Trail of Dreams

So this post is a contrast of some of the most awesome and least awesome people ever!

First the most awesome:
Four students set out on the "Trail of Dreams" on January 1 of this year. Their goal was to raise awareness of the difficulties that undocumented young people face in the U.S. by walking 1,500 miles from Miami to Washington D.C. All four of the students were brought to the U.S. as children, and so had no choice in the legality of their immigration. Now, only one of the four 'walkers' as they call themselves has been able to get citizenship.

It's hard to imagine how different my life would be if I were an undocumented young person in this country. I wouldn't be able to get financial aid to go to college, I would have a much, much harder time finding a job, I would live in fear of my family and myself being deported despite the fact that I'd grown up in the U.S. These are the experiences that the walkers on the Trail of Dreams describe: http://trail2010.org/

These four people and the many other people for whom them march are victims of a broken system. Felipe, Gaby, Carlos and Juan did not have a choice in where their families moved or how or when.They would like to participate fully in the society in which they were raised, but they are not allowed to.

As frustrating as that is, I think I think the Trail of Dreams is so inspiring and I have so much respect for the walkers. The fact that a march is still a valid way to get the world's attention is reassuring. After all, you don't need anything but your own two feet to march in protest, and no one can ever take that away from you. Sure, authorities lock people up to stop marches, like they did during the Freedom Rides, but to be arrested for marching means you have drawn public attention; you have forced the world to see you; you have succeeded.

And the least awesome:
In a backwards way, I guess what happened in Georgia at the end of February is a measure of the Trail of Dreams' success in raising attention. The KKK scheduled a rally against the "latino invasion" to coincide with the walkers stop in Nahunta, GA.

There are no words for this video. It's so weird to think there are people in this country who actually believe this. In a way, I think it's a good reminder.

botswana

Right now, I should be writing my final paper for anthropology on the Ju/'hoansi people of the Dobe region in Botswana, but I've been working all day and I really don't feel like doing any more of it. So instead, I will blog about Botswana!

So it turns out there isn't much current information about human rights in Botswana. I'm not sure if this is because there haven't been any major issues lately, or because the press isn't able to cover the issues, but I have failed.

It's already illegal to be homosexual in Uganda (as it is in many sub-saharan African countries) and a current bill would make homosexuality punishable by death if one of the 'offenders' has previous convictions, is HIV positive, or is under 18. The bill would also make advocating for LGBT rights illegal, and raise the penalty for engaging in homosexual acts to life in prison.

I don't have anything new to add to the same-sex marriage debate other than my disbelief. Aren't there enough real problems in the world that need brain power and money? How can so many people think that restricting the rights of something as harmless as marriage is worth any amount of effort?
(and I know I'm about 2 months behind the media storm on this issue, but I didn't have a blog 2 months ago, and it's still important)

Yesterday a friend of mine died in a ski accident. He wasn't one of my best friends, and his death won't change my daily life, but I will always remember the times that our lives did intersect. He was 19 and a freshman in college - that time in life when you're supposed to realize that the whole world is out there presenting you with opportunities and adventures. And he did realize that, I think, and lived a great life. But he only got to live 19 short years. I don't know how many years I will get to live, none of us do, but right now we're alive. Right now we can love and we can listen and we can laugh and we can smile and we can appreciate and we can play and we can learn and we can hug and we can share and we can LIVE. And we should never lose sight of the fact that we are lucky just to be alive and free.