Well, I’ve been absent from this blog for over a week now, and I sincerely apologize for my lack of blog entries. As you might have read from previous posts, I suffered mild heat exhaustion which landed me in the ER for an evening and ended my field season a day early. Despite being upset from being held back by my health, I was extremely proud to hear how amazing the final day was and that our season finished up smoothly. I took the remaining time to rest up and organize video footage from the trip. I hope it makes up for the lack of posts on my part.
At long last, after a week of editing, I would like to present Beyond Borders – A Short Film. This is the most detailed film I’ve ever edited (hoping Sarah and Esy might throw a few pointers and comments my way, I would love to hear from the pros…!) I tried to give the viewers a succinct yet rich perspective of our time in Falfurrias, TX. I can’t emphasize enough how much I enjoyed reliving the memories through the editing process; the more I worked, the more proud I was of us as a team.
Well I guess that depends on how you define success. I think all of us that participated in the excavation would answer yes to that question. Yes, we systematically investigated a 16m by 12m plot of land in the Sacred Heart Cemetery for the burial of unidentified migrants. We applied traditional archeological techniques to remove dirt using shovels and hand trowels to an average depth of 70cm below the ground surface. If we did not encounter human remains by 70cm we dug test pits and probed to an average depth of 140cm below the surface, well below the deepest recorded burial depth. Each exhumation performed by the UIndy team was conducted and documented in the same manner as any forensic case encountered by the University of Indianapolis Archeology and Forensics Laboratory. Yes, I think we all feel pretty successful in saying that we recovered all the unidentified remains from that portion of the cemetery.
During
Yes, we successfully moved over half a million pounds of dirt (by hand) as a group. Every Baylor student and UIndy team member wears their sore muscles, bruises and scrapes proudly as an indication of their physical commitment to the human rights work in Falfurrias. In the process of moving that dirt we located the remains of over 52 individuals that will now begin the identification process and the long journey home to loved ones. Those individuals would still be buried nameless if it weren’t for a successful field season.
During
Yes, when we look back upon the once grassy plot of land that is now lacking 52 bodies (minimally) we feel successful. We successfully recovered the nameless and left our blood, sweat and tears in return. The environment tried to stop our success, but we were triumphant. The sun burned our skin and dehydrated our bodies. The humidity made our thermoregulation via sweating a less efficient cooling mechanism. The mosquitoes, which we are all convinced became immune to our bug spray, made us swell and itch. But we came back until the job was done.
During
However, the exhumation process was completed in less than two weeks. Now begins the long process of identification. Each individual will travel to a university (Texas State University, University of Indianapolis, Baylor University) where they will begin forensic analysis. This process begins with cleaning the bones, followed by skeletal analysis aimed at reconstructing the decedent’s living characteristics like biological sex, age at death and living stature. This skeletal biological profile can be used to narrow down potential matches of reported missing persons. A bone sample will be cut for isotope analysis that could contribute to detecting the country of origin of the individual and again narrow down potential matches of reported missing persons. A bone sample will also be cut for DNA analysis. The DNA profile obtained from the bone will be compared to a database of family reference samples in the hopes that a match will be discovered. But if no missing persons report is filed or family reference DNA sample collected, the chances of identification are essentially zero. So, can we say we are successful before they are all identified?
After
Is success a situation that claims the lives of thousands of refugees fleeing institutionalized violence and extreme poverty? I don’t know if success is the term that any of us would choose to use to describe the work we did in Brooks County. I think we would all agree that progress is being made and that we completed the goal we set for ourselves. We feel very accomplished and we feel proud of the job we did there. We can say that over 50 people are now starting their journey back home. For those families, we strive for success.
At last, this season of fieldwork in Falfurrias has come to a close. The time slipped by so quickly that it all seems like a haze. When I recall our time in the field I see a patchwork of new and old faces, I picture a sea of sand with an endless supply of buckets that need to be moved (think Sisyphus), and a blur of hands ready to pass a trowel or give a lift out of the hole. The heat tried to burn us down one by one, almost ending our work early by attrition. The heat didn’t stand a chance. What I remember the most was the dogged perseverance that compelled everyone in the field to finish. Instead of breaking us, the heat and pressure forged us into something great. Our work has changed us, and that is something I will never forget.
Bell, lonely without Ryan
Our team is back in Indy now. We have slept in our own beds, cuddled our loved ones (look how sad Bell was without Ryan), and experienced some of the finer points of home. Home is good- it is safe, calming, and filled with the things and people we love. To use an old and tired cliché, home is where the heart is. While we consider ourselves home now, I believe that every one of us left a piece of our hearts in Falfurrias. Some part of us will always be at home in Fal.
I have mentioned to some people that I often feel like a tourist in this humanitarian crisis. I live nowhere near the border, and I travel down for two weeks in the summer to help. Once my time has passed, I have the luxury of returning to back to Indy. In Indy I don’t face the daily realities of people dying on my doorstep. I don’t see tragic news stories so often to become numb to them. I have the ability to literally distance myself from the situation, and yet I cannot. I now find myself over a thousand miles away with much of my heart left in Falfurrias.
Fluttering Fields of “Heart’s Delight’
I know now that I am not a tourist. I have made new friends and family, and became part of their community. I have lived in many places, but I have never felt as loved and welcomed as I did in south Texas. Every person in Falfurrias welcomed us with open arms (seriously, I have never gotten so many hugs in my life). It is an honor to be considered part of their community.
Though we are back in Indianapolis, our work continues. Hopefully our efforts will continue to shape policies surrounding the treatment of both the living and the dead. Ideally we would have never been in Texas- no one would have died under the scorching Texas sun and we would live comfortably as armchair anthropologists. In a perfect world people would die happy having lived a full life, not in the pursuit of happiness or in search of a better life. For now, I rest knowing that I am doing what I can to help. I will do everything in my power to ensure that each and every individual is identified and returned to their loved ones. Families will be reunited, and souls can rest in a place they consider home.
