In recent months, we have seen an increase in Central American migrants coming to the US, including parents and their children and unaccompanied minors. As we all watched the news in horror and heard from our friends on the ground, together we became deeply troubled by the separation of Mexican and Central American migrant families and the incarceration of migrant families and unaccompanied minors. Refugees and asylum seekers need trauma informed emotional support, legal advocacy, and medical care as they navigate the current system and heal from the wounds they experienced in their home country, during their journey to the US, and at the southern US border. They need to be together. The solution is love, not hate. Activate Labs has been invited to bring the Beautiful Resistance Project to Southern Texas.
The Beautiful Resistance is an ongoing nonviolent peace building project in response to the current political and social environment in the United States of America. This movement focuses on intersectionality and creating a lens to encourage the communities and co conspirators we partner with to see what everyone sees, but think what no one else thinks. We use the arts, narrative change, participatory trauma informed workshops and creativity to reframe the resistance into one of growth and peace
We are preparing to meet children, unaccompanied minors, and parents with love and deep compassion and to center our rapid response on their wellbeing. Join us or support our efforts to support migrants from across Latin America by bearing witness to their suffering, advocating to an end of ICE, and uncovering the stories of so many through media, art, and storytelling. As there are reports of plans to detain as many as 47,000 migrants in Southern California, learning about the detention system in South Texas and local actions to support migrants will provide important insights as we organize locally.
At the invitation of local partners, Activate Labs has been asked to bring a Beautiful Resistance to the border and at shelters and detention centers. And thus we invite you to partner with us and join in South Texas between July 5 - July 15, when we will organize arts-based actions, provide trauma-informed workshops for women and mothers, offer direct support for translation, and facilitate partnerships with those who can provide legal aid (lawyers, BIA approved and paralegals). As the situation in South Texas is still unfolding and we are working to respond rapidly to support efforts locally, there may be additional activities centered on supporting the migrants who have been detained.
If you are interested in traveling to South Texas, you should plan to stay a minimum of 3 days, as travel to this relatively rural area will take significant time. We cannot cover travel expenses or logistics, all work will be on a volunteer basis. If you travel to South Texas, it may be the most affordable to fly to/from San Antonio (SAT), and travel from San Antonio to the Valley. Multiple local transit options are available, including bus (e.g., Megabus), ride share, and renting a car. There is limited hotel availability in the area, and some residents have opened up their homes to house volunteers. Once you are invited to join team more details about food and lodging will be made available. Please plan to bring any identifying documents (e.g., driver's license, US passport), as there are checkpoints throughout the region and some of our work will involve crossing the border. Also, an ID may be needed to gain access to some detention centers and other facilities. Some travel in this region may not be safe for individuals without US identifying documents.
Additionally, as this is a rapid response effort, it is not funded and therefore we are grateful for your support, every dollar and social media share helps us continue this work and reach so many more. The funds will go towards transportation, food for local volunteers, and materials for arts-based action. You can make a donation here:
https://www.facebook.com/donate/226646294729476/226659898061449/If you are interested in volunteering in South Texas, please take 5 minutes to complete this brief survey, below.
Please feel free to share the link to this survey with others who may be interested in/available to support these actions in South Texas.
About the Organizer:
Activate Labs is a creative force for peace and justice. Together with communities and movements we collaborate, imagine, and create a world we want to thrive in. A collective of facilitators, artists, designers, peacebuilders, strategists, community organizers and technologists, applying a creative mix of human-centered design, popular education (participatory rural appraisal) and peacebuilding practices in our specialized "Frame Design Process" to communicate, tell powerful stories, innovative ideas while we train leaders and change makers.
Our tools: communications, storytelling, and technology are driven by the human story through participatory practices like: immersive and behavioral change storytelling, graphic facilitation, participatory video, experiential peacebuilding workshops, human centered design etc. to move organizations and communities to action.
