A Reflection on Border Beat

In Border Beat this semester, I was an avid blogger of the fascinating intersection of the U.S.-Mexico border and related films.

Every film I watched depicted issues like crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, adjusting to a new lifestyle and a new culture, the hardships of U.S. life, or something of that matter. I even had the chance to conduct a few student and professor interviews to shed light on the crossing of borders and film as well. I really think I learned a lot about different types of people and their lifestyles through my research, writing and blogging, and for that, I am truly grateful.

Over the past few months, I watched films that I don’t think I would have watched in a million years if it weren’t for Border Beat. I would have never walked into Casa Video to seek out foreign films nor search the Internet for fun border movies. Living in Tucson for the greater part of my life, this may seem odd. But for some reason, border films never clicked with me. Then, my best friend who studies international law in Washington D.C. took a Latin American film class and loved it. And when Professor Rochlin told us to pick a topic to blog about this semester, it seemed like a perfect fit.

Now, I’ve seen movies such as “Sin Nombre,” “La Misma Luna,” “Sin Dejar Huella” or even “Babel” which stars celebrities like Brad Pitt. These are titles I would’ve normally scrolled right past on Netflix and not think twice about.

Now, I find myself scrolling for these kinds of movies. I look at the recommendations listed next to each border movie I watch. I will click links from site to site to see if there are any other types of movies that I’d find interesting. I’ve come to love border issues depicted in film.

I also had a chance to watch both movies and documentaries, produced and directed by Americans and by Mexicans. I learned about the emotional plights of immigrants headed to El Norte, I learned about young children who travel by train and the types of navigating they must do, and I learned about la migra and Mexican laws. Heck, I even learned about U.S. laws concerning immigration and deportation that I never even knew existed. As a viewer, you see the physically exhausting experiences migrants encounter and you see how the Border Patrol can act. You see how different families are in U.S. culture and Hispanic cultures. By watching films, you really get a chance to experience something out of your comfort zone. It’s something that may be Hollywood-produced, but something that is very real to a lot of people.

Having the opportunity to chat with history and Latin American professors about the border and relevant films was a great experience. They had their own insights on different movies and led me to conduct some interviews and research on the Tucson Cine Mexico, an annual Tucson film festival. I ended up writing a story on that as well.

I’m really happy that Border Beat gave me the chance to try something new. I would have never thought to watch border films prior to the class, but now that I’ve seen a few and have learned more about the issues surrounding the border, I have a feeling that these types of movies will be in my queue in the future.

The Border Beat class really opened my eyes to the types of stories that a journalist can write regarding borders. I wrote stories on the TUSD’s Mexican-American Studies program, the University of Arizona’s Eller ARC organization, the Tucson food truck roundup, and the plight of a Vietnamese couple traveling to the U.S. It’s been fun writing about such diverse subjects that all happen to be related in a unique way, and I know I’m going to miss the class.

A Movie with Great Culture and a Great Message

I decided to visit Casa Video on whim today— I ended up coming back with the film, “Without a Trace,” or “Sin Dejar Huella,” a 2001 Sundance Film Festival winner of the Latin American Cinema Award. Released in 2000, this 2-hour movie was directed by Maria Novaro and is spoken in Spanish with English subtitles.

The story follows Ana and Aurelia, two women on the road to Cancun who wish to flee their former lives. Ana is a former Mayan art smuggler who is being chased by a federal investigator and needs to get out. Aurelia wants to provide a better life for her children and leave her drug-dealer boyfriend behind. Together, they road trip across Mexico to cross the “border” into a new life.

Just like many movies focus on immigrants fleeing to “El Norte,” or the United States, to begin a new life, Ana and Aurelia want to do the same thing by moving to Cancun. Aurelia wants to work for a prestigious resort and cater to the “gringos” to make more money for her and her  two sons. She also wants to leave her old home, which in unsafe and a dangerous place to raise kids. Ana is harassed by corrupt officials and feels guilty of participating in fraudulent activities. She wants to get away from it all and to never be bothered with any of it ever again.

“Without a Trace” reflects the hardships of packing an old life behind to start a fresh one. With little money, no friends and no support, it’s difficult to switch gears. But in both Ana’s and Aurelia’s cases, the switch is necessary for both of their survivals. It’s interesting to compare a movie such as this one, which depicts “border crossing” within Mexico, to others that I have watched, that depict border crossing into a new country. Crossing the border within Mexico isn’t as physically enduring as it is into the United States for some immigrants, but emotionally, crossing a life border appears to be about the same. This is why the two women develop a friendship. They are all each other has.

It’s sad that many people in Mexico are forced to leave their current situations to seek better ones. Growing up in a well-off family, I never needed to make that type of decision, and I hope that I never have to. But for many Mexicans, any opportunity somewhere else seems to be a better option than what they currently have. I applaud Ana and Aurelia’s efforts to start a new life in a new city because it shows willingness and desire to change for the better. They want to escape illegal activities and do something for themselves. It’s actually comical how much their old lives and their pasts attempt to pull them behind.

In addition, the movie was enjoyable and I had a great time watching it. There are some intense and dramatic scenes, and the plot was interesting. I would recommend this movie to anyone who is interested in immigration issues or cultural films. As a viewer, you are immersed in Mexican culture, Mexican language, Mexican slang and Mexican food, and it’s always fascinating to compare cultures with one another. You also have a chance to see some of the Mexican deserts, forests and businesses, all which differ from those of the United States. It definitely sheds light on the living situations of various Mexican people.

 

Immigrants Don’t Have it Easy

Entre Nos, a 2009 film directed by Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza, is based on a true story.

The movie follows Mariana and her two young children, Andrea and Gabriel, who are recent Colombian immigrants living in New York. The family moved several times in the past few years due to Mariana’s husband’s incessant need to resettle. After only two weeks in the states, the husband leaves the family for Miami with no intentions of returning back. They are completely alone.

The trio’s living situation is horrible. Mariana and Andrea share a twin bed and Gabriel sleeps on the floor. They can only afford to eat rice and beans every night for dinner, as Mariana does not have a job and is forced to wait in an alleyway with other female immigrants willing to nanny and perform other housework duties. She attempts to sell homemade empanadas on the streets for a dollar each, but not surprisingly, it does not work. She does not speak English and has difficulty communicating with people in New York, although her children are picking up hints of English from the neighborhood kids. Soon, she loses her apartment because she cannot afford to pay rent.

After observing avid New York recyclists, Mariana and her children begin picking up recyclable cans from trashcans and selling them. The kids energetically help her in her quest to make a few bucks here and there, with little complaint as to hunger or sadness. They seem to understand that rummaging through trashcans and sleeping outside on the ground is their only choice.

This movie portrays the difficulty of transitioning to a completely different lifestyle with no money, no family and no support system. It is very difficult to adjust to a more expensive life, especially after the father took up and left. It is horribly sad to see such young children have to work when they should be having fun with their friends. I truly believe that these types of things happen to immigrants in the U.S. all the time, and this movie sheds light on the situation.

At the same time, I don’t think I’d recommend this movie to anyone because I felt frustrated the whole time. Although I felt bad for Mariana, I also felt that she didn’t exhaust all of her options when it came to her children. She didn’t have a job, but she could’ve tried getting a job at any fast food joint or small local shop, but she didn’t. Instead of taking her children to a homeless shelter to sleep, she had them sleep outside on the ground. With very little money to eat, she could’ve easily found a soup kitchen in the area instead of leaving her children hungry. She doesn’t apply for food stamps until the very end of the movie. She knew she couldn’t afford rent, and she should’ve planned better since her apartment discharge was inevitable. Lastly, she moved her children from a decent life in Colombia because she was following a man who did not love her. I’d be shocked if she didn’t already suspect that. She did not realize until after he left that her children were more important than he was.

All of this could be a sign that the U.S. should focus more attention on better educating immigrants and helping them to assimilate to American culture. It’s possible that Mariana did not know that homeless shelters, soup kitchens, or other types of work existed in the U.S. Of course, she did not bother asking anyone for help of this kind, and she relied on her son for money and support. But, maybe if she knew these types of establishments existed from the get-go, she would’ve utilized these resources. I don’t know, but it seemed frustrating that Mariana did not venture off and see what opportunities were available.

In the end, the credits describe where the true Mariana, Gabriel and Andrea are now, and they all are living much more luxurious lifestyles. This is great—it shows that hard work pays off, and I am happy for the family.

A Refugee’s Plight in America

 

Sentenced Home, a 2006 documentary directed by David Grabias and Nicole Newnham, aims to prove that U.S. immigration policy can be exceedingly unjust to refugees who hold permanent residency in the states. In a short, one-hour film, audiences are introduced to three Cambodian refugees who must battle the consequences of deportation back to their home country.

The documentary follows three men: Many Uch, who committed a robbery as a teenager, Kim Ho Ma, who was involved in a gang drive-by shooting, and Loeun Lun, who shot a gun in a mall parking lot eight years prior to the documentary’s making. All three were young boys when they were brought from Cambodia to the U.S. by their parents in brutal, heart-wrenching escapes. In the documentary, the parents of the boys talk about how in their escape years ago, they were all on their death beds in the forest, starving, sick, and with little hope of survival. They risked everything they had in order to bring their children to a better place.

Uch remembers stepping off the airplane in the United States. He says, “When we went to America, we thought we were American…like the rest of Americans.” He and his family did not speak English, nor were they familiar with American traditions, laws and customs. The government did not bother helping them out, nor distinguishing between citizenship and permanent residency. So, Uch didn’t bother to learn the difference. The family thought they were Americans, with full rights, just like everyone else.

Uch now faces deportation, along with the two other men, for felonies committed years ago. All of the men already served their time in prison after being convicted. But that does not matter. For legal, permanent residents who are refugees who have been sentenced to a year or more for an aggravated felony, new laws require mandatory deportation. I do not think this is fair to any of these men, especially since all of them served time for the crimes committed. For me, it almost defies what we define as “double jeopardy,” or the forbiddance of being tried for the same crime twice. These people are being punished again for the same crime they committed years and years ago. The worst part? The refugees usually are not aware of their circumstances until they’re already assigned to be deported.

Kim Ho Ma comments, “I’m an alien…I ain’t from Mars, but here I am, categorized.” Ho Ma is angry that he wasn’t treated fairly and for what he believes to be a flawed legal system. Once deported, he goes to an immigration prison and later a halfway house. He has no friends, no family, and no understanding of the culture in Cambodia. It’s interesting that it is expected for these people adjust to new cultures and circumstances, when all they know is English, American holidays and foods, and a completely different lifestyle. Of course, these ex-refugees have no clue what to do or where to start. They have no lifelines.

Loeun Lun has two children, a wife and a job back home, but it does not matter. There is no opportunity for him to appeal his deportation since cases are not reviewed individually. In Cambodia, he tries to make a life for himself, but the way of living is so different that it is very difficult to do so. He goes from living in “luxury” in the U.S. to a hut, with well water and fish to be caught for dinner.

I do not think it is right to pick up a person who has been living in the U.S. for essentially their entire life, and send them to a different country after they’ve already spent time in prison for the crime they committed. An American with citizenship who committed the same crime would spend just the same amount of time in prison, but never have to worry about facing additional charges for the crime. At the same time, the parents of all these boys literally gave up everything they had at home in order to give their children a better life in the U.S. Escaping Cambodia meant battling death, and it’s hard to see these refugee children take all of that for granted. I wonder if they were conscious of everything their parents went through to give them a new life. All the men committed a crime they knew was wrong, and by doing this, threw all of their parent’s hard work away. I feel like they might not have appreciated what they had until it was taken away from them, which is a sad thing to see.

With that said, I think that since all of the boys were very young children when they immigrated, they must have a different outlook on American life than their parents do. American life is all they ever knew, and since they believed they were Americans, just like everyone at school and in the neighborhood, they must have never really thought twice about their circumstances in the U.S. And it’s hard to blame them for that. But, if their parents made a greater effort to really show their children what they have now, that could have made all the difference.

Children Migrants Have Courage

An interview with the director.

 

I really wanted to watch something different this week. During my search for an interesting title, I came across Which Way Home, a documentary released in 2009 and directed by Rebecca Cammisa. To get the footage, the documentary’s film crew followed the lives of Central American child migrants as they made their way north to the United States. After reading the synopsis, I was already hooked.

After watching Under the Same Moon last week, this film was the perfect follow-up to shed light on the reality of the child migrant phenomenon. Many times, when we think of those who have immigrated north, we tend to assume they are in their 30’s or 40’s, but this is not the case. Which Way Home follows the lives of several children, who are from Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, or other Central American countries, in their search for a better life.

In the beginning of the film, we learn that about 5 percent of children travel alone on the freight trains that weave in and out of Central American and Mexican cities. These kids often leave their families with just a note that explains they are traveling to the U.S. in search of their mother or father. All of these children must travel about 1,450 miles to simply get to the U.S.-Mexico Border. A lot of them are 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 years old.

The documentary focuses mainly on Kevin, a young teenager from Central America who “always dreamed of going to the United States.” He explains that all the children from his hometown want nothing more than to go to the U.S., too. He calls his mother on a cell phone to let her know that he’s doing alright, and in my opinion, his mother does not care all that much that her 14-year-old is in extreme danger. She essentially wishes her son “good luck.” I realize that his mother cannot provide him with the things that he may want or need in life, and I know that she realizes this, but this is sad because I know that a lot of parents in the United States would not allow their young children to embark on such a dangerous journey. This really pinpoints the differences in cultures and lifestyles.

Kevin describes the U.S. the same way I would describe a tropical paradise: “Wow.” He can’t wait for all of the grand cities and sky-scraping towers and the world that is going to bring him riches and amusement. A lot of the kids dream of being adopted by a U.S. family, going to school and growing up to be doctors.

The Border Patrol apprehends about 100,000 children annually. When children are caught, they are often brought to detention centers. At one of these facilities, we meet Jose, a 10-year-old Salvadoran boy who has not seen his mother in three years. He’s crying as he explains his story: he was with a man who handed him off to another man who gave him to another man who gave him to a lady…and he does not know whether or not these people were smugglers. All he wanted to do was find his mother in New York. At 10 years old, he is naïve and confused and does not know how horrible people can treat him. It was sad to watch him explain his story. Juan, another boy who is caught, is asked to sign a contract saying he will never try to escape home again. Although this is not surprising, I did not know that this happened.

What I also thought was interesting were the “Grupos Beta.” These are official federal social workers whose job is to not enforce the law when it comes to traveling migrants. The Grupo Beta truck will stop to provide help and aid to travelers, and they also offer advice on how to manage the freight trains. They do warn migrants of the dangers that lie ahead and encourage anyone who is not sure to turn back. This was a very neat idea, but thinking about it, I am glad it exists because without their help, many people would be dead.

It’s sad that the children spend weeks traveling in horrible conditions, with blisters growing on their feet and la migra on their tails, because they truly believe that the U.S. will solve all of their problems. They have this idea that the U.S. is a magical land where they will be able to work and send money to their families back home. In a lot of cases, this simply is not true. Kevin ends up in a detention center in Texas, and he says that the U.S. feels a lot different than he thought it would. He’s lonely, trapped and homesick. What I would like to find out is why the children think so highly of their northern neighbor. Of course, I’m sure their current state of condition at home is not good, but do their parents talk about the U.S. as a place they want their children to grow old?

I recommend this documentary to anyone who has an interest in northern immigration. It’s not a Hollywood movie with fake blood and intense gang scenes, and everything that happens actually happened. It’s all very real, and it’s still happening today. It’s educational and I can say I learned a lot.

Crossing the Border: A Reunion Story

I’ve heard a lot of great things about the film Under the Same Moon, or its Spanish version, “La Misma Luna.” Both professors and students, young and old, have expressed their appreciation for the 2007 drama directed by Patricia Riggen. It tells the mesmeric stories of a young boy living in Mexico and his mother living in the United States, dreaming of being reunited one day. After so many recommendations, I decided to pick Under the Same Moon off the shelves of Casa Video.

The plot commences with the daily lives of both Carlos Reyes, a 9-year-old living in Mexico with his grandmother, and Rosario Reyes, his mother who has found work as a nanny and housekeeper in Los Angeles. The two have been separated for four years now, and Carlos wants nothing more than to cross the U.S.-Mexico border and find his mother.

Right off the bat, action ensues. Carlos is introduced to a couple who volunteers to bring him north in exchange for money. When they arrive at border patrol, Carlos is hidden in the car, but because his transporters are both Mexican—and U.S. citizens—they are stopped, searched, and questioned. Eventually, border patrol has the car impounded with Carlos trapped inside. From there on, it’s a disastrous journey for the young boy. He loses all of his money, is almost sold to a wealthy drug lord, is forced to outrun the INS, hitchhike rides, work for food and shelter, lose his father for the second time in his life– the list goes on and on.

My immediate reaction to Carlos’s entire persona is that he is one of the bravest and most courageous 9-year-old boys I have ever seen. But I know that there are so many young children (even younger than Carlos) that try to cross the border every year and endure these types conditions and events. A lot of these kids suffer from starvation and being robbed, and a lot of them die from horrible weather conditions or Mexican gangs. So many of these children are not only brave, but are forced to grow up a lot faster than much of the children in the U.S. This is exactly what Carlos had to do. He voluntarily finds work both picking tomatoes and at a restaurant to make enough for bus fare. He seeks out help from other immigrants and immigrant helpers, and is able to adjust to and trust people who he had never seen before. He even develops police smarts and is careful to keep distance from U.S. authority. It truly is remarkable how such a young boy is able to do this by himself. You could say that I admire his guts, but that’d be an understatement.

Then, on what seems the other side of the world, there’s Rosario, who is just making ends meet through her two housekeeping jobs and dress sales. She sends Carlos $300 a month for food and clothes, but she is also saving other money in hope of eventually returning to Mexico. She is fired from one of her jobs, and her situation shows how difficult working in the U.S. can be for some illegal immigrants. Rosario’s boss refuses to pay her and laughs at Rosario when she knows there is nothing Rosario can do about it since she cannot call the police. It’s sad and depressing that wealthy people often find the need to take advantage of the poor and underprivileged just because they know they can. Soon, Rosario begins planning her trip back to Mexico.

You can sense the connection between Rosario and Carlos from the beginning. The two really love each other and want nothing more to be together again. Rosario has been away for four years, but she knows that Carlos needs a mother. This is why she begins to feel guilty and plan her return to Mexico. She begins to realize that family is the most important part of her life, and Carlos is all that she has.

In the last scene, Carlos finds Rosario, after a horrifying journey north. It is the happiest moment in the movie and it made me feel both super happy and sad. I can’t imagine how many children must go through the same process in order to be with their parents again, and this film shows how difficult that can be.

Once again, I would recommend this movie to family and friends. I think the plot evokes many emotions and draws you to both the characters of Rosario and Carlos. I think that many of the situations the two found themselves in are realistic and bound to happen time and time again.

Babel Intertwines Mental and Physical Borders

In an interview with UA student, Rafael Gomez, a media arts major and an aspiring movie director, I was recommended to watch the film Babel. Gomez spoke highly of the movie’s realistic portrayal of how difficult it can be for Mexicans to cross the U.S.-Mexico border when travelling north. The movie is an international co-production between Mexico, France and the United States and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.

Babel is a 2.5 hour drama directed by Alejandro Inarritu in 2006. The plot intertwines three different stories: the first, which involves a married couple vacationing in Morocco, the second, which follows the children of the married couple and their nanny in the U.S. and in Mexico, and the third, which is about a Japanese girl who cannot hear. I sat down to watch the movie with little knowledge of the plot beforehand and unsure of what to expect.

In a gripping and exceedingly depressing manner, Inarritu leads audiences through the difficult plight that humans can face in regard to three types of “borders.” In the first story, Richard and Susan Jones attempt to salvage their marriage on a trip in Morocco. On their tour bus, Susan is shot by a village boy playing with a rifle, and for the entirety of the film, it is unclear as to whether or not she will survive. Susan and Richard must trust the Moroccan tour guide, the village shaman, and others to help Susan receive the medical attention she needed. In a foreign country with almost no access to the proper equipment, Richard does not know what to do. It is not only terrifying to cross that “border” of trust, but to do so in a country with different medical practices and an unfamiliar language makes saving Susan’s life that much harder. Placing their lives in the hands of people they do not know allows the couple to cross the border of uncertainty and trust.

In the second story, we are introduced to Amelia, who is an illegal immigrant from Mexico and the nanny of Debbie and Mike Jones. While their parents are in Morocco, Amelia is staying with the children at their U.S. home. However, when Richard tells Amelia that their trip is delayed due to his wife’s injury, Amelia decides to take the children to Tijuana, Mexico for her son’s wedding. The children, raised in a wealthy and pure environment, drive down the streets of Mexico and watch Mexican children catch turkeys and kill them. They experience a true Mexican wedding: dancing, drinking, lights and music galore. When Amelia, her nephew, and the two kids head north into the U.S., Border Patrol stops the car and searches every compartment. The police demand passports and letters of consent, and Amelia’s nephew drives off and drops Amelia and the kids off in the desert. The three walk through the desert for hours, lost and at loss of what to do. The kids suffer the plight of Mexican immigrants attempting to cross the border in the desert in the heat. Confused as to what they did wrong, Debbie and Mike are scared and helpless with very little idea as to what was happening regarding the U.S.-Mexico border.

The last story is about Chieko, a young Japanese girl who is deaf and troubled by her mother’s death. Although this story very loosely ties in with the rest of the movie, Cheiko suffers the language barrier of not being able to communicate with others in a “normal” way. She envies people who are normal and hates it when she is made fun of or ignored by people who associate her deafness as a disease. All she wants is to feel loved, and she becomes sex-obsessed trying to find a boy who will give her the attention she desires. However, the whole movie, she is denied by various men, and she becomes upset and angry. She fights with her inability to hear other people and the sounds surrounding her, forcing her to accept the border created by silence.

I really enjoyed this movie, despite the sadness and traumatizing scenes that seem to occur the whole time. I think the actors did a fantastic job and the plot emphasizes the fact that these types of situations do really happen—it can be scary crossing that border into something that is not familiar to you. In direct relation to the U.S.-Mexico border, it’s interesting to compare how easy it is to go south, and what an ordeal it can be heading north. As soon as Border Patrol saw two older Mexicans with two young white children, they grew suspicious and decided to search the entire vehicle. The found nothing, but the search did not end there. They demanded paperwork be shown and for Amelia’s nephew to drive to a certain location to be interrogated. Even though Amelia was indeed the kids’ nanny since they were born, and treated them as if they were her own children, the U.S. police did not care and ultimately decided to deport her.

What’s interesting to note is that the children had a good time at the Mexican wedding. The enjoyed the music, the food, and the people because the environment was upbeat and welcoming. Thrown into a culture they were not familiar with, the children seemed open and optimistic. They soon realized that Amelia’s family was just like their own, only much larger.

I would recommend this movie to all of my friends. It’s refreshing in the sense that it sheds new light on border issues, whether they are physical borders, mental borders or anything in-between. I liked that the film intertwines different stories in different countries because it allows audiences to obtain a greater understanding of different cultures and practices in places across the world.