Report on Border Crossing Deaths Makes the Invisible Visible

[ccharles000]

So much of what human rights advocates do is try to make the invisible visible. The more marginal and vulnerable the victims and the more remote the geographic location, the harder it is to do.

That, in a nutshell, is the goal and challenge of the San Diego ACLU’s report on border crossing deaths, Humanitarian Crisis: Migrant Deaths at the U.S. – Mexico Border, which was released today and is well reported by Spencer Hsu in The Washington Post. Filmmaker John Carlos Frey also uncovers the crisis at the border in his new documentary The 800 Mile Wall.

Marking the 15th anniversary of the misguided border strategy known as Operation Gatekeeper, the report makes visible the following:

# In the past 15 years, as many as 5,600 people have died.
# These deaths were anticipated in the design of the U.S. border strategy, which deliberately pushes migrants away from inhabited areas into harsh desert and mountainous terrains.
# The rate of deaths has increased despite the economic decline and a drop in migration.
# The number of rescues has decreased despite a massive increase in Border Patrol agents.

Americans are repelled by injustice. We don’t want to contemplate the awful deaths from dehydration of men, women, and children crossing the desert—not a few hours’ drive from lovely vacation oases like San Diego, Scottsdale, and San Antonio. This cuts both ways. On the one hand, we don’t want to think about it so we put it out of our minds. On the other, when confronted with these realities and the policies responsible for them, we want these problems solved and our lawmakers to make them go away.

http://blog.aclu.org/2009/09/30/report-on-border-crossing-deaths-makes-the-invisible-visible/

[babylonsister]

1. Rec'd. WHO would unrec this? nt

[ccharles000]

2. kick

[cbdo2007]

3. How many deaths have there been at the legal border crossing stations?

[pennylane100]

4. First, I think that people dying for thirst is a terrible tragedy, andmy heart goes out to any victi

However the best way for this not to happen is for people not to attempt such a hazardous journey and certainly not take their children with them. I think the injustice is the fact that they cannot make a decent living in their country and the corruption and violence that is endemic there makes it so unsafe.

I do not think the answer is to make it easier for more people to come here illegally.

[babylonsister]

5. Noted. How heartless. nt

[pampango]

7. Guess we know where one of the unrecs came from. n/t

[Romulox]

10. Turning a blind eye to the forces that lure people to this country illegally is NOT "compassion"

Or, it is "compassion", but it's compassion for Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland, Agriprocessors, et al. :hi:

[ccharles000]

6. fuck everyone who just want a better life.

:sarcasm:

[pennylane100]

8. While we have a bottomless pit of cheap labor that is often

exploited and will work for far less than our citizens, we will never be able to take care of our poor and most needy citizens. The only people who benefit are big corporations who make money from them. I wish there were a way we could help all the people who come here for a better life but I think we owe it to take care of our own poor and homeless first.

Also you might want to know how little compassion mexico gives to its illegal population, almost none.
I truly believe that the only humanesolution is to help them make it better where they live.

[cbdo2007]

9. (adding to your last sentence) ....as well as reward those who come to the USA legally.

[Romulox]

12. Do you start many threads about poor kids in Detroit? They want a better life, too.

:hi:

[Romulox]

13. So...no threads about poor kids in Detroit then.

:eyes:

[951-Riverside]

11. People also die trying to steal copper from electrical boxes and lines

Does this mean electrical companies have to make it safer for people to steal their copper?