Title:Faculty learn about migrant experiences on border immersion trip

Early last summer, Georgetown faculty members participated in an immersive trip to the U.S./Mexico border—with a focus on the twin cities of Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Mexico— to learn about migrant experiences and perspectives. Participating faculty stretched across disciplines and schools: Intima Alrimawi, School of Nursing associate professor; Lois Wessel, School of Nursing associate professor and family nurse practitioner at the School of Medicine; and Myriam Vuckovic, associate professor in the School of Health.

The group talked to migrants, met ranchers who live at the border, visited the Mexican consulate in Tucson, and hiked in the desert in order to understand what the long journey is like. They also connected with migrants through introductions at Casa Alitas, a Tucson shelter, and the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) in Nogales, the immersion experience’s host organization, a humanitarian Jesuit organization run by Joanna Williams (SFS’13). KBI’s motto, to “humanize, accompany, complicate,” aims to show perspectives of real people and demonstrate that the journeys of migrant people are nuanced and not stereotypical.

Faculty members volunteered at the KBI shelter, and also had the opportunity to view art from local artist Jose Luis Sotero, who leads painting workshops, and art created through the Livelihood Project, where migrant people can create and sell art to generate income while waiting.

“I was extremely impressed,” Vuckovic said. “The atmosphere at Kino is so warm and positive despite the heartbreaking stories that people have experienced.”

The group got to see objects people had brought on the journey, from rosaries and Bibles to photographs and even perfume. “Even though they were going to be in this horrendous situation [of crossing], they wanted makeup, they wanted to look and smell nice,” says Wessel. “That really put a human face on the people traveling through the desert.”

KBI collected personal stories for the book Voices of the Border. After the group spoke to the editor, Alrimawi and Vuckovic both added a chapter from the book into their current course syllabi.

“I’m an immigrant myself, but my journey was not that difficult,” shares Alrimawi. “I had to wait a long time but I did not have to suffer. Hearing [the migrants’] stories, I realized they really suffered and it was insightful hearing how difficult and painful their experiences were.”