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A rookie’s thoughts:

Reflections

It feels unreal that our trip is taking place tomorrow, and that I am actually a part of the team! I have been reading and following the humanitarian crisis seen within the borderlands for quite a while and cannot believe I will be experiencing it first hand.  This trip brings a whirlwind of emotions, mostly consisting of excitement and nervousness. I think it is because of the uncertainty of what to expect, I know being there will be different than anything I can possibly imagine. My motivation to be a part of this effort stems from the fact that I grew up listening to my parents own migration stories from El Salvador and Mexico to the United States of America. My mother made the journey to flee violence from her home country and my father came in search for better opportunities. That is why I am looking forward to partnering with organizations such as the South Texas Human Rights Center (S.T.H.R.C), who holds a mission that advocates for migrant rights as human rights. Our Beyond Borders team will aid the S.T.H.R.C. in rebuilding and replenishing water stations so that individuals with similar reasons for making the journey have water available to them.  I look forward to working alongside passionate individuals such as Sheriff Deputy Don White, who volunteers his time and money to conduct searches and recoveries of distressed migrants. I am looking forward to interacting with community members that are impacted by this crisis every single day and just listening to their stories.

Right now, I am currently sitting in my hometown, contemplating the biggest challenges I will face during our trip to Falfurrias, Texas. The most obvious challenge is the physical toll this trip will have,  it involves walking 10+ miles in desert terrain for five consecutive days. There is no way to prepare for the dangers I may encounter while out there, things like dehydration, snakes, thorny bushes, etc. Another challenge will be the emotional toll this trip will bring.  Walking along the same trails that migrants have succumbed to will be hard.  Encountering individuals that do not believe our volunteer work is beneficial, is another challenge I keep in the back of my mind. We are currently in an era where immigration is a topic that comes with heated debate. It is challenging to think that there are people out there that believe humanitarian aid is a crime.

This trip will impact me in many ways, I will be gaining first hand experience on how to conduct meticulous search and recoveries, an important tool to have as an aspiring forensic anthropologist. I am hoping that being in the field will spark future research ideas, as I want to be able to help expand and refine current methods that aid with the identification of deceased migrants. I want to be a part of the effort responsible for repatriating missing loved ones to their homes and families. I believe that being a part of this trip will be a step stone in that direction.

Tanya

“You and your community together are the answer”

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

This will be my third trip with Beyond Borders, and the pre-trip reflection has only gotten harder. It is emotionally conflicting to leave one season of fieldwork and return to the comfort of my daily routine. To some extent, being halfway across the country from the border crisis allows me to turn off a switch as I focus on accomplishing smaller goals that are more accessible. However, there are multiple distinguishable times throughout the year that I get flashbacks of my most impactful moments with Beyond Borders.

In some ways, every student involved in this project undergoes a similar experience, yet we all encounter unique triggers throughout the year that inflict some emotionally intense memories of our volunteer-work. I feel heartbroken and powerless during those moments, though it sounds exaggerated and unwarranted while others are hungry and dehydrated out there in extreme environmental conditions; many have no idea if they will ever see their family again, or whether they will live to see the sun rise in the morning. I cannot help but think about Tanya, our newest team member whose parents crossed the border, and wonder what personal aspects it will contribute to our understanding of the immigration process

On November 20, 2019, I attended a program hosted by a non-profit organization in Indianapolis, which focused on resilient people in our community and their stories of immigration into the US. Someone read a poem that hit me really hard. Part of that poem read:

I am sorry that everything is still on fire.

Once hate catches, the winds of “not my

problem” blow and the blaze is hard to stop.

But hard is not impossible. Not yet is different

than never… You and your community

together are the answer…

You are here to put out the ravenous flames

and heal the world. Enough is enough.

-Rev. Theresa l. Soto

This really resonates with me because I’ve seen how hard Dr. Latham has worked to develop relationships within the community. Its necessary we work together to help alleviating the load of this crisis at the border. I wish there was more we could do, but I know that even the smallest possible contributions are better than nothing.

Though this will be my third trip, I feel like I am blindly entering into the intensity once again. During my last visit to Falfurrias, I got a very small glimpse of the conditions of Texan ranchlands in which migrants often perish. As the unfamiliarity of this trip approaches, I think I can accurately say that I am excited yet terrified. I watched my good friend and colleague shed tears when she presented on her experience about a very similar volunteer season with Beyond Borders. Although she’d previously been through an exhumation season, physically trekking through the paths that numerous migrants had taken was profoundly eye-opening in a different way. I am nervous for the physical and emotional fatigue, but I am ready to return. I feel extraordinarily privileged to be able to aid in the possible survival of human beings who are enduring one of the riskiest journeys of their lives. I anticipate that I will emerge with a fuller understanding of the horrific journey that these migrants goes through, and I hope this leads me to better serve the community, the deceased, and their families.

–Sammi

Third Time’s a Charm

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

In our current climate — both environmental (with predicted average temperature increases of 2.5-10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 100 years) and political (with a continued vilification of those crossing the border as well as those aiding in the humanitarian crisis) — the work being done at the border is imperative. Groups in Arizona and Texas, as well as individuals, are working every day to provide aid to those who have crossed and attempt to recover those who did not survive the journey. It is an honor to stand among those people, and an honor to travel to Falfurrias for the third time. 

Fieldwork in Sacred Heart Burial Park in January 2019. My first trip to Falfurrias.
Fieldwork in Sacred Heart Burial Park in January 2019. My first trip to Falfurrias.

My own anxieties are the same as the previous trips: the harsh environment, the long days, etc. However, the recent trial of Scott Warren (cited above) adds an additional legal anxiety. The Beyond Borders team is no stranger to interactions with Border Patrol and other entities, especially after getting pulled over three times in May 2019 while filling water stations. Fortunately, this has been the most extreme of our encounters. Yet, Warren’s arrest and trail, which TIME called “the most severe of all charges faced by humanitarian aid workers by far” (Aguilera 2019) means it is more possible that our team will have more, and possibly more severe, dealings with Border Patrol. 

While my irrational brain has these thoughts, my rational brain knows our team operates from a place of extreme privilege. We always have Deputy White with us, both for safety and to vouch for our presence and actions. We are also backed by an academic institution, an extra layer of protection that most organizations do not have. We have been and will continue to operate the same way we always have, but those working at the border every day are facing harsher consequences than we could imagine. Therefore, our job is twofold. We must perform the work at hand while in Falfurrias, but continue to educate about the border crisis wherever we go, as well as continue to support those organizations working tirelessly to aid at the border. 

January 2020 team
January 2020 team

Nevertheless, I am going to try to push those anxieties aside (if I can) and be present for this trip. It is very likely that this will be my last trip to Falfurrias, a reality I have no yet come to peace with yet. The past two trips have changed my life in ways that are impossible to articulate or duplicate, and it is an experience I never want to end. But — I want others to have these opportunities as well. I am so excited for our rookie, Tanya, to experience Falfurrias and everything that comes with it. I am also excited to spend my last trip with two former teammates, Alba and Sammi. And as always, I am grateful for the ability to continue to work with and learn from Dr. Latham, who inspires me every single day. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported this trip so far, and for your continued support throughout!

Sidney