Beyond Borders | UIndy Humanitarian Forensic Science Team

Take Me Back to the Start

June 14, 2015Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflectionskhanas

Today we went to visit the Sacred Heart Burial Park where the University of Indianapolis Archeology and Forensic Laboratory’s involvement in the human rights crisis in Brooks County all began. Back in June 2013, the UIndy team and the Baylor University team started doing work in this cemetery. For those of you joining our blog late in the game, our team helped with the exhumation of undocumented border crossers (UBCs). The UBCs found in this cemetery died while trying to travel through ranch lands after crossing the border. Brooks County lacked the funding and resources to deal with a crisis like this, so these remains were buried in the Sacred Heart Burial Park in pauper graves without identification. So far over 100 sets of remains have been exhumed by Uindy and Baylor. These groups and Texas State University are working on identifying the individuals through skeletal analysis and sampling for DNA comparisons.

Since I’m new to the team this was my first visit to Sacred Heart. I had seen pictures of the cemetery and the exhumations through various presentations given by Dr. Krista Latham and the more seasoned members of our team. However, the pictures from these presentations failed to capture the essence of the cemetery. When you walk into Sacred Heart, the first thing you notice is the color. Sacred Heart is bright and vibrant with splashes of color at every turn. Hundreds of plastic flowers adorn the headstones making a seemingly solemn place oddly more lively.

The cemetery seemed smaller in person and was more crowded than I imagined it would be. It was crammed pack with graves that were clearly being cared for. The love and devotion from the family members of the individuals buried at Sacred Heart was tangible, vibrating in the air as we walked through the cemetery. As I approached the area were the exhumations first started, I noticed how incredibly small it was. Pictures had made this area look so much bigger. I couldn’t believe that so many individuals had been placed in such a small space.

The next thing I noticed was a small metal grave marker that was being used to mark a UBC grave. The marker was small and flimsy, labeled with the words, unknown remains, and a death certificate number. Many of these markers had been removed once the exhumations began, but several of these markers still remain. Each marker had been used to mark the graves of the unidentified. These markers were adorned with colorful flowers and decorations too, showing that these people had not been forgotten, will not be forgotten, and that their identities will not be lost in the background of this ongoing crisis.

Amanda

Day 4

June 14, 2015Community, Human Rights, Migrant Deathlathamke

Day 4 started at Sacred Heart Burial Park. Ryan, Justin and I wanted to show Amanda and Hailey what we did and where we worked during the summers of 2013 and 2014. It was weird to see the areas that we worked so hard to move dirt covered by grass. The area we excavated last year that took us down one by one looked so small that we had to remind ourselves how hard the dirt was and how deep we dug.

The afternoon was filled with a second training session. The first was so successful that a second was requested. This time our audience consisted of the County Judge, Commissioners Court, Border Patrol, local ranchers and local law enforcement.

Eddie Canales (STHRC) opened the session by introducing the issues facing Brooks County in terms of the recovery of deceased individuals, and how the conversations between various entities in these types of sessions can be informative.

I talked about forensic anthropology and archeology. I discussed the best practices we use at the University of Indianapolis Archeology & Forensics Laboratory at an outdoor death scene and ways those stages can be modified to the context of the crisis in Brooks County.

Hailey Duecker (STHRC & Texas State University) talked about a newly released Best Practices Manual (Protocol Development for the Standardization of Identification and Examination of UBC Bodies Along the U.S.-Mexico Border) and how it relates to Brooks County.

Group picture of all smiles enjoying the 50th Annual Falfurrias Watermelon Round Up with Chief Deputy Benny Martinez — Enjoying the 50th Annual Falfurrias Watermelon Round Up with Chief Deputy Benny Martinez

That evening we decided to celebrate our last night in Falfurrias by attending the local rodeo and 50th annual watermelon roundup. We watched the bull riding competition for a few hours and then listened to local Tejano music. Most of the Falfurrias community was out enjoying the evening. It was the perfect ending to our trip. The week went by quickly. We are sad to be leaving but proud of all we did in such a short amount of time.

~KEL

Bienvenidos!

June 13, 2015Community, Human Rights, Migrant Deathmaiersj

We had the privilege of working with the volunteers of Catholic Charities at Sacred Heart Church in McAllen, Texas. McAllen is right across the border from Reynosa, Mexico. The volunteers at Sacred Heart donate their time and efforts to welcome refugee families that have been released from the Border Patrol Processing Station. Many of these families were detained for several days, possibly weeks before being released into the loving arms of the volunteers at Sacred Heart. Please allow me to take a moment to explain this phenomenal process.

The UIndy family and Sister Pam at Sacred Heart Church wearing teal caution vests — The UIndy family and Sister Pam at Sacred Heart Church

All of the people coming into Sacred Heart are families. Like I said earlier, these fathers, mothers and children have all spent a number of days in the Border Patrol Processing Station before being released in order to continue their journey into the United States to reunite with the rest of their families. They are exhausted and disheartened from their detention, and it is the goal of the fine men and women of Sacred Heart to change that.

The first thing the volunteers do is line up for the arrival of these families. When they arrived we all applauded and cheered to make them feel welcome. We wished them “bienvenidos a todos” (or “welcome y’all” to my gringo friends) to let them know they are now safely home. At first the families seemed shocked and surprised. Slowly they seemed to realize that we were there to greet them and the smiles and tears of joy began to flow. It was amazing to see these families finally get the welcome that they deserved.

After the families were checked in, they were given personal hygiene products (deodorant, toothbrushes, etc.). If they had small children they were also given supplies such as bottles, formula, and diapers. Next we brought the families over to a group of tables and gave them a hot meal. While they were eating, we asked them what size clothing they wore. Instead of eating, many of the small children chose to play with the massive amount of donated toys. This seemed to transform them back into the playful, lighthearted children that they should have always been. They continued to eat while we “shopped” through the donated clothes in the church.

The room looked more like a clothing warehouse than a church. There was clothing everywhere, and it was all separated by size and into boys and girls clothes. The young gentleman volunteer that I was paired with and I were tasked with finding an outfit for a mother of two. Finding women’s clothes clearly made this young teenage boy uncomfortable, which the rest of the volunteers clearly enjoyed. When it came time to picking out the undergarments he turned as red as a tomato. Luckily, a young lady who was volunteering was kind enough to save him the embarrassment, and she picked those out for us.

When the families were done eating, they were taken to the shower. As a man who is used to digging in the dirt all day, I know the power that a good shower can have. It is invigorating and it makes you feel like a real person again. After the shower, the families are allowed to stay at Sacred Heart until their bus rides out of McAllen. This can range from a couple of hours to any number of days. The volunteers provide these families with a safe and inviting place to stay until they make that journey.

They work they do at Sacred Heart is amazing. It is heartwarming to see such care and affection for complete strangers. There seem to be a lot of tangled threads of fate with the work UIndy does here in Texas. Maybe it was a coincidence that both this church and the cemetery in Falfurrias are named “Sacred Heart”, but it is hard to shake the feeling that there is something more behind it. We also had the remarkable luck to arrive on the one year anniversary of this program. I would like to personally thank them for all of the incredible work that they do and I wish them all of the best for many years to come.