Indigenous Peoples and Human Rights

June 4, 2011

Migrant Trail arrives Sunday, June 5, 2011


Photo Brenda Norrell Censored News
The Migrant Trail: We Walk for Life

A 75 mile walk from Sásabe, Sonora, Mexico to Tucson, Arizona
Photo Migrant Trail by Brenda Norrell

The precarious reality of our borderlands calls us to walk. We are a spiritually diverse, multi-cultural group who walk together on a journey of peace to remember people, friends and family who have died, others who have crossed, and people who continue to come. We bear witness to the tragedy of death and of the inhumanity in our midst. Lastly, we walk as a community, in defiance of the borders that attempt to divide us, committed to working together for the human dignity of all peoples.

Contact: Marisol Flores-Aguirre: 520.282.2474
Press Conference: Migrant Trail Walk Arrives in Tucson
More than 60 Local, National and International Participants Complete the Final Day of a 75-mile Journey Through the Sonoran Desert
Sunday, June 5, 2011
11:30am
Kennedy Park, Ramada #3
Tucson, Arizona

Tucson- The eighth annual Migrant Trail, a 75- mile walk from Sásabe, Sonora will arrive in Tucson, Arizona on Sunday, June 5th. The event will culminate in a press conference, followed by a community gathering at Kennedy Park.
Sixty participants who have made the seven-day trek have traveled from México, Canada and more than ten states throughout the United States; they represent diverse international communities that include Peru, Germany and Brazil.
For the eighth year, a diverse international group of friends and allies has gathered to walk the Migrant Trail though the Altar Valley in the Sonora Desert, along the most heavily traveled migration route where the vast majority of human remains are recovered. Sponsored by a coalition of local and national organizations, the Walk bears witness to the thousands of women, men and children who have lost their lives in an attempt to provide a better future for themselves and their families.
Arizona continues to draw national and international attention for its anti-immigrant and xenophobic policies like SB 1070 (the "Papers, Please" law), attacks on Ethnic Studies, and the terrorization of local communities by local police collaboration with immigration enforcement officials.
The ongoing human rights crisis of deaths along the border is only another piece of the larger strategy to funnel vulnerable migrants into Arizona's deadly desert. Participants of the Migrant Trail walk not only bear witness to the tragedy of death, but the intentional dehumanization and militarization of border communities.
Organizers and participants call for an end to the brutal and irresponsible policies that cause the deaths of thousands of workers in our borderlands. We call for U.S. immigration, labor and trade policies that reunite families, and recognize the human dignity and the vital contributions of our immigrant brothers and sisters. This is the human rights challenge that continues to face our communities.
The Migrant Trail Walk will begin the final 6.7 miles of their journey at 7:45am at the BLM campsite on Ajo Way and San Joaquin Road. Participants will be welcomed home at Ramada #3 at Kennedy Park with speakers, music, food, and testimonies from participants and supporters. This event is free and open to the public.
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The Migrant Trail
c/o Arizona Border Rights Foundation
P.O. Box 1286 Tucson, AZ 85702
Tel: 520.770.1373
migrant_trail@yahoo.com
http://www.derechoshumanosaz.net/

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