Getting Started in Tucson

I can't say enough about the kind hospitality at Borderlinks, whose mission is to help people understand the border here. Five years ago, I spent a week with them, mostly on a trip in which we visited the little town of Altar, where a small border crossing was at that time the focal point for informal crossings at dispersed locations; then in Mexico, to a shelter where people planning to cross could find a meal and a place to sleep and a shower -- also a talking-to about just how dangerous the crossing could be. We went to Nogales, Mexico, and staysd with families in the barrio, visited a maquiladora factory, and went shopping for groceries (not to buy, but to see quality, selection, and price).

We met people in Nogales who were working with people who had been returned across the border, saw the wall from the Mexico side, and experienced the crossing through the high-security checkpoint at Nogales. We camped out in the desert and walked some of the paths used by migrants. I learned a lot. Then I went back to New Hampshire, where most undocumented people have other kinds of stories. Still, this was an eye-opener. I had much greater appreciation for undocumented people in my community.

Now that I am in the Denver area, I wanted to come back and see what has changed, to reconnect, and to make some new connections. When I contacted Borderlinks, I got a quick reply and lots of suggestions about how to make those connections, as well as an invitation to take a day trip (tomorrow) to hit the high (low?) spots of the border crossing experience, just the thing for finding out what has changed. I suspect the amazing Arisona desert will be the same. What they tell me in Denver is that this would be the likely area for people who have been deported from there to try to return.

I can think of no better way to introduce Unitarian Universalists to the reality of the border situation, not only in Arizona, but everywhere in the United States, than a delegation with Borderlinks
To organize a trip for your group to the Arizona border, you should be in touch with Borderlinks, www.borderlinks.org, 620 South 6th Avenue, Tucson AZ, 85701-2302.
Their phone number is 520-628-8263.

The people in the photo are Susanna McKibben, Executive Director Fernanda Morillon, Elsbeth Pollack, Nancy Cordova, and Development Director Scott NIcholson.