Welcome to Borderlands

Episode 6 - Missing person: identification process

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to "Borderlands", a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on borderlands communities, in one of the most militarized, controlled and deadly counties of the border: Pima county, in the State of Arizona. I’d like in this new episode to reflect on what happens to those whom the desert has engulfed. For some of them, their bodies will be found by hikers, hunters, ranchers, Tohono O’Odham nation members, by people living in the Borderlands. For others, the desert, its climate and its fauna will take care of erasing their traces in the upcoming days and they could be lost forever. It’s impossible to say exactly how many people have died trying to cross the border through the Arizonian Sonoran Desert or how many bodies of people are currently there without having been recovered to date. The figures available are those meticulously kept by the PCOME, the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner. Since the 90’s, the PCOME, based in Tucson, have recorded the cases that pass through these services, which represent a good part of the border between Arizona and Mexico. According to these figures, between 1990 and March 2022, 3624 people died trying to cross the US Mexico border in Pima County, Arizona. 64% have been identified by the PCOME. At the end of 2021, 1244 people remain to be identified. This sixth episode will focus on the different key players intervening in the identification process of people found dead in the desert of Sonora. A warning, this episode may contain parts that are difficult to listen to. Once pointed at lost souls, the desert, its climate and its fauna can descend without warning and erase the traces of a body in a few days. No words can soften the planned and unjust violence of what is playing out in the Sonoran Desert. In this episode we’ll listen to officials, practitioners, NGOs, researchers working on the identification process in Pima county, Arizona. Let’s begin with Mario AGUNDEZ, border patrol missing migrant program’s coordinator for the Tucson sector. He explains the missing migrant program of the border patrol agency…The Border Patrol missing migrant program works in partnership with different institutions… Let’s continue to listen to Mario Agundez talking about the work with the PCOME, Pima county office of the medical examiner… (...) Thank you for following “Borderlands” … a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities …and don’t forget: this episode was mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Merci Nico!  Speakers of Episode #6: Mario AGUNDEZ, border patrol missing migrant program’s coordinator for the Tucson sector Jason de Leon, Professor of anthropology at UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles), president of the Colibrí center for human rights and executive director of the undocumented migration project Robin Reineke, Assistant Research Social Scientist at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center. Mirza Monterosso, Director of the DNA/missing migrant project at the Colibrí center for human rights, as Enrique Gomez Montiel, Deputy consul of the Consulate of Mexico in Tucson Greg Hess, Forensic pathologist and chief Medical examiner of the PCOME.

Episode 5 - Missing person: Families and supports’ struggles

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to "Borderlands", a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities living in the borderlands, in one of the most militarized, controlled and deadly counties of the border: Pima county, in the State of Arizona. This fifth episode will focus on Missing persons, families and supporters’ struggles to know the truth about their loved ones and also artists and researchers trying to raise the question of the missing at the borders. In the previous episode, we noted the lack of official’s response in terms of search and rescue of people in distress in the desert. At the origin and at the heart of search and rescue actions, you have families and relatives who fight daily to find their loved ones. Often with no response from the authorities, they organize themselves. All over the world, families are mobilizing and looking for their missing loved ones along the migratory route. This search can take years. Sometimes, no persons are found. It leaves loved ones in limbo, impacting their daily lives, physically and psychologically. We speak of “ambiguous loss” in the language of psychology. Pauline Boss, a professor emeritus in the department of family social science at the University of Minnesota, was the one who conceptualized the ambiguous loss in the 70’s. The loss has long term consequences on living ones. Families organize themselves in different ways around the world, as an independent collective, as in Mexico, for example, where they struggle on a daily basis to obtain answers from the authorities, to push them to change their practices. They are getting closer to structures that support them, such as the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team or La Fundacion para la Justicia, for instance. In the United States, they contact different organizations to help them. One, based in Tucson, is central: the Colibrí center for human rights. Families have created their own mobilization network within this structure. Other forms of mobilization exist, those of family’s supporters. For more than 20 years, people in the city of Tucson have come together to commemorate those who have disappeared and died in the Sonoran Desert. There are also artists who try to make visible what happens for migrants in the desert. Alvaro Encizo, artist based in Tucson, has different projects, “where dreams die”, is one dedicated to put secular crosses in the Sonoran desert where people were found dead. Alvaro Encizo shows that the American dream seems not to be for everybody. Making things more visible, more accessible. Artists and researchers use technology and public access tools to make visible the consequences of the US border regime on people who try to cross without authorization. This fifth episode shows us how families and their supporters take different actions in the search of truth. Episode #6 will talk about the different key players intervening in the identification process of the remains found in the desert of Sonora. Thank you for following “Borderlands” … a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities…See you soon… and don’t forget: this episode was mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Speakers of Episode #5: Perla Torres, family network’s director at the Colibrí Center for Human Rights. Robin Reineke, Assistant Research Social Scientist at the University of Arizona’s Southwest Center. Isabel Garcia, La Coalicion de Derechos humanos. Alvaro Enciso, artist Alyssa Quintinilla, a researcher, who did her PhD in critical studies at the University of Pittsburg. Credits: Borderlands is a podcast by Eva Ottavy, mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Music: Dusty Sun by Serj Anto. Graphic Identity by Eva Ottavy (Borderlands brewery’s front in Tucson-Arizona and “Chinche al agua”, a mural painting of Victor “Mask” Casas in El Paso-Texas)

Episode 4 - Search and Rescue, civil responses

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to "Borderlands", a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities, in one of the most militarized, controlled and deadly counties of the border: Pima county, in the State of Arizona. This fourth episode will focus on several civil responses in terms of water, supplies and search and rescue needs. Witnesses of the border brutalities, people living in the borderlands have been mobilized since the end of the 70’s. For the past 40 years, many actors come to the direct aid of people who attempt to cross this border. From demonstration or water and deposits in the desert to rescue operations and links with families searching for a missing loved one, different communities and groups are fighting against the border regime. In the beginning of the 2000’s, deaths and disappearances were rising in the borderlands. Based on the Pima County Office of the Medical Examiner statistics of where the bodies of people who tried to cross were found, a group of people decided to put water station in the desert, trying to prevent death. This organization, Humane Borders, placed 48 water stations in the borderlands. Humane border water stations have been placed in the desert, on dirty roads accessible by car. In 2002, a new organization was created, the Tucson Samaritans, in order to drop water deeper in the desert. As the situation for people who tried to cross in the borderlands got worse and worse, in 2004, a coalition of activists set up No More Deaths, to operate on a daily basis in the desert of Sonora. No More Deaths volunteers have been sued for their action on the field. Besides organizations based in Tucson and more broadly in Arizona, you also have several groups of people coming from California every weekends, trying to find people lost in the desert of Sonora. Contacted by families and relatives of people who cross the US Mexico border, those groups with information shared by the relatives look for the missing people. There are several Search and Rescue groups like this: The Aguilas del desierto, Armadillos …. This fourth episode shows us the multiple ways of action in the Sonora desert regarding people who try to cross without authorization, including missing persons. At the origin and at the heart of these actions, you have relatives who fight daily to find their loved ones. Often with no response from the authorities, they organize themselves... Thank you for following “Borderlands” … a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities…See you soon… and don’t forget: this episode was mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Speakers of Episode #4: Isabel Garcia, La Coalicion de derechos humanos Rebecca Fowler, administrator of Humane Borders Gail Kocourek, in charge of media and education for the Tucson Samaritans Parker Deighan, volunteer and coordinator of the No more deaths abuse documentation group Gerardo campos, Paralelo 31/Parallel 31, a search and rescue group Glossary episode #4: GAO: General attorney office Read more episode #4 La Coalicion de derechos humanos : https://derechoshumanosaz.net/ Humane Borders : https://humaneborders.org/ The Tucson Samaritans: http://www.tucsonsamaritans.org/ No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes: https://nomoredeaths.org/en/ Paralelo 31/Parallel 31: https://www.facebook.com/parallel31sar/ Aguilas del desierto: https://aguilasdeldesierto.org/ Armadillos: https://www.niunmigrantemenos.org/ The Batallion Search and Rescue: https://battalionsar.com/ The teaser of “Borderlands” podcast available (2’30): https://soundcloud.com/eva-ottavy/borderlands-podcast-teaser Credits: Borderlands is a podcast by Eva Ottavy, mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Music: Dusty Sun by Serj Anto. Graphic Identity by Eva Ottavy (Borderlands brewery’s front in Tucson-Arizona and “Chinche al agua”, a mural painting of Victor “Mask” Casas in El Paso-Texas)

Episode 3 - A Need for Search and Rescue?

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to "Borderlands", a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities, in one of the most militarized, controlled and deadly counties of the border: Pima county, in the State of Arizona. This third episode will focus on Search and rescue in Borderlands, in the Sonora desert. Why is there a need for Search and Rescue? Who does Search and Rescue and how? … In 1994, the Clinton administration introduced the Prevention through deterrence strategy, implemented by Border Patrol. This strategy transformed this border, where moving was quite fluid even though it was already controlled, to an ultra-surveilled area to prevent illegal entry of human beings and goods. In addition to the physical wall separating the United States and Mexico as well as the human means through the border patrol, the deployment of technological tools has allowed the implementation of a virtual wall which pushes back the people who try to cross the border without authorization to more and more isolated places of the desert. Crossing the border is becoming longer and more dangerous. People are faced with both the relentlessness of the American means of control and surveillance and the roughness of the desert (heat, fauna and flora) which can lead to death. Borderlands is a ballet of actors intervening at different levels, whether institutional or through citizen initiatives on the subject of search and rescue. In this episode we will listen to different testimonies: a border patrol, a humanitarian organization and a researcher who work on a daily basis on the subject. We will try to understand what happens in this desert, at this border, for people who try to cross. Let’s begin with Mario AGUNDEZ, border patrol missing migrant program’s coordinator for the Tucson sector. He explains Border Patrol missions… …And how does the Border Patrol Search and Rescue special unit, called BORSTAR, intervene on the field ?…. As, Mario Agundez explained BORSTAR are "few" in numbers. Moreover, BORSTAR are above all Border Patrols. Their primary mission is law enforcement, as he said. As the BORSTAR supervisor, John Redd, told the humanitarian organization No More Deaths, 80 to 90% of a BORSTAR's work time is spent on its law enforcement missions more than on rescue ones. In addition, 6% of Border Patrols, about 12,000 agents, are reportedly trained in certified medicine and only 1% of agents, 200 people, have received training in search and rescue techniques. These figures seem very low in comparison with the magnitude of the deadly ballet that operates in the Sonora desert. No More Deaths, a humanitarian organization operating since 2004 directly in the desert of Sonora (Arizona), documents human right violations in Borderlands with the help of La Coalicion de derechos humanos and researchers. They called border patrol intervention: a left to die practice. Let’s listen to Parker Deighean, volunteer and coordinator of the No more deaths abuse documentation group… …In the borderlands, you have plenty of control and surveillance means. One of them, the Beacon towers, is presented by officials as a search and rescue tool. Let’s listen to Tara Plath, an interdisciplinary based researcher, living in Ajo, Arizona and doing research and mapping on Beacon towers. This third episode let us understand that even If there is a need of Search and rescue operations, there are no efficient official responses…See you soon… and don’t forget: this episode was mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Speakers: Mario AGUNDEZ, border patrol missing migrant program’s coordinator for the Tucson sector Parker Deighan, volunteer and coordinator of the No more deaths abuse documentation group Tara Plath, an interdisciplinary based researcher, living in Ajo, Arizona and doing research and mapping on Beacon towers.

Episode 2 - What is "Borderlands" ? (part 2)

Hi everyone!!! Welcome to "Borderlands", a multi-episode podcast about the US-Mexico migration border policies and their impact on communities, in one of the most militarized, controlled and deadly counties of the border: Pima county, in the State of Arizona. This second episode will continue to investigate how migration policies define Borderland. Over time, the border, its control and its surveillance have become an issue. We’ll focus, in this episode, on border regime: what kind of apparatus is used, how it impacts communities living on Borderlands and who benefits from it. Let’s begin with the rule of the “100-mile border zone”. In 1953, the United States adopted a regulation allowing Border Patrols, in charge of border control, to stop and search without a warrant all types of vehicles at any location within 100 miles of the border… What about today? How did borderlands become so militarized, controlled and surveilled? In 1994, the Clinton administration introduced the Prevention through deterrence strategy, implemented since then by Border Patrol. This strategy transformed this border, where moving was quite fluid even though it was already controlled, to what we have today along the border: a longer and higher physical wall, urban port of entry ultra-secured, more border patrols along the border, more surveillance system… ”Borderlands” is a zone composed of different layers of control mechanisms and surveillance systems. It’s not a simple line separating two countries. It’s definitely more than a wall. The border apparatus has consequences on the field for people living in the region, especially for the Tohono O’odham nation…Borderlands is above all part of the Native Land. The Tohono O’Odham are native Americans who have been living in the region for centuries and struggling for their rights. 62 miles (100 km) of the international border between the US and Mexico separates the tribe members. As they say: "We never crossed the border, the border crossed us". According to the last O’odham VOICE against the wall’s report, a nonprofit organization funded by Tohono O’Odham members: “Human rights violations and increased militarization have been a reality at the U.S./Mexico border for over 150 years and Indigenous peoples and their free movement have been the target of this militarization.”. The border regime has direct consequences on the Tohono O’odham living in borderlands. Does anyone profit from the border apparatus? This second episode with the first one tries to give a definition of what Borderland is in relation to migration policies. Happy listening and don't forget: this second episode has been mixed by Nicolas Puissant.” Speakers of Episode #2: David Garcia, a member of the Tohono O’odham Nation Todd Miller, a Tucson journalist covering the borderlands and migration issue for years, co-founder of Border Chronicle with Melissa del Bosque Glossary episode #2: ACLU = American Civil Liberties Union CBP= custom and Border Patrol DHS = Department of Home service INS = Immigration and naturalization service SBI net = Secure border initiative network Read more episode #2: - A Global call for divestment: Indigenous front-line report regarding adverse impacts of Elbit system’s Integrated Fixed Towers on the U.S./Mexico border, O’odham voices against the wall, August 2021. - More than a wall, corporates profiteering and the militarization of the US border, Todd Miller, No More Deaths and Transnational Institute (TNI), September 2019. - Border Chronicle, Melissa del Bosque and Todd Miller : https://www.theborderchronicle.com - The Constitution in the 100-mile border zone, ACLU, 2018. Credits: Borderlands is a podcast by Eva Ottavy, mixed by Nicolas Puissant. Music: Dusty Sun by Serj Anto. Graphic Identity by Eva Ottavy (Borderlands brewery’s front in Tucson-Arizona and “Chinche al agua”, a mural painting of Victor “Mask” Casas in El Paso-Texas)