Yesterday was one of the most powerful days on the trip. I truly felt like there were great connections between myself and the immigrants who cross the border. My favorite part of the day was visiting the house of Shura Wallin. She showed us her collection of things she found in the desert left behind by immigrants. The things she had were very powerful, including a diary about a love triangle, an Alcoholics Anonymous book in Spanish, and high heels.
Throughout the trip I have heard that the cause of all the suffering on the border is greed. I am beginning to see how this statement proves true on all levels of the problem. The Mexican farmers must leave their country because we have flooded their markets with cheap corn in an effort to turn a profit. The cartels lie to people about how difficult the journey actually is, causing death and loss of priceless momentos along the way. We hold captured migrants in private prisons, paying these companies exorbitant sums of money allowing their lobbyists to fuel further persecution of migrants. I now realize this statement about greed is very true, both on the border and in the whole world.
Good analysis, Luke!
ReplyDeleteThe saying goes "money makes the world go around". It also makes for a very complicated existence or non-existence in the case of the less fortunate.
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