Borderlinks weekend

BorderLinks II Weekend Delegation Itinerary
July 12-13
Participants: 5

Saturday

7:30 am General orientation and breakfast / Desayuno y orientación
8:30 Leave for Nogales, Son. / Salir para Nogales, Son.
10:00 Grupos Beta / Grupos Beta
11:00 No More Deaths tent / No más muertes
12:00 pm Lunch in Conj. Jardin neighborhood and talk with Polita Acuña, former labor organizer / Comer en conj. Jardin y plática con Polita Acuña
1:30 Tour of industrial park and colonia Kennedy / Tur del parque industrial y Kennedy
2:15 Border Wall Observation / Observación del muro
3:45 Tour of the Casa de la Misericordia / Tur de la Casa de misericordia
4:30 Reflection at the Casa de la Misericordia / Reflexión en la Casa
5:30 Explanation of Cost of Living Exercise / Explicación del ejercicio del costo de vida
6:00 Dinner at homestays / Cena con las familias
**Overnight homestays, Encinos neighborhood

Grupos Beta is a federally funded agency that offers basic services to migrants in Mexico. There are approximately 17 groups scattered along both the northern border with the U.S. and the southern border with Guatemala. Grupos Beta offer migrants who are heading north information on the desert and its dangers as well as their rights once they cross into the U.S. They also offer limited shelter and food to repatriated migrants and work with the Mexican consulates in the U.S. to locate missing people or to coordinate rescue missions.

No More Deaths is a diverse coalition of individuals, faith communities, human rights advocates, and grassroots organizers who have joined together to work for justice along the U.S. - Mexico border. Hundreds of migrants die yearly while trying to cross the inhospitable Sonora-Arizona desert. In response to the migrant deaths, No More Deaths has a tent set up in Arivaca, AZ which is run by volunteers who scan the desert in search of migrants in need. NMD also has tents set up right across the border in the Mexican border cities of Nogales and Agua Prieta. These border tents are manned by volunteers who give food, water, clothing and medical attention to migrants as they are deported back into Mexico.

Polita Acuña and Alianza Fronteriza de Obreros (AFO, the Border Workers Alliance) was founded in Agua Prieta and later expanded to Nogales where labor organizers went door to door teaching workshops on Mexican labor law. This was done in an effort to help workers in Nogales, Sonora understand and defend their rights. Polita, a former maquila worker, is very aware of many of the conditions in the foreign-owned factories. Though the Alliance of Border Workers has lost its funding, Polita continues to offer assistance to workers whose rights have been violated.

Tour of Industrial park and Colonia Kennedy: This is a short tour of the industrial area of Nogales and a drive through Colonia Kennedy, the richest neighborhood of Nogales said to house politicians, doctors, business owners, and drug dealers. It provides a glimpse at the disparity of wealth in Nogales.

Border Wall Observation
We will park at the wall that divides Ambos Nogales (Nogales, AZ and Nogales, Son.) and take some time to observe the 14-foot steel wall built from reused landing strip material from the first Gulf War. Currently, there is an art installation by Alberto Morackis and Alfred Quiroz that hangs on the Mexican side of the wall next to murals and graffiti that reflect back on the hustle and bustle of downtown Nogales, Sonora. The U.S. side, which is mostly obstructed from view, appears much quieter but is punctuated by the presence of Border Patrol vehicles and surveillance equipment.

Casa de la Misericordia is BorderLinks’ Community Center on the Mexico side. The Casa administers community-based adult education and service programs. Additionally, dormitories are on-site.

Sunday

8:00am Breakfast at homestays / Desayuno con las familias
9:00 Market Basket Survey, Part 1 / Canasta básica, primera parte
9:45 Cost of living exercise and Part 2 of Market Basket Survey /
Ejercicio del costo de vida y parte dos de la canasta básica
11:15 Visit with border artist Alberto Morackis / Visitar con Alberto Morackis
12:15pm Lunch in downtown Nogales / Comer en el centro
1:00 Cross the van into the US and free time for participants / Cruzar y tiempo libre
2:00 Meet participants on the US side, head to Tucson / Encontrarse en el lado ee.uu.
4:00 Final reflection and evaluation at BorderLinks / Reflexión final y evaluaciones
5:00 Dinner provided at BorderLinks / Cena en BorderLinks

Our cost of living exercise is a participatory activity that involves investigating non-food expenditures with our host families and later on, food prices at the store. The idea is to get a picture of how much a typical family that depends on the maquiladora industry spends on utilities, medical needs, school, etc. At the end, we will come up with a dollar amount the family has available for each meal. In some versions of this exercise, our groups must subsist on this amount of money for a meal or two. Given the shortness of the trip, we will simply come up with the numbers and then do the market basket survey, which will help us understand the costs associated with food in comparison to the U.S. minimum wage.

Alberto Morackis is a lifelong resident of Nogales, Sonora and former maquila worker.
He has become a prominent artist with the majority of his recent work pertaining to migration and the border. Ranging from murals to 15-foot sculptures, his work can be seen all over Nogales and other border cities as well as at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Alberto and fellow artist Guadalupe Serrano make up the collective “Taller Yonke,” (The Junk Workshop).