Roots and Routes of Migration Travel Seminar

Spring semester Border Studies participants have the unique opportunity of linking communities and geographic spaces together through direct living, working, and travel experiences that accompany rigorous academic study. The 3-4 week travel seminar enhances student understanding and analysis of migration, the global economy, transnational communities, international boundaries, and other key issues.

The Border Studies Program travel seminar is made possible through a partnership with Witness for Peace. Witness for peace places Border Studies participants in the unique position to explore first hand the free-trade development model, the roots of migration, and the impacts of these policies on communities in Chiapas and Oaxaca. During the travel seminar, students hear directly from people and organizations exploring other options (such as fair and alternative trade models) and to serve as an informed advocate for international solidarity.

TRAVEL SEMINAR DESCRIPTION*

The travel seminar begins in mid-February after four intensive weeks of study based in Tucson. The group begins tracing the migrant trail by flying into Guatemala and working their way to Xela and nearby communities. They cross the border into Tapachula, Mexico, a small city about 30 minutes away from the Mexico-Guatemala border, and settling in at the Casa Belen migrant shelter.  After a few days in Tapachula, the group will then travel along the border to the community of San Caralampio.  San Caralampio is a mestizo farming community, and most families (if not all!) in the community have at least one family member who has migrated to the U.S. to look for work.  During homestays in San Caralampio, students learn about the community’s history as an ejido (communally owned land holdings) and hear about how neo-liberal economic policies have impacted their agricultural practices and how such policies are a root cause of migration (and how migration affects sender communities in Mexico). Most families are involved with the local campesino organization OCEZ (Emiliano Zapata Campesino Organization), and have been involved in the struggle for land rights for over 30 years.

The group will then travel to San Cristobal, Chiapas.  The time in San Cristobal will include some down time for rest and rejuvenation, but will also include dynamic meetings with various non-profit organizations and activists.  Meeting topics include the effects of globalization in Chiapas, the history of the Zapatista movement and current resistance, non-violence resistance strategies, solidarious economies, women's issues, changes in corn and coffee production due to neoliberal policies, human rights in Chiapas, and the role of the Catholic church in Chiapas.  The group also has the honor of visiting the Abejas community of Acteal, site of the December 22, 1997 massacre, which killed 45 Tsotsil Abejas, mostly women and children.  They will be able to meet with the Abejas and learn more about their struggle against impunity and their non-violent movement for justice. 

After the stay in Chiapas, the group will take a comfortable bus to Oaxaca City.  The trip to Oaxaca will be a mix of time in the city, short trips to communities outside of the city, and spending two nights in a rural community in the Mixteca region of Oaxaca State.  In Oaxaca the group will be meeting with members of Oaxacan non-profit organizations about the current socio-economic and political state of Oaxaca, including a review and current analysis of the massive social uprising and police repression in 2006, which continues to polarize Oaxaca.  Meeting topics will include migration in Oaxaca, indigenous rights, women’s rights, protecting natural resources, coffee and weaving cooperatives in Oaxaca, the fight against genetically modified organisms, struggles to preserve native seeds, and the effects of NAFTA on the Oaxacan countryside.  During the group’s community stay they will hear about the impacts of NAFTA and migration on rural indigenous Oaxacan communities. 

*Note: Each year the travel seminar will be slightly different. This description is based on the 2009 seminar and plans for the 2010 seminar.

Return to blog

Back to top