Juarez, Mexico & El Paso, Texas Border Immersion

There are so many different stories I could write to summarize about my border immersion trip to El Paso and Juarez, but what sticks out the most is what it was like to go and stand along the fence that marks the border between the United States and Mexico. Here we were, a group of about 15 students from Tacoma, Washington, our individual stories each marked with identities and experiences of privilege, comfort and security. Across the fence were a couple of boys playing, peering over to us with curious eyes. Not much was different about the land on either sides of the fence, but the circumstances of each are completely different. At some point in time, those in power of the society of these people decided to separate these lands, and the side that your ancestors ended up on when the line was drawn has determined the stories of generations into the future.

Being there was one of the most amazing experience I've ever had. Standing there, we could see about 3 border patrol cars, and a helicopter flew over us about 3 times. I was

almost

afraid that I was going to be in trouble for taking pictures. It was amazing how different things were on the other side of the fence. It really hit me how easy it is for us to access their world, but how impossible it is for them to access ours. Country borders are a man-made item. God made the earth, and man separated it. It almost seems as though El Paso and Juarez are just one big city, split in half by a fence that ultimately dictates your life, by no choice of your own.