Open borders
Last night at Cafe Revolution in San Francisco I learned about a fantastic collaboration between artists and activists who oppose the increased militarization of the border between the U.S. and Mexico.
On the walls were photos of the "No Borders Camp" that was set up in 2007 on both sides of the wall between Calexico and Mexicali. Participants camped there for five days "to create an autonomous and unified encampment of peoples from two countries despite the physical, political, and mental barriers that divided them."
Here's a blurb from their website (www.noborderscamp.org): "Under continuous surveillance by border patrol agents for five days and nights, the campers organized and improvised workshops, conversations, direct actions, marches, memorials, murals, dances, and other experiences around, against, and atop the border as well as in the local communities, maquiladoras, port of entry, detention center and state cemetery where the bodies of unidentified migrants are buried."
Watch a 30-minute video of the camp here (fotografoclandestino.com).
And here are two links to articles we ran about open borders before: * An excerpt from Philippe Legrain's brilliant book "Immigrants: Your Country Needs Them": www.odemagazine.com/doc/42/let_them_in * A commentary: www.odemagazine.com/doc/42/open_borders_need_open_arms
If indeed immigration is a problem, why can we not engage in a mutually beneficial enterprise that employs Mexican people and provides needed services? I live in New Mexico and find it tragic that we are dealing with problems in such alienating methods. We need Mexico...it's not wise to burn bridges and build big fences.
People are more likely resort to drug dealing and other such dangerous practices when there is great poverty and need.
posted by bethmiller on 4/30/2008 2:03 pm