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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

Southern Hospitality

Community, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

Metal grave marker reading "Unknown Female Remains"

What I do is not very glamorous.  I specialize in forensic anthropology, in short I deal with dead things (specifically bones).  When I tell people that I specialize in forensics, I am usually greeted with a disgusted “Why?”  Occasionally, people are intrigued.  In Falfurrias, the community has been nothing but appreciative.

I don’t know what I was expecting the first time we travelled to Falfurrias.  Initially I thought we would be faced with hostility.  Immigration and border issues are a hot-button issue.  Border concerns are incredibly politically volatile and polarizing.  I was certain that our human rights work would not be well received or at the very least misunderstood.  I could not have been further from the truth.  Instead of fear and animosity, the community has truly embraced our work.  I never could have anticipated the reverence given by this far-away community that I now love as my own.

The people of Falfurrias never asked for death at their doorstep.  They are merely the victims of circumstance.  The community had no means of dealing with a tragedy of this magnitude.  Our work, however slight it may be, helps to ameliorate this crisis.  While what we do is no quick-fix, we offer whatever assistance we can.  Our work is not a solution- it is but a bandage on a very deep wound.  Hopefully, more exposure will bring more assistance and discourse to help solve this problem.

We could not do this work alone.  In fact, we are tourists in this problem.  We are here for a few weeks a year to lend whatever assistance we can.  We stand shoulder to shoulder with a force of amazing individuals; the people of Falfurrias, the professors and students of Baylor and Texas State, and the local police and border patrols.  They face these issues every day, and should be recognized as the true heroes for this cause.

Justin

Surrendering to the Heat

Environment, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

This heat is real.

The weather was good to us yesterday in the field. Clouds blocked the sun for most of the day, and so we were able to work until noon without the heat slowing us down. We weren’t so lucky today.

We arrive at the site every day around 5:45am to get a head start before the sun comes up. The humidity and accompanying mosquitoes are always around, but these factors don’t slow us down. Today, however, the clouds were scarce and the sun was fierce by 10:30am. Spending most of our time with our knees on the ground and our heads near the dirt, our immobile positions left us extremely vulnerable to the sun and it wasn’t long until our backs and arms began to cook. We quickly moved the tents we had over our quadrants to protect ourselves as we tediously troweled our trenches. With the tents overhead and our water bottles nearby, we were able to work efficiently and carefully in the rough environment. I moved from group to group to monitor and assist different teams of students. Sometimes I ended up helping for over half an hour without a break. It’s easy to lose track of time at the field, and I learned quickly after lunch that my carelessness had gotten the best of me.

After lunch, I started working on our quadrant again, shoveling and carrying buckets full of dirt as we continued our excavation. But I was only able to carry about two buckets before I knew that I wasn’t feeling quite right. I stepped off to the shade, chugged half of my bottle of water, and sat with some Baylor students under the tent. I knew I was likely sunburned and that I had worked a little too long. But I knew when to stop working to avoid heat exhaustion, and as I rested up, my brain began to work again and I really started thinking about this heat.

Two Beyond Borders Team members working underneath a burial marker to not disturb it on the ground levelI looked at my water bottle and thought about how fortunate I was that I could refill it at will.

I looked up at the canopy over my head and thought about how fortunate I was that I could easily escape the sun’s brutality.

I looked towards our rental van and thought about how fortunate I was that I could go back to our hotel and take a cold shower after our work today.

This heat is real, and every day migrants are making the extremely real decision to brave the sun and fight their way through this environment for a better life, either for themselves or for their family. Many who have perished are found with only a small water bottle. I can’t imagine walking for more than half an hour in this environment with only that much water and without a constant source of shade. As we continue to work, I will make sure to let the environment constantly remind me of the bravery of these people that we are trying to identify. Every time I refill my bottle or step in the shade, I will remind myself of how lucky and thankful I am for my accessible family, for my safety, and for my good health. And I will never underestimate the danger of this environment or the courage of the migrants who fight this danger.

Ryan