No More Deaths
The Mexican-US border is arguably a low intensity war zone. I don’t use the term lightly, nor for dramatic effect. 182 people have died on the Arizonan border with Mexico from October 2010 through September 2011, and deportations of undocumented people hit record highs under Pres. Obama for three consecutive years with 387,790 in fiscal 2009; 392,000 in fiscal 2010, and yet another year of escalated deportations nearly reached 400,000 this fiscal year.
From March 12-18 I was able to participate in No More Deaths’ Alternative Spring Break. I volunteered for their desert relief project, making water and food drops on the trails used by people walking from Mexico to the US.
Last time I was in Phoenix on my way here in October, people were talking about doing water drops in the area as people have been forced to start walking that far north from Mexico, which can easily be 100 miles as the crow flies, and anyone who has done some serious hiking in the desert can tell you, you’ll rarely walk far in a straight line. I think all this shows that stricter border enforcement hasn’t secured the border, but it has forced people into extreme situations that has resulted in deaths, rapes, and other horrific situations that could be avoided by changes in US border policy that will allow people to freely cross the border.
Please check http://nomoredeaths.org for more information.
- Alex
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