Saturday, July 02, 2005
Prayer Vigil at Douglas Border Patrol Station
Our delegation held a prayer vigil and nonviolent direct action at the Douglas, Arizona Border Patrol Station on Friday morning, 1 July. The nine-member
group, along with two members of the CPT Douglas Team, proclaimed that
the desert soil was both sacred and tragic due to the high number of migrant
deaths in recent years. After simulating a migrant death caused by
increased Border Patrol militarization, a member of the group used the
symbol of blood to mark a cross in the sand. The group also prayed for the
Border Patrol, for migrants, and for vigilantes. They committed themselves
to work toward preventing further death and tragedy in the desert.
Douglas, Arizona, is home to the largest Border Patrol station in the United
States. Its increased militarization of the border region includes the use
of military checkpoints along the highway, helicopter patrols, video
surveillance, drones, watch towers, and a heavy presence of border patrol
vehicles and agents in the area. The Border Patrol is also constructing a
wall made of Vietnam-era landing pad material along the border next to
Douglas. The policy of increased militarization causes migrants to avoid
crossing the border in the militarized areas. Instead, they cross through
the most remote and dangerous desert regions. In the past ten years, there
have been more than 3,000 documented migrant deaths. Most observers believe
that many more bodies have never been found.
The above is a slightly edited version of a release that was sent to CPTNet on July 2, 2005.
group, along with two members of the CPT Douglas Team, proclaimed that
the desert soil was both sacred and tragic due to the high number of migrant
deaths in recent years. After simulating a migrant death caused by
increased Border Patrol militarization, a member of the group used the
symbol of blood to mark a cross in the sand. The group also prayed for the
Border Patrol, for migrants, and for vigilantes. They committed themselves
to work toward preventing further death and tragedy in the desert.
Douglas, Arizona, is home to the largest Border Patrol station in the United
States. Its increased militarization of the border region includes the use
of military checkpoints along the highway, helicopter patrols, video
surveillance, drones, watch towers, and a heavy presence of border patrol
vehicles and agents in the area. The Border Patrol is also constructing a
wall made of Vietnam-era landing pad material along the border next to
Douglas. The policy of increased militarization causes migrants to avoid
crossing the border in the militarized areas. Instead, they cross through
the most remote and dangerous desert regions. In the past ten years, there
have been more than 3,000 documented migrant deaths. Most observers believe
that many more bodies have never been found.
The above is a slightly edited version of a release that was sent to CPTNet on July 2, 2005.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Tucson Activities
On Saturday, 25 June 2005, the Arizona Christian Peacemaker Teams Delegation arrived in Tucson. The purpose of our delegation is to observe and report on migrant issues on the Mexico-Arizona border, where, in the past decade, aproximately 3,000 people have died attempting to cross the desert into the US. Upon our arrival in Tucson, we were taken to Southside Presbyterian Church, and for the next few days, we stayed in their fellowship hall. On Sunday, we worshipped at this church and heard Rev. John Fife speak. He soon to retire after 35 years with this church.
Reverend Fife’s sermon focused on the history of the Southside Church during the 1980s. In those years, civil war in El Salvador and Guatemala killed and made refugees of many people. When refugees attempted to enter the US, Southside Presbyterian led the movement to open churches as places of sanctuary. During this time, Southside gave sanctuary to over 13,000 refugees. Eventually, over 200 churches followed Southside in this movement. Today, Southside continues to serve the stranger and leads in the movement to prevent loss of life in the desert.
After worship, the delegation attended, at Southside, a training for No More Deaths, an organization that provides water and medical aid to migrants stuck in the desert. No More Deaths is allowed to transports migrants in medical emergencies to Southside Church, where they can receive medical care.
Monday morning, a history professor at the local community college who is a native Tucsonian Mexican-American briefed the delegation on the history and context of today’s border issues. It was very helpful to hear about how the border came to be what it is today.
We spent lunch on Monday meeting with one of the No More Deaths volunteers, who gave us personal stories about working with in the desert and providing humanitarian aid to migrants. Overall, we are beginning to see the picture of a failed border policy—a policy of increased enforcement and militarization begun in 1994, that has not stopped migrants from crossing, but has increased the chance of death for them.
On Monday afternoon, our delegation drove the two hours from Tucson to Douglas. We were thankful to settle in at the CPT Arizona headquarters. We are looking forward to a full week of learning about border issues in the hot, dry Mexico-Arizona border region.
Reverend Fife’s sermon focused on the history of the Southside Church during the 1980s. In those years, civil war in El Salvador and Guatemala killed and made refugees of many people. When refugees attempted to enter the US, Southside Presbyterian led the movement to open churches as places of sanctuary. During this time, Southside gave sanctuary to over 13,000 refugees. Eventually, over 200 churches followed Southside in this movement. Today, Southside continues to serve the stranger and leads in the movement to prevent loss of life in the desert.
After worship, the delegation attended, at Southside, a training for No More Deaths, an organization that provides water and medical aid to migrants stuck in the desert. No More Deaths is allowed to transports migrants in medical emergencies to Southside Church, where they can receive medical care.
Monday morning, a history professor at the local community college who is a native Tucsonian Mexican-American briefed the delegation on the history and context of today’s border issues. It was very helpful to hear about how the border came to be what it is today.
We spent lunch on Monday meeting with one of the No More Deaths volunteers, who gave us personal stories about working with in the desert and providing humanitarian aid to migrants. Overall, we are beginning to see the picture of a failed border policy—a policy of increased enforcement and militarization begun in 1994, that has not stopped migrants from crossing, but has increased the chance of death for them.
On Monday afternoon, our delegation drove the two hours from Tucson to Douglas. We were thankful to settle in at the CPT Arizona headquarters. We are looking forward to a full week of learning about border issues in the hot, dry Mexico-Arizona border region.
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Check out the blog of Cheryl Harris!
One of our number has set up her own blog, and there is quite a lot more going on there than here right now! Please see the above link.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Superficial Obvious Observation No. 1
Southern Arizona is hot. Really, really hot. The average high in Tucson thus far this month has been 101 degrees Fahrenheit. For a northerner like me, conditions like this just make me want to find the nearest air-conditioned cave and not come out for five or six months. It's hard to conceive that people would voluntarily undertake a journey of several days on foot in temperatures like this, through harsh and trackless terrain, with no certainty of arriving at their desired destination. That speaks of a motivation much stronger than most that I know or experience-- desperation is the better word for it.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Welcome!
This is the first post in an experiment in communication for members of delegations sponsored by Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT). The first delegation to use this blog will be the Arizona Borderlands delegation, 6/25/2005 - 7/2/2005. We hope to be able to post daily as we learn more about the the US - Mexico border region.
