you get sick it’s too late. I know I was drinking water and taking breaks yesterday, but just not enough. I was only out there for 6 hours. Even with the luxury of coming back to an air conditioned hotel with cool showers and drinking water I was up all night in misery. As I lay in my soft bed wishing I would just feel better I kept telling myself I’m the lucky one. I’m in a bed, in the air conditioning with the option of medical care if I need it. Someone is laying in the desert right now with the same symptoms with no chance of getting better. Unless you’ve been to South Texas it’s hard to truly understand the harsh environment and the ease at which the human body can crumble in its grasp.

I woke up feeling much better and put myself (and my students) on a strict water and rest routine today.  We are facing many more obstacles this year than last, including concrete like soil that is heavy and hard to excavate and burials averaging 100 cm (over 3 feet) below the surface.  Keep in mind that all excavations are done by hand using shovels and hand trowels, and the dirt must be moved from the working area using buckets. Even though we worked hard today, we are all feeling healthy and strong.

Two UIndy team members working in a burial

Over the past few days we made two new friends: Sarah Friedland and Esy Casey. They are independent film makers that are working on a new documentary called Memorials, which documents how we treat our dead (http://www.perinspire.com/). Esy left today and Sarah leaves tomorrow. We’ve had a great time sharing our mission and our passion with them and can’t wait to see their new film!

~KEL