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Thanks for the Memories

Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

We have been back from Texas for three days now (as I write this).  For the most part, I have been catching up on sleep, unpacking, and getting ready for my final semester of graduate school to begin, but I have also been reflecting a lot on this last field season.  This field season was very different than previous trips  to Texas. We didn’t visit the Respite Center and hear personal, harrowing stories about crossing and survival, and we didn’t hear stories from local community members about how this crisis affects them, their community, and their daily lives.  In fact, our team didn’t have any interaction with the local community in Willacy Co., aside from Joe and Luis the backhoe operators.  While these were the aspects of previous trips that I found most challenging, this trip was emotionally challenging in a new way.

Wood grave marker with flowers.The emotional aspect of this journey really hit me on our last day in the field.  Texas State had taken the time to clean up around each of the grave markers, trimming the grass and removing debris from the surface.  Both teams then sifted through a debris and backfill pile and found numerous fabric flowers no longer associated with any graves.  We decided that we would repurpose these flowers to adorn each of the graves in the cemetery.  I took the lead on this project, creating bouquets and securely fastening the flowers to every grave marker and headstone.  Along the way, I took the time to read each marker. They ranged from infants to the elderly.  When placing the flowers, I couldn’t help but wonder about their life story.  Who they were, what their life was like, and who they left behind.  I thought about the individuals we exhumed who didn’t have names.  I thought about what their lives were like, and what their loved ones must be going through not knowing what happened to them.  This was extremely saddening to me, but it also filled me with hope.  Hope that through our efforts, we would be able to put names to the numbers.  Hope that we will one day be able to return these individuals to their loved ones.  Hope that we can change the circumstances for future migrants so that they are not buried without a name.  To me, placing these flowers and making the cemetery beautiful again perfectly symbolized the incredible impact that this large-scale identification initiative is making on the lives of countless individuals and families who are missing loved ones.

The UIndy Human Biology graduate program cohort sizes have been increasing over the past few years, meaning that there are more students interested in becoming involved in this humanitarian experience than ever before.   Because I am graduating in May and the number of interested students has greatly increased, this could have been my last trip to Texas.   While the thought of this being my last trip makes me sad, I can’t help but be so incredibly grateful for having these three opportunities to be involved in such an amazing cause.  Over my past three trips, I have learned so much about myself, my view of the world has completely changed, and I have become a passionate humanitarian.  I have worked harder than I have ever worked in my life, and I have met so many incredible, dedicated, and selfless people along the way.  I will cherish these opportunities and all of the memories I have made during my times in the borderlands.  Texas, I hope to see you again soon, and thanks for everything.

Sunset over wing of plane.

–Leann

A bittersweet ending

Environment, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

After arriving home in Indiana, the same bittersweet feeling always seems to settle in my chest. You have this feeling of accomplishment but at the same time you think about the work that still lays ahead and the accomplishment feeling dissipates and anxiety sets in. I use the word anxiety in a non-negative way, I use the word anxiety because I am anxious to keep going. I hate having to wait for another field season in order to continue participating in this humanitarian effort. This is such an amazing experience to be a part of and each field season I come away feeling that I’m actually helping.

This field season was different from all the others.  Although each field season was unique in its own way. Some of the challenges I faced were more weather related than some of the difficulties I had faced in Rio Grande City and Falfurrias. The cemetery that we were working in was located in the middle of an open field with no protection from the wind. The wind would be calm in the morning when we would start our day but in the afternoon there would be wind gusts of up to 20-30 mph. This would cause dirt to blow into our faces and make shoveling nearly impossible. We would come home in the evenings with our faces covered in a layer of dirt. Although this made shoveling and moving dirt harder than it needed to be, we were still able to persevere and get a lot of work done.

Overview photo of the cemetery.
Overall photo of the cemetery

This field season was supposed to be an ‘easy’ one because we were told where we could find unidentified migrants. What we didn’t know was that the unidentified migrants were also buried amongst people who were identified but had no grave marker. This made our job more challenging because we had to make sure the individuals we were recovering to take back to Texas State University were unidentified migrants and not positively identified individuals. Thankfully, the persons who were identified had paperwork with them stating that they were identified. If they were identified, then we would not remove them and at the end of the field season gave them a grave marker. One thing that meant the most to me was being able to place flowers at each grave marker. We may not know who these people were but it is important to me and to our group for them to know that they are loved.

Smiling team members covered in dirt after a day of work.
A quick snapshot of how dirty we got in the field!

This field season could not have been accomplished without our amazing team members along with the amazing Texas State University team. This was my first time working in the field with some of the UIndy group and I was pleasantly surprised at how well we worked together. Our group communicated so well in the field which is probably one of the more important things to have when working in a group setting. I loved how in the evenings we could plan how we were going to tackle our quadrant the next day and then execute that plan without a hitch. This was a really spectacular group that we had this field season; honestly, I’ve never been to Texas without an excellent group to work with so I hope this trend continues.

Jessica

“Bringing Names to Numbers”

Community, Human Rights, Migrant Death, Reflections

Nine. The number of days in the field. Nine days of digging in the hard south Texas dirt. Nine days bringing the remains of the nameless back to the surface; back to the light of day. Nine long, tiring days of body aches and pains.

Group photo of team members on day 1.Group photo of team members on day 2.Group photo of team members on day 3.

Group photo of team members on day 4.Group photo of team members on day 5.Group photo of team members on day 6.

Group photo of team members on day 7.Group photo of team members on day 8.Group photo of team members on day 9.

Seventy-two. The number of bodies uncovered by our efforts. The number of persons either too poor to afford what most would consider a ‘proper’ burial, or too poor and downtrodden to afford the ‘proper’ route to United States citizenship and instead paid the ultimate price: their lives.

Thirty-seven. The number of individuals whose bodies and personal effects traveled to Texas State University for forensic anthropological investigation. The number of families who we hope, through our efforts, will one day see closure.

The slogan for Texas State Universities’ Operation Identification is “bringing names to numbers”.  A New York Times article from May 2017  reported that there were 6,023 documented migrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border between October 2000 and September 2016 (NYTimes, 2017). It is hard, though, to picture the true magnitude that numbers entail until you see body bag after body bag being removed from the ground and placed in a cargo trailer.

For me, participation in this years Beyond Borders team really drove home the crisis that is occurring in our country. Sure, I have attended lectures on the topic, processed remains of migrants, and read articles reporting the issue, but participating first hand in the recovery of these individuals has placed it all in a new light. I recall a story told by our backhoe driver in which he told us about job-offers from the cartel and how people who mistakenly take these offers are told they will be loading cargo only to arrive and be forced at gunpoint to load semi trailers full of illicit drugs. Working class citizens, who want nothing more than money to put food on the table, roped into a massive international drug ring; not by choice but in fear for their lives. If these things are happening in the US, I can only imagine the atrocities people are facing further south where there is less security and a far lower standard of living.

When viewed in this light, it is easy to see why people will risk literally everything to cross the border by foot. Obviously not every migrant will have had direct contact with the Cartel;  this does not, however negate the fact that our country offers safeties, luxuries and opportunities that many can barely dream of… Things that for many are entirely financially and logistically out of reach by the ‘proper’ methods. Things  that are worth literally dying for.

Jordan