Art Post - Cecilia

Tijuana. A tourist trap with zebra painted donkeys. A haven for migrants making their journey to the land of opportunity. Or the first stop back after being detained at the border. I went to live with the migrant workers at a shelter for men. During those four days, I saw what I’d only heard about or seen on the television.

I met women who worked at foreign run factories who made $6 a day, who lived in shanty communities where the only thing that ran was toxic waste into their river which flowed by their front door. There was no other running water. There were also ran thousands of orange extension cords starting from the power poles ending in the houses made of warehouse pallets, garage doors, and other scraps of whatever may be available.

I ate with the migrants and heard their stories about their lives, families, and children.