March against the border wall!

Tomorrow we begin the March for Peace and Unity against the wall. We will walk for four days, from August 28 to 31, starting in Fort Hancock towards El Paso, Texas, to end in Sunland Park, New Mexico. We will pass thru many communities such as Tornillo, Fabens, San Elizario, Socorro and Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, attempting to raise the consciousness of the border people in order to create a movement to stop the building of the wall.

The wall in progress in Sunland Park, New Mexico...
As everybody already knows, a few days ago, the mining and construction company Kiweit, out of Omaha, Nebraska, began construction on the first twelve miles of projected 57.9 mile wall which will extend along the border dividing El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. The estimated cost of the 18 ft. high wall is 4 million dollars per each mile. In a poor and neglected region, where many kids can not get an education and many residents live in colonias without the most basic services, this waste of money is the worst insult and shows the hypocrisy of our government.

The people of the border share and are united by a history, a language, a culture. While this land may be separated by an international boundary, the people cannot be divided. As construction begins on the proposed border wall, it stands to not only further divide the land but to divide the people. As the border wall cuts the land, it cuts the communities of the border and tries to create differences among them. This wall, imposed upon us by those who do not live here, is said to be a form of “security” but there can be no security when division and hate are created.

We of the border are one community. We are all affected when our neighbors are displaced from their homes, are all affected by waves of violence, by unemployment and immigration. As the borderlands experience a difficult time, we cannot be passive and simply hope for change. We cannot allow our community to be parted and so it is for ourselves and our future that we must stand together in an act of solidarity.

The wall in Nogales dividing a border community...
Many persons have spoken against the wall. Politicians of all kinds have criticized the wall. Property owners, farmers, environmentalists and conservationists have filed lawsuits against the federal government. But everything has been unsuccessful.

Now is the time of the border people to raise their voice and mobilize to stop the construction of the wall. As the borderlands experience a difficult time, we cannot be passive and simply hope for change. We cannot allow our community to be divided and so it is for our well-being that we must stand together in an act of solidarity.

It's not the time to lamentation and moaning. Now is the time to act.

We are marching from Fort Hancock to El Paso from Thursday August 28 and will end the march with a binational action of protest at the border of Sunland Park, New Mexico and Anapra, Chihuahua. The march includes several stops to hold community and cultural activities.

We call upon everybody to join this struggle against the wall!

The terrible Berlin wall. Somebody wrote "Sometime every wall will fall"...