Film and panel discussion: Crossing Arizona
| Date/Time: | Wednesday, 20 Oct 2010 at 7:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Location: | Great Hall, Memorial Union |
| Cost: | Free |
| Contact: | |
| Phone: | 515-294-9934 |
| Channel: | Lecture Series |
| Categories: | Diversity Lectures |
| Actions: | Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder |
"Nobody deserves to die in the desert for a cup of water."
Native American humanitarian Mike Wilson was stirred into action by the growing number of migrant deaths occurring on the Tohono O'odham Nation. Each Saturday he drives into the desert to replenish the water stations he maintains on tribal lands. For Wilson politics and policy are as arbitrary as the border itself, his line-in-the-sand is life vs. death.
"This is what all Americans should be doing. They all should be driving down here and telling the federal government that this is intolerable and enough is enough."
Chris Simcox is the founder of Civil Homeland Defense a citizen patrol group that reports illegal border crossers in Cochise County. In 2005 he co-created The Minuteman Project to recruit patrol volunteers from across America and garnered massive attention from the national and international press.
"There is a need to do something about what's going on here, but first we have to have a consensus of what the problem actually is."
When Ray Ybarra learned that his hometown of Douglas had become a haven for vigilante activity, the 26 year-old Stanford law student took a sabbatical and returned home to work against the rising anti- immigrant senitment in Cochise County. A recipient of ACLU's Ira Glasser Justice Fellowship, Ybarra formed a team of legal observers to monitor the activities of The Minuteman Project.
"I don't believe in the death penalty for anything, so I certainly don't believe in the death penalty for trying to walk across the desert to look for better life for your family."
Award-winning children's book author Byrd Baylor lives about eight miles from the Mexican border. Her friendly attitude towards the migrants who cross her property often puts her at odds with members of her rural community.
"Do you have any idea what it took that person to get there to make your breakfast, to mow your lawn, to take care of your kids?"
When the flow of undocumented migrants shifted into Arizona, Ray Borane, the Mayor of Douglas, saw his community become the frontline of illegal immigration. Borane is sharply critical of current U.S. border policy and advocates for a more holistic solution that addresses the needs of both U.S. employers and migrant workers.
"So many people are dying and they're coming anyway."
Robin Hoover is the founder of Humane Borders, a non-profit organization that maintains life-saving water stations in the Arizona desert. His public battles to change border policy to meet the needs of both migrant workers and businesses has earned him many admirers and detractors.
"We found 141 people last year, but I can guarantee you that desert has taken the lives of thousands of people."
Andy Adame is the Public Information Officer for the Tucson Sector of the United States Border Patrol. Adame began his career with the border patrol as a field agent and has witnessed first-hand the tragic loss of life that is occurring on the U.S./Mexico border.
"I think it's really vital that people understand that we have had a hand in exactly what's occuring."
Isabel Garcia's controversial critiques of U.S. border policies have made her the target of right-wing organizations that have accused her of being an "agent of the Mexican government." A former trial lawyer, she is the director of the Pima County Legal Defender's Office and the main spokesperson for the Tucson-based human rights organization Coalicién de Derechos Humanos.
"There's always been this fear against the next group of immigrants into this country."
John Fife is a life-long immigration rights activist. In response to the rising number of deaths on the Arizona border, he helped found the Samaritans, a humanitarian organization that provides water, food and medical assistance to migrants in distress. He was also a key player in organizing a diverse group of humanitarian organizations under the rubric of No More Deaths to maintain camps and water stations along the border during the summer months.
"People are already scared, people are already convinced that every problem that exisits in our state is due to this immigrant presence, and that is perhaps the biggest fiction of this entire immigration debate."
Alexis Mazón is a tenacious and charismatic Latina activist and Public Defender in Tucson, AZ. In the summer of 2004 she became one of the key organizers of the Coalition to Defeat Proposition 200.
Joseph Mathew, Director/DP
After moving to the United States from India in 1994, Joseph Mathew left behind a background in finance and economics to pursue his lifelong dream of a career in photo and video journalism. After freelancing as a photojournalist for the AP's Baltimore bureau, Mathew took on the more challenging format of feature-length documentary filmmaking. He completed his first feature documentary, The Last Season: The Life and Demolition of Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, in 2002. He now lives in Brooklyn. Crossing Arizona is his second film.
Dan DeVivo, Director/Producer
Dan graduated from Harvard University in 1999 with a B.A. in Social Anthropology and a desire to delve into the world of independent documentary filmmaking. He spent the next several years honing his filmmaking skills in the field. Based in New York City, Dan has worked on several projects including, Counting On Democracy and We Are Family. In 2002 Dan partnered to produce and edit Refusing To Die: A Kenyan Story, which chronicles political turmoil within the former British colony through the experiences of Koigi Wa Wamwere. Dan hopes Crossing Arizona will put a human face on the issue of immigration.