US/MEXICO: FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT (english)
www-features 7:36pm Wed Dec 18 '02 (Modified on 9:37pm Wed Dec 18 '02)
www-features at lists.indymedia.org article#223863
Migrants, Border Militarization, and Vigilantes
source: http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=223863&group=webcast
Racism is on the rise in Arizona as right-wing militants take the law in their own hands on the borderlands. Militias have formed in Tombstone and other parts of Cochise County, lurking in the vicinity of water stations placed in the desert by humanitarian groups in order to round up migrants at gunpoint. Last May, border vigilante groups issued a call across the US for others to join their efforts, resulting in a meeting in Sierra Vista attended by ranchers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. There has been a considerable recent escalation of violence against migrants in Arizona.
In May of 2000, two Arizona ranchers on horseback armed with high power hunting rifles shot and critically wounded a migrant attempting to cross the border near Sasabe, Arizona. West of Phoenix, eight migrants have been found shot execution-style since March of this year. On October 18th 2002, two migrants were murdered in Red Rock, Arizona (northeast of Tucson in Pinal County) by gunmen dressed in army fatigues. On November 1, 2002, a group of migrants were fired upon by masked men in the desert about twenty miles southwest of Tucson.
The US federal government seems to be ignoring these developments, and does not exactly set a good example; on Monday, November 25th, the Border Patrol shot a migrant in the buttocks as he climbed back over the border fence, fleeing the US. There is also a possibility of funding from the newly established Homeland Security Department to increase border militarization. Likewise, the 'war on terrorism' has provided a guise for anti-immigration organizations to attack the human rights of undocumented residents in the US, and civil rights for all persons.
Citizens concerned about such violence in their communities have responded in various ways. On November 20, the Douglas city council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning calls for armed militias and vigilantism, concerned that such activity may eventually target US citizens. The Tucson human rights group Derechos Humanos has issued a call for solidarity to bring national attention to this crisis. Moreover, radicals in the border region have called for action against this kind of fascism. Discussion has also focused upon a possible degeneration of Arizona rural society into 'Old West' patterns.
These issues have been discussed at numerous meetings in Arizona lately. On December 13, a community forum recognizing both International Human Rights Day (December 10) and the International Day of the Migrant (December 18) was held in Cochise County. Likewise, a conference entitled 'Resistance on the Border: Globalization, Militarization, Immigration' was held in Tuscon on December 6-7. Another forum was [ audio ] organized by "Citizens for Border Solutions" was held in Bisbee on November 23. The University of Arizona has also held a Border Symposium. All have looked at ways of building community solidarity for the human rights and freedom of movement.
Meanwhile, people continue to flood across the border in search of a better life. 164 migrants were documented to have died crossing the US border into Arizona during the last fiscal year ending September 2002. The new US envoy to Mexico is touting earned legalization for Mexican migrants while the Mexican government holds out for a new immigration pact.
Immigrants continue to struggle for rights [ audio ] as workers in the United States. Mexican farmers suffering under NAFTA have threatened to blockade border crossings in early December if the US maintains its double standard of internal subsidies and external tariffs. On December 10, Mexican farmers and teachers occupied Mexico's lower congressional house in protest of NAFTA's effects on agriculture and education funding.
The plight of Mexican workers and undocumented workers in the United States is connected to the lack of jobs within the US under NAFTA, and promises to worsen under the FTAA. Through all of this, many question walls and fences as the solution to border crossing and the hate it triggers.
www-features 7:36pm Wed Dec 18 '02 (Modified on 9:37pm Wed Dec 18 '02)
www-features at lists.indymedia.org article#223863
Migrants, Border Militarization, and Vigilantes
source: http://www.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=223863&group=webcast
Racism is on the rise in Arizona as right-wing militants take the law in their own hands on the borderlands. Militias have formed in Tombstone and other parts of Cochise County, lurking in the vicinity of water stations placed in the desert by humanitarian groups in order to round up migrants at gunpoint. Last May, border vigilante groups issued a call across the US for others to join their efforts, resulting in a meeting in Sierra Vista attended by ranchers and members of the Ku Klux Klan. There has been a considerable recent escalation of violence against migrants in Arizona.
In May of 2000, two Arizona ranchers on horseback armed with high power hunting rifles shot and critically wounded a migrant attempting to cross the border near Sasabe, Arizona. West of Phoenix, eight migrants have been found shot execution-style since March of this year. On October 18th 2002, two migrants were murdered in Red Rock, Arizona (northeast of Tucson in Pinal County) by gunmen dressed in army fatigues. On November 1, 2002, a group of migrants were fired upon by masked men in the desert about twenty miles southwest of Tucson.
The US federal government seems to be ignoring these developments, and does not exactly set a good example; on Monday, November 25th, the Border Patrol shot a migrant in the buttocks as he climbed back over the border fence, fleeing the US. There is also a possibility of funding from the newly established Homeland Security Department to increase border militarization. Likewise, the 'war on terrorism' has provided a guise for anti-immigration organizations to attack the human rights of undocumented residents in the US, and civil rights for all persons.
Citizens concerned about such violence in their communities have responded in various ways. On November 20, the Douglas city council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning calls for armed militias and vigilantism, concerned that such activity may eventually target US citizens. The Tucson human rights group Derechos Humanos has issued a call for solidarity to bring national attention to this crisis. Moreover, radicals in the border region have called for action against this kind of fascism. Discussion has also focused upon a possible degeneration of Arizona rural society into 'Old West' patterns.
These issues have been discussed at numerous meetings in Arizona lately. On December 13, a community forum recognizing both International Human Rights Day (December 10) and the International Day of the Migrant (December 18) was held in Cochise County. Likewise, a conference entitled 'Resistance on the Border: Globalization, Militarization, Immigration' was held in Tuscon on December 6-7. Another forum was [ audio ] organized by "Citizens for Border Solutions" was held in Bisbee on November 23. The University of Arizona has also held a Border Symposium. All have looked at ways of building community solidarity for the human rights and freedom of movement.
Meanwhile, people continue to flood across the border in search of a better life. 164 migrants were documented to have died crossing the US border into Arizona during the last fiscal year ending September 2002. The new US envoy to Mexico is touting earned legalization for Mexican migrants while the Mexican government holds out for a new immigration pact.
Immigrants continue to struggle for rights [ audio ] as workers in the United States. Mexican farmers suffering under NAFTA have threatened to blockade border crossings in early December if the US maintains its double standard of internal subsidies and external tariffs. On December 10, Mexican farmers and teachers occupied Mexico's lower congressional house in protest of NAFTA's effects on agriculture and education funding.
The plight of Mexican workers and undocumented workers in the United States is connected to the lack of jobs within the US under NAFTA, and promises to worsen under the FTAA. Through all of this, many question walls and fences as the solution to border crossing and the hate it triggers.
