Category Archives: Reflections

Reflections on how we feel and how the mission is changing us

How can you make the world a better place in 2019?

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

I find myself reading this poem often, especially as we prepare for our next trip to the Texas Borderlands. The hypocrisy and the pain of this passage is what makes it so hauntingly beautiful and so full of truth. If it doesn’t directly impact us, we tend to change the channel, close the curtains or fold the newspaper.  We rationalize that they must have done something to bring this upon themselves and therefore they do not deserve what we have.

This is why the UIndy team goes back year after year. It’s not because the work would not get done without our small team of five. Our colleagues are more then capable of doing it. But because as educators it is our responsibility to not only provide our students with the skills to succeed but also the compassion, empathy and experiences to see that their education provides them with privilege and a platform for service to marginalized and underserved populations.

And now is when they need you to be brave.

Now is when we need you to go back and forget everything you know

And give up the things you’re chained to

I look forward to seeing our friends in the community of Falfurrias and our colleagues from Texas State University.  We will also visit Wilmer’s grave and make sure it is clean and has fresh flowers. I also look forward to working with this team of UIndy students who are all new to the process of exhumation at Sacred Heart. Thank you for taking the time to follow our journey.

~KEL

If You Could

by Danny Bryck

I know, I know

If you could go back you would walk with Jesus

You would march with King

Maybe assassinate Hitler

At least hide Jews in your basement

It would all be clear to you

But people then, just like you, were baffled,

had bills to pay and children they didn’t understand

and they too were so desperate for normalcy they made anything normal

Even turning everything inside out

Even killing, and killing, and it’s easy

for turning the other cheek

to be looking the other way, for walking, to be talking, and they hid in their houses

and watched it on television, when they had television,

and wrung their hands, or didn’t, and your hands are just like theirs

Lined, permeable, small,

and you would follow Caesar, and quote McCarthy, and Hoover, and you would want

to make Germany great again

Because you are afraid, and your parents are sick,

and your job pays shit and where’s your dignity?

Just a little dignity and those kids sitting down in the highway,

and chaining themselves to buildings, what’s their fucking problem?

And that kid

That’s King. And this is Selma. And Berlin. And Jerusalem.

And now is when they need you to be brave.

Now is when we need you to go back and forget everything you know

and give up the things you’re chained to and make it look so easy in your

grandkids’ history books (they should still have them, kinehora)

Now is when it will all be clear to them.

Questions, nerves, and excitement – all in one

Reflections, ,

It is currently Christmas Day, and as I am among family – laughing, eating, and opening presents – it is hard to believe that in a week and a day I will be in Texas to start this grand adventure. I still need to get some last-minute supplies before I go, and I am beginning to think more about what is to come. I am both nervous and excited. Dr. Latham has done all she can to prepare us before we leave but I am still thinking that there is an element of the unexpected which lies ahead. We have been told that there will be 10 -days of digging – but I have never had to endure something like that before. We have been told that the weather will be unpredictable – but how will we adapt? We have been told that what we see may be sad or emotional – but how will I cope? We have been told that this experience is life changing – but how will it change my life? These are things that we cannot truly prepare for – but I have always been a fan of the unexpected.

I think that a big theme of this trip for me, and something that I am prepared to learn more about, will be the immigration aspect of what we are doing and why we are doing it. I am an immigrant, having lived in the United States since I was 6 years old.Passport My family and I still do not have US citizenship. We are currently here on green cards, which took my family 10 years of lawyers, travelling to US embassies in Canada, and upwards of $100,000 to obtain. Trying to become established in another country is not easy or cheap, especially the United States. When I think of our situation versus someone from South America seeking refuge in the United States, our situations are quite different. When we moved to the US, my dad already had a job waiting here for him. We had the money to afford the insane immigration and lawyers fees to do it legally. Obtaining Visa after Visa, until we became eligible to apply for green cards. We were not fleeing violence or corruption of our home country. We did not come here out of fear, but out of opportunity.

I am ready to see the other side of immigration in the United States. It is something that I am very passionate about, and it is something I have always wanted to get involved in. I really hope that we have a chance to visit the Humanitarian Respite Center, where Dr. Latham has said that hundreds of people filter through every day after arriving to the United States. I would love to help out as much as I can with that side of things, as well as with the forensic work that we will be doing while we are in Texas. I count myself lucky for the opportunities I have had since coming to the United States but I really want to understand that it can be so different and it can be so unfair.

Which is why I am so happy to have the opportunity to travel to Texas in the first place. This trip is special to me because I am going to get to learn more about what I love to do and what I want to make a career out of, and because I will have the opportunity to be more involved in an issue that I have always been passionate about. I am nervous as this is the first forensic archaeological field work that I will be doing. I want to do the best that I can in order to bring what little justice there is to the people who have not succeeded while crossing the border. I hope that they will all eventually be returned to their families and be laid to rest in peace. I am very excited to play a part in that.

~Arden

In My Heart of Hearts

Reflections

‘Twas twelve days before our departure, and still here I sit,

Not preparing at all for the upcoming trip;

I should be making lists, I should be packing,

But I do not leave the couch, content with my slacking.

Winter break is often considered to be a reprieve. A month or so of no school, sleeping in, holidays, home-cooked meals, New Year’s Eve parties, and relaxation.

I have learned over the beginning of my first winter break as a graduate student that I do not know how to relax. Here is a brief list of things I have done during my five-day break:

  • Gone to campus every day
  • Organized papers from this semester
  • Organized my binders for next semester
  • Cleaned my house
  • Done the dishes
  • Updated my CV

Here is a list of things I have not done, but need to:

  • Pack for Texas

I tell myself I haven’t started because I am waiting to do laundry at my nana’s over Christmas (laundry is expensive!), but the truth is, it is because packing will make this trip real. Since Dr. Latham asked me to be part of the team, it has been more of an idea. I’ve read articles about Falfurrias and past blog posts, trying to prepare myself. In my heart of hearts, I know that no amount of news articles or blog posts can prepare me for the impact this trip will have.

As someone who prefers to be in control, who likes to know exactly what is going on at all times, this boundless unknown is disconcerting to say the least. My anxieties about flying, overpacking, physical work, and homesickness make staying on my couch a much easier option than actively preparing for the trip.

While my anxieties are valid, they seem trivial in comparison to those choosing to cross the border. In a way, my anxieties are a perfect demonstration of the immense privilege I have. I am privileged to be flying instead of hiking. Privileged because the only real packing limit is the size of our rental van, not how much I can carry for miles. I know that while the physical work will be exhausting, I will have water, food, and a shower every day. And finally, I know that I will return home on January 12th.

It may seem as though the anxiety outweighs the excitement, but for every worry I have, I have ten things to be excited about.

I am beyond excited to be back in the field. I was fortunate enough to do archeological work at Cahokia Mounds during my time as an undergraduate, and I have been longing to be back in the field ever since. I am excited to build upon the skills I have and to learn new ones.

I am excited to bond with my team, both in and out of the field. I am excited to meet those living near the border whose work I’ve admired through stories and articles. I am excited to meet other students whose interests align with my own. I am excited to make new memories.

Most importantly, I am excited to fulfil the promise I made to my alma mater to be “A woman for and with others”.

~Sidney