Day 8

Today has probably been the most emotional day of our trip so far. I'm going to do my best to describe what we saw today, but I won't be able to nearly let you all know how it felt to actually be there. We started out the day by talking with Matt Lowen who works with End Streamline Coalition. Streamline is an organization that began in Tucson in January of 2008. It is a zero tolerance program which targets illegal entrants who have been apprehended along the Arizona border with Mexico. The initiative aims to process 100 migrants with misdemeanours and deports them, as well as setting the stage for stiffer and longer penalties for repeat offenders.

 Matt Lowen is with a group that is against Streamline. He spoke to us about what it is that Streamline does and just told us how awful it is what these officials are putting the illegal immigrants through. He was sort of preparing us for what we were about to see that afternoon, but I have to say that there was nothing that could have prepared me for what we saw. After listening to Matt Lowen speak, we went to Tania's for lunch, which is a Mexican restaurant. It was delicious, as is all the food we've been eating here in Mexico!

I don't really know how to begin writing about what we saw this afternoon. I'm going to do my best to describe exactly what we saw, but there is no way for you to feel how we all felt. This afternoon we went to Operation Streamline, to see the detention hearing of dozens of immigrants receiving their sentence for crossing the border illegally. They would go up in groups of five, each with their public defender, and they would all plea guilty. They could receive a sentence anywhere from 30 to 180 days in jail. After they do their time, they are then deported back to Mexico. Seeing this alone was bad enough, but it was the conditions the people were in that made it the hardest.

These are people who were picked up a few days before today, they are dirty, some of them limping and basically all of them couldn't speak English. But the worst part was that they were all handcuffed and shackled. Even if you closed your eyes, you could still hear the chains rattling. These people are being imprisoned and are being treated horribly, all because they wanted a better life for themselves and their family. By the end of our time in the court room, I was in tears. We got back to Borderlinks and had a discussion about it, but nobody could get through talking about their opinion without crying. Even the boys. It was just so shocking to actually witness something like that happening. We all had to write something down and then say what we wrote, but I was honestly too emotionally choked up to speak. So I'm going to post for you what I wrote down:

"This trial was the saddest thing we've seen so far. It's so unfair and embarrassing for them to treated that way. There is no reason for them to be shackled up like that because I'm pretty sure they're too scared to even think of doing anything like acting up in court. But seeing the looks on their faces as they filed out afterwards, that was the worst part. It's just pure hopelessness. They're going to jail for wanting a better life. It's just plain cruel."

There's nothing more I can really say about what we experienced it. It really just opened my eyes to the suffering that is going on. And also it makes me think, how bad can the lives of these men be that they are willing to give everything up, knowing they have the chance to end up here every time.

After dinner tonight, we went to Borderlands Theatre to see a read-through of two new shows! Borderlands Theatre is a professional theatre company that is recognized nationally and internationally for the development and production of theatre and educational programs that reflect the diverse voices of the U.S./Mexico border region. The two shows they read are meant to be performed back to back. The first one is set on the Mexican side of the border. It's about a woman, Maria, who is trying to cross the border to find her son, but the bus she is on is stopped by a drug cartel and she is stuck in a room with one of the men. The second show is set on the American side of the border, in one of the private prisons that hold illegal immigrants. It's about a man who provided information about drug cartels in Mexico and was therefor allowed to stay in the U.S. for the past two years, but is now being deported back to Mexico in a few days, even though he made a deal with the DEA. Both plays were actually very interesting and they fit together very well!

Today was one of the best and worst days. It was an emotional ride, but I am more than thankful that I've had the opportunity to do this course.