Day 6 Everyone

So today we left borderlinks to go to a Unitarian church in Tucson. We listened to Leila Pine from No More Deaths, she talked about the treatment of migrants traveling in the desert by Border Control. Then we drove a long way to Nogales, AZ. We saw "the wall" running through the town and got up close enough to touch it. We tried to talked with a Border Control officer but they were a little unfriendly. So then we got back in the vans and drove to a park and ate sandwiches for lunch and hung out in the hot Arizona sun. Then on the basketball courts we sat down and listened to a woman who was a part of a community center in Nogales, Mexico. She told us stories about immigrants in her native language while Margi from Boarderlinks translated. Then all of the van groups went to "In n' out". It was a good end to a long day. We are excited for the senior worship tonight. Tomorrow we will be leaving a 6:30 to head off to the airport.
Anna, Annabel and Izzy

Day 5 Group 2

Today we left the First Christian Church and made our way to the Borderlinks Headquarters in Tucson. With a very tightly packed itinerary we found ourselves incredibly busy today, starting with an orientation of Borderlinks as well as an activity called "Immigration Simulation", in which we each had roles as farmers, salespeople etc. in Mexico and the US. After that and lunch our group heard a presentation by the Sierra Club, an environmental protection organization talking to us about the harmful environmental effects of the border wall between the US and Mexico, as well as a second activity called "Legal Immigration Simulation" which taught us about the difficulties of immigrating legally to the US and why illegal immigration was often a more viable solution for many desperate workers. After dinner we drove a few blocks away to attend a night-time vigil for immigration awareness in Tucson, also attended by Rev. Hoover. The service itself resembled a Unitarian service with the symbolic candle that was lit and the prayers we said. Though we didn't have as much free time today as before, we still managed to do lots of interesting things, and I'm sure we'll all sleep well...

Day 5 Group 3 and 4

Today was one of our longest days, by far. Not only were we very sleepy, but we also had to move locations from the First Christian Church, to Borderlinks. Although this was only about a 7 minute drive, it took quite a bit of preparation. Once we arrived at Borderlinks, we started right off with a border simulation of financial and emotional aspects of those on both sides of the border. People were assigned roles such as corn farmers, store owners, border patrol agents, and more. After that and lunch, our two groups finally had the opportunity to experience Operation Streamline, which allows the public to view illegal immigrants trials that have crossed the Mexico- Arizona border, but been caught in the process. Some of the people being tried had been caught as recently as last night. They arrived in shackles and had Spanish speaking attorneys that were able to clarify some of the more difficult proceedings, along with a Spanish/English translator. Afterwards, we came back to Borderlinks, and began another border simulation that gave each person insight into how America's legal immigration process affects people from all over the world, not just from Mexico. Specifically, group 3 got a chance to speak with the women who runs Borderlinks; she recently became a U.S. citizen. As the night wound down and we began dinner, the seniors began to plan our last worship for Friday night. When it became dark, we drove to a vigil for immigration awareness. Overall, the day was extremely eye-opening, and we're excited for a second day with Borderlinks.

Van Group 1, Day 5

Hullo parents at home! Today I am writing this journal! Aha!
So, today we got up in the morning and finished packing our belongings, loaded them into the vans and cleaned the rooms at the church. We then drove to BorderLinks, where we did a simulation of the agricultural industry in the US and Mexico before and after NAFTA. I started off as a Mexican corn farmer on a family farm. We were the most successful of the family farms because we were really fast at picking up corn (our task as corn farmers was to pick up kernels of corn off the ground and put them in cups and sell it to the corn buyer). Then NAFTA came along. Suddenly Mr. Corn Man would only pay 100 pesos for a full cup of corn as opposed to the previous 400 pesos. Food coupons also became ridiculously expensive, going from 100 a piece to 800 pesos. All of my family snuck across the border and I never heard fom them again (Except Kendall who sent me a frozen dinner and a thick flank which is a piece of meat I'm pretty sure).
We discussed why this happened and ate lunch which was super yummy. After lunch our group (Van Group 1, best group ever) went across the street to Derechos Humanos (Human Rights) and watched a presentation adressing the various issues roused by militarization of the border.
After this we returned to BorderLinks and watched a documentary about the journey across the border. It was good in the scene that it very clearly showed the specific reasons to cross as well as the difficulty of doing so but the directors attempts to make as dramatic as possible with crackly voice overs and random black and white clips made it a bit difficult to take seriously.
Lastly we explored why many immigrants do not take the legal path to citizenship or a green card. We did a roleplay activity where each person was given a character and was sent through the immigration process.Most people who actually made it through to the US were either very skilled, very famous, or had direct family in the US. Although they could become citizens or green card holders, it would take about 15 years for most of them to go through the process.
It is now almost time for dinner and I am writhing this blog post. Huzzah!

Group 3 Day 4

Group 3 went to two different places today. In the morning we went to the Gospel Rescue Mission, which is a center for women and children. It is having its opening in April, so construction was nearly completed. We moved furniture that was going to be donated and dug a trench that was going to be used for piping. The mission of this place was very structured and it seemed like this place could do some real good. In the afternoon we went with another group out into the desert to pick up items off of a migrant trail. The desert was covered in thorny bushes and trees, unlike the sandy deserts I was expecting. We found bags, clothes, food, and even old shotgun shells. Then we drove out to the border and saw the fence. It was an interesting day to say the least.

Group 4 Day 4

Today group 4 (The Fresh Princes w/Will Smith) went to two different soup kitchens/shelters in the morning. Half of the group went to Casa Maria and made lots of ham and cheese sandwiches (500+) to serve at lunch. The other group went to Primavera (a men's shelter) to make and serve lunch to about 30 men. After lunch our whole group went with Rev. Hoover out to the desert and the Mexico-America border. We helped clean up trash from an area where immigrants had camped, viewed the border and the Sasabe point of entry, and looked at water stations Humane Borders had set up. This is a picture of Will and Rebecca Fennel, looking at a jack rabbit while at the water station.

Day 4 group 2

Today was day 4 of our trip to Tucson. We first went to Marana farm which was part of the Community food bank and took a tour of the farm. We got to play with the hens, lambs, and even pigs. Then we proceeded to lay down hay to protect the onions. After that we went to the boys and girls club where we got to play soccer, basketball, trivia, and pool. All in all we had a great day and are looking forward to going to border links tomorrow.
-Will