At our May 19 meeting at Jowonio School, we hosted Jim McKeever, recently returned from the US-Mexican border. Jim has made many such trips to help families who seek safety and refuge from violence and is deeply involved in humanitarian work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Previously a writer for the Post-Standard in Syracuse, Jim’s path has led him to share his experiences and the amazing resilience and courage he has witnessed along the border. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A delicious array of finger-foods had been brought by those attending the meeting. The food\u00a0was presented\u00a0and served on a large table as people arrived, registered,\u00a0gathered, and socialized. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lorraine Markley\u00a0introduced\u00a0the speaker, Jim McKeever, a retired journalist and\u00a0humanitarian. \u00a0Lorraine had heard Jim speak to a group at her church, and had she had spoken to the WTB Council about a letter he had put into the Post Standard. Mr.\u00a0McKeever spends four weeks each year in visits to the border. He spends two weeks at the Texas border in the Brownsville area (across from Matamoros, Mexico), and two weeks along the southern border south of San Diego, near Tijuana and Mexicali. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mr. Mc Keever introduced himself. The small group was seated in three rows of semicircles around the table in front of the group and Mr. McKeever used his computer to show photos of his experience in the semiannual two-week visits he makes to the border between the U.S. and Mexico.\u00a0During these trips he works with various groups and organizations assisting persons from countries around the world who have crossed the border seeking asylum or refugee status in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The initial computer screen had the following piece from a poem by Warsan Shire called\u00a0Home. \u201c\u2026I want to go home, but home is the mouth of the shark \u2026\u201d <\/em>He began talking a bit about the desperate situation of so many people who come to the border to try to start new lives.\u00a0In the countries they come from they have dealt with war, famine, brutality, discrimination, and political repression, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. McKeever then began showing a series of photos from his visits to the border.\u00a0He used the\u00a015\u00a0photos as a demonstration of some of the issues he wanted the audience to understand\u00a0are\u00a0involved in the migrants\u2019 search for new lives. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first photo shown was of a scene from the\u00a0Dari\u00e9n Gap,\u00a0which is an area between the continents of North and South America stretching across southern Panama. Many people who attempt to cross the US\/Mexican border have navigated through this very dangerous area where migrants are often threatened with violence and some see and walk around dead bodies. He gave examples of experiences and asked, \u201cWho would take children through this?\u201d\u00a0The implied answer was only those who are desperate would do so. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next photos were those of parts of the Wall\u00a0built\u00a0along the border.\u00a0The section shown\u00a0on the\u00a0first photo was 30 feet high. He said one of the reasons for that is for most people climbing dizziness occurs\u00a0at that height\u00a0and\u00a0the\u00a0person might fall and be gravely injured. Another photo of the wall was what remains of an older part of a wall that\u00a0juts\u00a0into the Pacific Ocean. Only the\u00a0old wooden posts used to fence the area were still there from many years ago. Jim also said that it is estimated that about 10,000 migrants who\u00a0have\u00a0gotten into the U.S. have died in the desert.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Along with the next photos, Mr. McKeever talked about the\u00a0situation\u00a0for persons who have honorably served the country in the military.\u00a0Some of those ex-service members who were childhood arrivals\u00a0but\u00a0had not obtained citizenship have been deported following their honorable service. One case went to the California Supreme Court in which the veteran who had been deported won and is now back in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jim discussed the difficulties in the migrant camps and showed a photo of a migrant encampment. Food, diapers, clothing, and other essentials for life are distributed there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A photo of the Brownsville, Texas Welcome Center was shown. He said\u00a0frequently\u00a0migrants with just civil and not criminal charges are treated like criminals and chained by ankles and wrists just to make a spectacle. Jim showed a photo of a large bag, like a store \u201cfruit bag,\u201d in which everything a migrant owns is put. This is what they take to leave and make their way in the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Every new immigrant is supposed to have an interview with the immigration service. Some get it and others don\u2019t. Many are just released to have an appointment at a future date. Persons who come across the border like this are not allowed to work usually for six months while their cases are processed. In order to have more prompt action on an application, it is important to have a lawyer, and there are far too few lawyers, although some work\u00a0pro bono<\/em>\u00a0on cases. He said that lawyers are not guaranteed and without a lawyer, an asylum claim has a poor chance of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. McKeever dealt with many issues migrants face were, including\u00a0negative\u00a0perceptions by\u00a0Americans\u00a0in the U.S. which they get from politicians and the press. One of those is the impression that the\u00a0fentanyl\u00a0drug problem in the U.S. is related to so many immigrants coming across the border. This is inaccurate. The vast majority of the illicit\u00a0fentanyl\u00a0is seized at official border crossings and immigration officials say that nearly all of that is smuggled by people who are legally authorized to cross the border \u2014 and much of it comes by sea. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many caring and concerned persons and groups work with the immigrants on the border and assist them with basic needs and connections with agencies and groups which can assist them. However, more governmental programs and workers are needed. The federal government needs to increase staff to address the issues, interview, provide guidance, and help with processes of application for refugee or asylum status and a future. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n The final screen he showed on his computer was another line from the poem Home<\/em> by Warson Shire:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026you have to understand that no one puts their <\/em>children<\/em> in a boat unless the water is safer than the land\u2026\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n During\u00a0the question and answer period that followed,\u00a0Mr. McKeever mentioned the Syracuse Immigrant and Refugee Defense Network<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Eastern Farmworkers\u00a0<\/em>as local groups advocating for change and assistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n He provided hand-outs listing Some Organizations Working at the\u00a0Border<\/em>\u00a0and Further Information: Links to Resources and Organizations about the Southern Border Situation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"