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282. Thats the number of lives lost in the Arizona desert in the year 2005. Thats a high number, but only special in that it was a few dozen higher than the year that followed it, 2006, in which 205 people died. Or the year which preceded it, 2004 which claimed 234 victims. How can it be that hundreds of people die in our desert every year when the cure is so seemingly accesible? The deaths are largely due to dehydration, but preexisting medical conditions, sun stroke, starvation, infections, and freezing contribute as well. Huh. So water, basic medical treatment (often cleaning, treating and wrapping blistered feet), food and some hand-me-down clothes can, if well distributed, presumably stop hundreds of deaths a year? Precisely. In Arizona both sides of the issue are deeply devoted to their ideals. Our side of the struggle is one of supporting the right of undocumented families and laborers to peacefully exist in the U.S.. This, of course, is oversimplified. The movement around immigrant rights and dignity is an eclectic pot with a colorful collection of characters. From homesteader hippies of the 60's to retirees who settled in Bisbee. From teenagers in Phoenix to Chiapan Zapatistas in Nogales. From nuns and ministers in Naco, university students, members of religious congregations, street toughs and hobos; from the backroads of the Chiracauas to the prison in Florence, people have taken what they have and what they know, and with creativity and dedication have set to rub balm on the wounds. Water. The most basic component of a healthy human. One response in Arizona to deaths by dehydration has been by the faith-based group Humane Borders. At over 80 different stations in the southern part of the state, Humane Borders has 65 gallon barrels filled with water. The stations exist largely on private land with permission from the owners, although federal lands house a few as well. At each station water is accessable to all. ( An interesting sidenote; Pima county gives $30,000 anually to the construction and maintenance of these structures. Meanwhile the feds refuse to issue further permits for the construction and placement of new tanks). At established border checkpoints in Arizona where the Border Patrol deports thousands of people a year (including undocumented migrants, refugees, green-card holders, and even citizens), centers have been established to supply the growing number of travelers. Migrant Resource Centers exist in Naco, Nogales, and Agua Prieta with the function of bandaging wounds, offering food and water, and for those with little or no resources, finding a free bed for an evening where travelers can collect their thoughts and plan their next course of action. A sobering function of these centers is the documentation of human rights violations at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), Wackenhutt, Border Patrol, Police, and vigilantes. Data is collected daily ranging from beatings that result in broken bones and broken spirits, to days spent in freezing detention centers with no food or water, to feet blistered and raw to the bone. This data is recorded in abuse documentation reports that get sent to advocacy groups. A largely urban advocate of these resource centers is No More Deaths, a group that fundraises money to support the centers, collects socks, clothes, food, medical supplies and water for distribution to each center. In addition, N.M.D. organizes and dispatches volunteers who staff the resource centers, record the stories and leave packs of necessities (known as migrant packs) along the migrant trails that wind through the harsh desert of Southwestern Arizona. Volunteers are a vital and much-needed part of No More Death's work (hint, hint...) Thankfully, there are too many groups working around border issues to cover comprehensively here. We'll make mention, in the intrests of raising awareness and providing contact info.
-The Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project: The Florence Project is a nonprofit legal service organization that provides free legal services to men, women and children detained by ICE. (see firrp.org) -Somos America: Promote civic participation, political awareness and education within Phoenix's immigrant population. -Just Coffee: Coffee grown in a Chiapan collective, roasted in Agua Prieta by folks on the migrant path, 100 percent of profit to goes to the collective for infrastructure and development projects* such as water purification, as in the case of Salvador Urbina. (see justcoffee.org) -Borderlinks: Non-profit organization that conducts travel and education seminars on U.S.-Mexico border issues. -Fronteras de Cristo: Presbyterian Border Ministries has established clinics and health programs, which serve over 10,000 people each year, focus on preventative medicine, pre- and post-natal care, and inoculations. PBM teaches skills to the unemployed. Jewelry making, cosmetology, sewing, keyboarding, and English as a Second Language. Their micro-credit loans promote self-sufficiency. -Coalición de Derechos Humanos: ("The Human Rights Coalition")A grassroots organization which promotes respect for human/civil rights and fights the militarization of the Southern Border region, discrimination, and human rights abuses by federal, state, and local law enforcement officials affecting U.S. and non-U.S. citizens alike. -Samaritans: Conducts daily patrols in the desert during the hot months continuing the ancient Southwest tradition of hospitality to travelers. At least one member of each patrol is a fluent Spanish speaker, and one is, ideally, a medical professional. Patrols carry water, food, emergency medical supplies, communication equipment, maps and individual traveler-packs containing items necessary to survive in the desert. Tonatierra, Border Action Network, Delete the Border, Citizens for Border Solutions and Bordernet are other groups organizing around these issues. With every silver lining a cloud. Complicating the humanitarian efforts of the groups above, two factions deserve mention for their callousness and diregard for the sanctity of human lives. Comprised largely of old, white men clinging to racist ideals of yesteryear, the minutemen and border guardians are worth noting, only insomuch as we should know our enemies. The minutemen claim to be law abiding, and are very open and largely public about their actions, all in the name of supporting the good ol' amerikan way (huh, has history neglected to tell them that Mexicans fought along side the white man in the grisly wars of conquest against the Apache, Comanches and Yavapai? Maybe they forget that many early miners, cattlemen and builders of the railroad were Spanish speakers of Mexican descent?) Border guardians, on the other hand, are openly national socialist, complete with swatstika tattoos and SS lightning bolts. This group proudly takes credit for the shotgunning of Humane Borders water stations, for vigilante arrests and for straight cold blooded murder in the lawless, desolate badlands of Southern Arizona. Fight these bastards in the streets. It doesn't take much to draw parallels between similar groups in two different time periods, following the same northern star towards freedom and prosperity. How does history now remember the bombing of a Birmingham church in the throes of a struggle for integration? Does the American consciousness now favor the runaway slave, thirsting for liberty on the Underground Railroad, or the hounds of the slavehunter, working to return the same human to the shackles and degradation of a plantation prison? Similarly to the bigots of the South during the civil rights struggles of the 60s, not a far cry at all from the post Civil War KKK, the dawn of a truly culturally integrated country is being blocked by the last ditch efforts of a desperate, antiquated few. How will they be remembered 40 years from now? Is there really any question around who will win? So much is happening to ease the suffering of folks on the migrant path, men, women and children. Which side will you be remembered with?
*Standard for the importer to take 60% of profits, even in "fair trade" transactions.
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