A Note on the Essays

February 10, 2021

THE ESSAYS

The Rio Grande/El Rio Bravo, Matamoros Tamaulipas Mexico-Brownsville, Texas.

(Photo: Belinda Hernandez Arriaga)

A NOTE ON THE ESSAYS

We often encounter news or information about the US-Mexico border in various ways – through the national press or journalistic exposes, or in academic texts and articles; or we learn something about it in documentaries, fictional accounts, or through poetry or various other forms of expression. Rarely, however, do we have the opportunity to hear and learn about this border directly from those who live and struggle there every day, for justice and equity, for human and civil rights, for the basic humanity of the region’s residents. And yet, their perspectives and lived experiences are perhaps the most important, particularly today, when the US-Mexico border has come to closely resembles a war zone, and the voices of these leaders, activists, professionals and volunteers, urgently need to be heard.

The essays in the following pages were written in the course of our 3-month (August – October, 2020) fact-finding project along the US-Mexico border. They were written by members of the Zooming to the Border group in an effort to capture some of the richness and depth of knowledge that our panelists expressed in their own words, perceptions, and unambiguous passion for their work and for their region’s communities.

Although the writing styles and perspectives of these essays may differ, this report’s unique contribution is found in the collective effort to highlight the voices and points of view of 27 grassroots activists, lawyers, social workers and volunteers who live and work in the region. These representatives of various organizations are providing spiritual, emotional and material assistance every day, to all those who have been willfully abandoned to their fates by the neglect of their government, in the context of a deadly pandemic and an unrelenting push to militarize the region. Their daily presence on the ground is making it possible in many cases for thousands to survive and to live, often despite the ongoing attacks on people’s rights, dignity and humanity. In showcasing their perspectives and commitment one of our aims is to change the narrative that has for so long dominated the national debate on the region, allowing the harsh reality of its residents’ daily lives to be continuously distorted by both false perceptions and, at times, unimaginably—and unnecessarily--brutal policies.

In their presentations, the panelists seek to illuminate what militarization of the border actually means today both for the region as well as for the country, and shed light on what it has wrought to daily life in their communities. Whether through their descriptions of the living conditions and precarious support for asylum seekers today; or their analyses of the impact of current immigration and environmental policies; or their accounts of the ongoing struggles and of the impressive resilience of the border communities and their leaders, the picture that emerges is one of a region under siege, and at war. And yet it is also a story of solidarities that proudly points not to defeat, but to a determination to fight for justice, equity and human rights every step of the way.

Because no single essay can exhaust the wealth of information each panelist gave us --much less capture the collective liveliness, engagement, passion and commitment that underlies all the presentations-- we are also including the links and transcriptions for each of the 5 panels, at the end of page 10 this report.