The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

A torn shirt.
A broken toothbrush.
A pair of damp socks.
A broken backpack.
A baseball cap.
Twenty cracked water bottles.

The Things They Carried
Source: Abigail Osborne, a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a friend, and a great photographer

These are some of the items I found during my walk in Coronado National Forest with The Samaritans last weekend.  The Samaritans are a humanitarian aid group of volunteers who patrol the desert, looking for migrants who need help, and place food and water in places along migrant trails, where vulnerable people can access them.

Source: www.tucsonsamaritans.org

In the last decade, the Border Patrol has increased militarization and protection of the border near cities, forcing the desperate to cross in the desert.  During the summer, people usually cannot carry enough water to stay hydrated in 105 degree weather.  During the winter, the desert can also reach hazardously low temperatures.  Below is a graph of the urban areas like San Diego or Nogales that have been heavily patrolled and the alternative routes migrants have created.  Read more here.

Source: "'Trash-talk' and the production of quotidian geopolitical boundaries in the USA-Mexico borderlands." by Juanita Sundberg

Source: Washington Office on Latin America

.....

After driving for hours and hours, we reached a remote canyon where migrants were known to hike.  We packed our bags with portable foods, gallons of water, and medical supplies.  With the help of a GPS, we found a flagged area were we deposited the supplies.  

Unsurprisingly, we did not encounter any travelers, but we did see clues they had left behind.  I was walking along a dirt path when I found a ripped and broken backpack packed with torn, empty water bottles.  It was eery to know that this disheveled piece had once been an essential part of someone's journey.

As I looked at the backpack, I wondered:

Who used this backpack?

Where were they from?

Did they survive the trip?

Did they get apprehended by Border Patrol?  

If so, are they going to jail?  Will they try crossing again?

What were they running from?  What were they running to?

The Backpack

A sign we passed in the national forest 

No More Deaths is another humanitarian group in Tucson that provides migrants with water and medical care.

Some questions I am grappling with:

Was this experience sightseeing or service?

Have I been exoticisizing or othering "the migrant"?

Humanitarian aid is wonderful, but it is only a bandaid for a gaping wound.  How can we fix this system that forces people to risk their lives patrolling and crossing the border?

Source: Abigail Osborne, a member of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, a friend, and a great photographer