Puppets of Violence

After re-reading Primo Levi's description of surviving the holocaust, some startling comparisons came to mind. Levi described a "gray zone" between perpetrator of atrocities and victim. His experience in the Nazi concentration camp showed him that it the lines are blurred and that there are no innocent bystanders or victims. His striking portrayal of life in the "Lager"and how the Nazis would select people from the prison to control the other inmates, reminded me of the relationship between Mexican American Border Patrol agents and the migrants they apprehend. Migrants almost always vocalize the notion that the dangerous agents, the ones you have to watch out for, are those with Mexican heritage. They are more violent, more abusive and are less likely to help those in need of water or medical attention. While I do not profess to be able to explain why this is, it draws a startling comparison to Nazi totalitarian techniques. The Nazis would select people from the concentration camp populations to do the dirty work. The Special Servicemen that were in charge of gassing people, of cleaning out the bodies and pulling gold teeth from the skulls of the deceased were also selected from within the concentration camps. For Levi, this was possible because of the desperation, the need to do anything to survive and get enough food. Its purpose was also to rationalize abuse. The ability for the guards to turn the inmates on one another and make them commit atrocities helped to support the theory of a master and an inferior race. The U.S. has actively recruited Mexican Americans into the Border Patrol for decades in much the same fashion. Once a legal distinction is met, citizenship in this case, agents are required to preform tasks to show that they are different from their "non-legal" counterparts. They must prove loyalty, and the overzealous nature of their actions shows what a psychologically powerful tool this is.

Unfortunately this comparison is not relegated to the United States Border Patrol. Within the groups of migrants, the desperation, the need that precipitates a crossing attempt can lead to criminal activity and abuse of fellow migrants. Levi's description of the brutality of inmates to new arrivals is all to familiar to the types of abuses leveraged against indigenous, inexperienced border crossers by former migrants that have stayed in the border and began working as coyotes, guides, burreros - trafficking drugs to the U.S., bajadores- bandits that rob migrants or even sicarios - the assassins that work for the cartels. The people engaged in these activities are (almost) always former or would be migrants that decided to stay in the border region. What drives a person to take advantage of his brother? "How do you make someone into Cain?" as Levi states.

There are structures of power at work that spread far beyond those in close contact with immigration. The gray zone is vast. It extends to everyone that buys cheap labor and benefits from cheap construction. It also extends back to a Mexico that would rather see the flood of remittances than oppose the U.S. and work toward immigration reform. Do you ever wonder why punishments for undocumented workers keep coming but rarely do we see laws punishing those that make a profit from the practice of hiring undocumented workers that do not demand the same pay and treatment as citizens? The gray zone extends to everyone, regardless of desire or knowledge of the situation that has been created here at the border and leaks into both countries. I want to end with a question raised by the title of the mural that I included at the start of this entry; Are we just puppets of violence when all is said and done?