I recently attending a screening of the documentary titled The 800 Mile Wall by Jack Lorenz and I felt very moved and horrified by its message. In the documentary, one can witness the horrific ways in which immigrants trying to get in the U.S. die during their attempts. Many deaths go unaccounted for, but it is estimated that at least 500 people die annually trying to cross.
Many die as they attempt to cross the deadly desert, due to heat exhaustion and dehydration. Others die as they attempt to cross the canal which is being restructured to make it impossible to get out of once anyone falls in. In a border town in Mexico, a mother narrates the story of her two daughters who drowned in the All-American canal. The youngest one fell in as she tried to help her sister. The mother's pain, psychological and emotional damage is evident as she states that if she didn't have other children to care for, she would be dead, as she is already dead inside.
A key question one of the people in the film ask is how responsible are we for these deaths when we know about this situation and fail to do anything about it. What do you think?
This is really enlightening! I had no idea about any of this. You raise a good question at the end, too. I will certainly be thinking of what kind of responsibility I have in the genocide of people trying to cross into the U.S.
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