Category Archives: Human Rights, Migrant Death

Talking about the project itself

Returning & Reflections

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections
Two team members setting up the datum
Establishing our datum

Our trip to Eagle Pass felt like it was over just as quickly as it started. It was so good to see Don, Eddie, and Dr. Spradley again. This was my first real forensic archaeology experience with manually excavating and exhuming burials. There were distinct moments during this trip when I’d be working, sit back, and think “Wow, I have learned so much today.” and each day that feeling only grew stronger. I noticed during the later days of the week how much the team had grown together and were able to work as a cohesive unit. We became so skilled with a trowel that, when we left, our hands stayed formed to holding a trowel (dubbed trowel claw). It was also a new experience to learn how to do this work with the media present. It was a bit daunting, but it did not deter our work ethic.

In my pre-trip post, I said we read about what we may encounter but nothing could truly prepare us for what we’d see and learn, and I can confidently say I was right about that. While providing forensic anthropology in Indiana, there is a lot we are removed from, especially in regards to the border crisis. I have never dealt with death at this scale. In our last debrief, I discussed how many more layers of the forensic anthropology field and the border crisis this trip has exposed me to. It has caused me to recognize and connect these different levels of our work that previously felt disjointed. We work with the individuals brought to our lab under many different circumstances. We have searched the Texas Borderlands and seen evidence of migrant travel, ranging from food wrappers to clothing items, leaving me constantly thinking of where these individuals are and if they are okay. We searched for burials and found individuals discarded alongside miscellaneous trash. We examined the personal belongings of these individuals and their bodies for identifying characteristics. This, especially, is something I am not used to as I am more familiar with analyzing mostly skeletal remains. It can feel invasive to do some of these things, but its to be able to give these individuals their best chance at getting home to their families. I saw their IDs and what they looked like to their loved ones. I heard the family member of one of the individuals previously exhumed speak about their loved one they lost and a bit of their background. To hear them say “I was waiting for them to tell me he opened his eyes, to tell me he’d take another breath.” It’s heart wrenching. So many people are sharing this experience, and so many people don’t even know what is happening besides what is being shown on the news.

View of the Rio Grande
Rio Grande

This work is heavy. These are hard things to have on your mind and definitely aren’t things that will fade. These trips allow us to meet some of the individuals working often daily with this border crisis, ranging from activists groups and media to cemetery workers and forensic scientists. Regardless of the motivation or background, each person I met has the same goal, to do the best we can to care for these individuals, and that is one great piece of solace, knowing there are more people out there who care. No one deserves to be treated in the manner we found these individuals in. No one deserves to have to experience the treacherous journey these individuals endured. Each trip reveals so much that we don’t know is going on or don’t know the severity of it.

The team taking measurements at the cemetery
Team taking measurements

Annnnnd now I am back home. Preparing for school to start, and It feels like the most extreme 360. I very naively thought that after two trips to Texas my transition back to normal life in Indiana would be easier, and I was very wrong. This trip was such an eye-opening experience for me. I learned SO much in such a short period of time skill wise and even more so about the border crisis. I get to share my experience and help others understand what really is going on. It is a privilege to be able to do so. I am extremely grateful to Dr. Latham for allowing me to be a part of this team and this project. The lessons I learn from these trips, personal and skill-wise, are exceptional, and I am proud to have been a part of the team and the work we’ve done.

–Izzy

Jan 2023 Team

Looking Back

Community, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

We’ve been home for a couple of days now, but I feel restless. I want to go back and continue working. Knowing there are migrants needing to be identified and families anxiously awaiting news on their loved ones while I sit on my couch and binge Netflix doesn’t seem right. While I’ve recovered physically, my emotions are still all over the place. It is hard to rationalize why society has gotten to a point where we treat and judge people based on nothing beyond the fact they were not born in the same place as us.

Team members taking measurements at the cemetery

This Beyond Borders trip was vastly different from the previous ones I have been on. There was a different emotional toll than that experienced when we search ranchland or fill water stations. Not to say that either of those activities is easy or enjoyable, but seeing the bodies of migrants tossed in hastily dug holes like trash, and oftentimes with actual trash, hits in a different way. It doesn’t take much to have even the smallest bit of compassion or human decency, yet these migrants are looked down upon and treated appallingly for the simple reason of being born in a different country or to circumstances beyond their control. It frustrates and saddens me and makes me question a lot of things.

Team members digging at the cemetery

It is easy to villainize one person or another for the crisis, but, unfortunately, there is no easy solution and there is no single person to blame for what is occurring. There are many differing opinions and political discourses surrounding immigration and the US/Mexico border, but that will not stop migrants from crossing, with some perishing along the way. Funeral homes and cemetery workers are overwhelmed by the sheer number of migrants they end up in charge of. They are doing their best, but, at some point, they start to become desensitized to the atrocities they are seeing. This does not excuse what is happening to these migrants, but it is important to realize that this is a multi-faceted, complex problem with no simple solution.

Two team members removing dirt from a burial

As long as there are people such as Dr. Latham, Eddie, Don, Dr. Spradley and the Operation Identification team, and many other individuals and organizations who are taking the initiative and trying their best to give migrants and their families closure, I choose to believe that compassion and decency still exist. I wish we were never even needed down in Eagle Pass, but I am glad we were able to aid in the excavations and, hopefully, help provide some of the dignity and compassion these migrants, and all humans, are worthy of.

Working on this project with this team was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I am thankful for the opportunity to be a part of it. After my experiences with Beyond Borders, I am only more determined to use my education and abilities in humanitarian settings in order to help those who have been wronged in any way I can. I’m sad that this is most likely my last trip with Beyond Borders, but I’ve cherished every moment.

~ Olivia

Jan 2023 Team

Returning Home

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

We are back home now and everything feels surreal. It feels like just yesterday I was stressing about what to pack. Now I find myself trying to process a slew of emotions that are entirely new to me. It was disheartening to see so little care demonstrated for these individuals. It’s strange to come home, knowing that because I was born on the other side of a made-up line that neither I nor anyone I know will likely be treated that way. 

View of Mexico from the US side of the border
View of Mexico from the US side of the border

I find myself continually thinking back to our fifth day at the cemetery when a visitor came to see where their family member had been buried. I had no concept of what they were feeling but I still found myself hating the global circumstances that allowed it to happen. No one should have to go through what this family is dealing with. Hearing their story and getting to witness them grieve puts all of our work in a new perspective. For me, it reemphasized the importance of what we are doing but it also made it feel like a tiny thread in a tangle of large and complex issues that we could never hope to untangle. 

Team members working at the cemetery to locate and uncover burials
Team members removing dirt from a burial

I am in awe of those we met who have made human rights efforts their lives work. These are incredible, selfless people who have dedicated their time and sometimes risk their well-being because they care deeply for all people. There is a lot there that I hope to emulate in my own life. I thought on this trip what I learned would be equal parts archeology and personal growth. Now I find that my transformed mindset and emotional growth far outweigh the former. I have learned so much and hope to continue learning even though I am home again.

Kaitlyn