Local Woman Studies Migrant Issues on newstalkradiowhio.com

Local Woman Studies Migrant Issues

05/27/2008 05:41:58

New Carlisle, Ohio -- Maria Messer traveled to Texas and Arizona to study how governments there are handling migrant issues, hoping to bring some of those ideas home to Clark County.

But she came back with images of people trekking for days across a desert with inadequate supplies, human smugglers and trees lined with the undergarments of rape victims.

In the next few months, Messer, program director at Casa Amiga, is hoping to create a documentary and a photography exhibit to help bring those images home. She said she wants to let residents see the story about the journey many illegal migrant workers take to get to the United Sates, and eventually places like Clark County.

"You get to learn a lot of the psyche about how this is really affecting people and how difficult it is," Messer said.

The project, called "A Journey of Hope," will ideally show perspectives from all sides of the issue, from the migrants themselves to border patrol employees in the U.S., she said.

On a recent trip, Messer talked to immigrants from several Latin American countries, along with Mexicans who were planning to cross the border. Some pay their life savings to try to make a dangerous trip they are often not prepared for. The branches of some trees along the border held underwear of female victims who human smugglers had raped along the journey, Messer said. The underwear were used as a sort of trophy, she said.

The topic of immigration is becoming more important as the Hispanic population in the United States continues to increase. According to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, about 1.6 percent of Clark County's population — or 2,200 residents — were of Hispanic origin.

But Messer said the actual number is probably about four times higher because of language barriers and undocumented residents. Eventually, the film would be used to increase dialogue about the topic, and help develop programs that can best provide for the county's migrant population.

Casa Amiga is paying for much of the documentary from its own pocket, but Messer is still receiving help.

Along with Cathy Johnson, a professor at Wright State University, Springfield Police provided a video camera for filming and Sean Coffman of Coffman Independent Film Production in Miamisburg is helping film and edit the movie.

Coffman said he was also stunned at what he saw when he tagged along for the last trip.

"It was like being in a different world," he said. "It puts things in perspective."

(Article courtesy of www.springfieldnewssun.com)