While I feel most of "Anonymous'" comments (see below) are not really worth replying to due to the fact that their comments show they were not anywhere near the camp or are trying to attack the camp by lying through their teeth, lets get down to reality here.
"I am sure most of you are upper class college students, right???"
"Do us all a favor and stay out of our city."
I am a working class woman from the Imperial Valley. I have been working towards the No Borders Camp since its early days. My family lives on both sides of that murderous wall. I know the Valley and it problems.
We were indeed camped next to the All American Canal. To be accused of some sort of malicious conspiracy of ignorance based on someones slight confusion about a body of water is absurd.
Your statements about the causes of the pollution of the New River are minimally informed with a strong dose of bigotry ("There is a great symbol for you, Mexico dumping its waste into the United States of America!!!"). You neglect to mention the maquiladoras, owned by U.S. corporations that are dumping industrial waste into the river before it crosses the border. And lets not forget that by the time the river flows into the Salton sea, all that industrial agriculture that "supplies most of our great nation with food in the winter months" adds even more toxic runoff into the river. Drop the Hypocrisy!
The Valley can only grow as much produce as it does is by dumping tons of chemical fertilizers and other agro-chemicals onto the fields. The "clean fresh water used to irrigate all of the crops growing in the barren desert" is diverted from the Colorado river and is the Valley's only source of fresh water. Diverting all that water for large scale agriculture in the desert and to feed the water hungry surrounding cities is drying up the Colorado river delta in Mexico. The Imperial Valley is well on it's way to becoming the next huge toxic dustbowl. Just look at the ridiculously high rates of asthma in the valley.
Besides the environmental costs there are huge human costs too.
The Cucapá people, who are indigenous to the area, are being driven closer to extinction since the drying of the delta is killing off the plants and animals that have fed them since long before there was the Idea of the U.S. and Mexico.
So here we are and we have barely begun to address the complex history of the region, its people and current issues. We haven't even gotten to talking about the border in any specific way. These attacks are so shallow and didn't even address any of the actual substance of the reportback from the camp.
All you could say about the camp was either lie or raise an objection to the statements containing the "F" word which are painted on the border fence, an object which enforces an idea that has led to the death of thousands of people.
To me that is a valid expression of anger, frustration, and sadness when confronted by such a horrifying human tragedy.
Who's being ignorant?
While I feel most of "Anonymous'" comments (see below) are not really worth replying to due to the fact that their comments show they were not anywhere near the camp or are trying to attack the camp by lying through their teeth, lets get down to reality here.
"I am sure most of you are upper class college students, right???"
"Do us all a favor and stay out of our city."
I am a working class woman from the Imperial Valley. I have been working towards the No Borders Camp since its early days. My family lives on both sides of that murderous wall. I know the Valley and it problems.
We were indeed camped next to the All American Canal. To be accused of some sort of malicious conspiracy of ignorance based on someones slight confusion about a body of water is absurd.
Your statements about the causes of the pollution of the New River are minimally informed with a strong dose of bigotry ("There is a great symbol for you, Mexico dumping its waste into the United States of America!!!"). You neglect to mention the maquiladoras, owned by U.S. corporations that are dumping industrial waste into the river before it crosses the border. And lets not forget that by the time the river flows into the Salton sea, all that industrial agriculture that "supplies most of our great nation with food in the winter months" adds even more toxic runoff into the river. Drop the Hypocrisy!
The Valley can only grow as much produce as it does is by dumping tons of chemical fertilizers and other agro-chemicals onto the fields. The "clean fresh water used to irrigate all of the crops growing in the barren desert" is diverted from the Colorado river and is the Valley's only source of fresh water. Diverting all that water for large scale agriculture in the desert and to feed the water hungry surrounding cities is drying up the Colorado river delta in Mexico. The Imperial Valley is well on it's way to becoming the next huge toxic dustbowl. Just look at the ridiculously high rates of asthma in the valley.
Besides the environmental costs there are huge human costs too.
The Cucapá people, who are indigenous to the area, are being driven closer to extinction since the drying of the delta is killing off the plants and animals that have fed them since long before there was the Idea of the U.S. and Mexico.
So here we are and we have barely begun to address the complex history of the region, its people and current issues. We haven't even gotten to talking about the border in any specific way. These attacks are so shallow and didn't even address any of the actual substance of the reportback from the camp.
All you could say about the camp was either lie or raise an objection to the statements containing the "F" word which are painted on the border fence, an object which enforces an idea that has led to the death of thousands of people.
To me that is a valid expression of anger, frustration, and sadness when confronted by such a horrifying human tragedy.
So...Who's being ignorant?