Thread by @brooklynmarie

I'm going through old photos to free up some space and just found one from April 2016, when my friend Daniel Torres - once a deported veteran - was sworn in as a U.S. citizen. I got to sit in. I felt very unexpectedly patriotic that day. 🇺🇸 sandiegouniontribune.com/news/border-ba…

November 2014 protest in Tijuana for the Ayotzinapa students. La lucha sigue ✊

End result. That's the former president's head on Cuauhtemoc's sword and what the protesters were doing in the previous photo

There's a Netflix series about the forced disappearance of the #Ayotzinapa 43. I have not been able to watch it yet and I'm not sure if I will ever be able to. The whole thing was and is so devastating. netflix.com/title/81045551

This was December 2016, when some of the families of the Ayotzinapa students came through the border in one of the many caravanas that I covered, one of which was the subject of such disinformation, outside agitation, and fearmongering in November 2018.

I took this during an art installation on the Tijuana side of the border wall in either 2015 or 2016 called "Borrando La Frontera," or "Erasing the Border," by Ana Teresa Fernandez. One of the painters was waving to someone in the United States.

americansforthearts.org/by-program/net…

The point of this installation was to make it appear from a distance as though there was no wall, or as if it was fading.

I can always tell when I discover some new technique lol

Sorry, switching abruptly because I came across another set of photos. I don't think I ever published it anywhere. It was from a #BlackLivesMatter protest in El Cajon, Calif. after police killed Alfred Olango. It was almost exactly three years ago today

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_…

By the way I am only posting photos of people I took in public spaces doing public things who were expressly okay with me taking photos of them or who are supposed to be working in the public's interest, such as police and politicians

Oh except for the swearing-in ceremony, which wasn't public, but which has already been published as a news photo elsewhere

There used to be this event called "Abriendo la Puerta de la Esperanza," or "Opening the Door of Hope." The border wall has doors spaced throughout its length, and occasionally border agents would open it so that preapproved people could hug their family members.

I never could figure out whether or not I thought it was a good thing. CBP at that time was trying to soften its image, and border communities were trying to get the border demilitarized. The family members had to apply and be approved and sign waivers etc. and were watched

They got three minutes to hug people they had not been able to speak to or really touch besides fingerstips through the wire, often for years. Sometimes families traveled thousands of miles to get to the Parque de la Amistad/Friendship Park so they could see and hug loved ones.

They got three minutes, and then I don't think you could ever apply to do it again. There was never a time it was not awful and devastating to see them have to separate. The kids were the worst, because they were too young to understand what was going on; they would cry and cry.

The first time I was steely-eyed and determined not to cry in front of anyone. The second time I teared up and was embarrassed that I had dropped my objectivity. Every time I covered it after that I cried and cried. I didn't give a shit. Even the border agents cried.

(I'd love to track them down now and ask what they're up to lately.)

Anyway, I couldn't ever decide if I thought it was beautiful or cruel. They no longer are allowed, though, anyway.

The U.S. side of the border is pretty sterile a lot of the time. You can see there is already a barrier there, more than one

By contrast, I think of the Mexico side of the border wall as alive - it's full of art and activity, and it's vibrant and always changing. Here's a photo of the "Borrando la Frontera" installation again with a wider angle lens.

That beach, by the way, is beautiful. It is always so disconcerting to see the wall jutting out of it, and the panopticon of floodlights and towers behind it on the U.S. side and then look south and see this. This is Playas, Tijuana, Mexico.

lol I haven't gotten rid of a single photo

And I've only gotten through 2016 hahaha I give up

Oh, no, wait, I have one more. I was wrong about that previous caravana. That was a different one. This one was more general: people looking for desaparedicos, loved ones who had been disappeared. These brave women toured all over trying to raise awareness and thus international

pressure so that they would have a better change of finding out what had happened to their loved ones, usually humanitarian advocates and activists, or to seek justice for the ones who they had found. The ones who were still alive often had terrible stories of torture.

They did this despite facing death threats and a lot of indifference. At least one of the women involved with the caravanas has since been murdered. On Mother's Day

theguardian.com/world/2017/may…

I was looking for stories and see another woman associated with Caravana Internacional de Búsqueda de Desaparecidos en Aquila was recently murdered.
QDEP, Zenaida Pulido. eluniversal.com.mx/english/human-…

Okay that's really sad so I want to put up something a little less of a bummer before I actually tear myself off the laptop and do something wholesome. I love the desert, and catching it in bloom is a rare treat. Desert verbena, dune evening primrose, and a small sandstorm.

desaparecidos*

My god, I didn’t even conscious realize until right now that it was 9/26. It’s the fifth anniversary of the #Ayotzinapa forced disappearances and there are still few answers. #Ayotzinapa5anos #AyotzinapaVive #AyotzinapaSomosTodos ✊🏻

consciously argh logging off