Recently, I have had to deal with dead and dying desert crossers that walk about in the middle of the hot day. Do they not have a sun where they come from and don't know it is dangerously hot?
I understand their motivation in ignoring the laws of a neighboring country. They are encouraged to go by their communities and the bigger country seems to only want to keep them out and greedily keep all their fortune for themselves. If I was in their situation, perhaps I would attempt to make the trip too. Maybe in February, rather than in July.
The illegal immigration is encouraged by the consulate, which prints pamphlets on how to safely cross the border. Does crossing an area where your guides charge exorbitant fees and turn you over to bandits to rape and rob you, lie about the distances and leave you to face the elements really seem safe?
Some here in the U.S. attempt to help by placing water stations along known trails and trying to provide food and water to people they come across in the desert. While their goals of saving lives are commendable, I think it doesn't really help that much. The crossers hear about how the trails are full of humanitarian water stations, when in reality they are few and far between and often are filled with boiling hot water when they are found. They also hear how there is almost an underground railroad network of people willing to help them. The truth is somewhat less glamorous.
I think these attempts only cause more people to make the dangerous journey. Without commenting on the drawbacks (or benefits) of a flood of illegal immigrants into our country, I will say that I think a much more humanitarian way of assisting people is to try to make life better for them where they are, rather than encourage increasingly dangerous behavior.
I am still not sure exactly how that is to be done. But, here is a very cool organization that helps people improve life for themselves and their communities in their home country:
KIVA provides loans, through private individuals, to micro businesses in the developing world. The cool part is, you can be a lender. For as little as $25, you can help a farm in Cambodia, a beauty salon in Uganda, an Auto repair shop in Lebanon and so on. Anyways, go check out their site to see why they do what they do. You might agree with me and think it is a really cool idea.
Lessons Learned
10 months ago
2 comments:
I have always wondered what you view of boarder crossing was but never got around to asking. Very insightful, although I believe if people are in our country hurting we need to help them in whatever way we can...even if it's not very effective.
I love the Kiva idea, I signed up for Kiva about a year ago...amazing program.
dc,
I agree with your sentiments about helping people whether they are here legally or not. I just see the efforts that have been made by "humanitarian" groups as wildly ineffective and promoting more problems than they really help solve. Our unit has met with some of these groups and I think their intentions are great, but they are not, in my opinion, all that helpful to the big picture or to what they are trying to accomplish.
Surprisingly enough, to some, the Border Patrol invests a great deal of time, energy and resources into helping save illegal immigrants in critical situations. Their Borstar unit is a medical unit that is designed to provide medical relief to, primarily, illegals, and they are very good at finding and aiding those in distress.
It is, of course, a bigger issue than just a few words can describe.
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