1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:02,880 Speaker 1: Cause media. 2 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 2: Hey everyone, it's James. I am just recording an introduction 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,000 Speaker 2: for today's episode, which we recorded on Sunday night. I'm 4 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,400 Speaker 2: recording this on Monday night and you will hear this 5 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,599 Speaker 2: on Tuesday morning. That's Tuesday, the twenty eighth of November. 6 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:21,280 Speaker 2: I just wanted to include another ask for donations right 7 00:00:21,360 --> 00:00:25,640 Speaker 2: up front here, because we are tired, broke and sad. 8 00:00:26,360 --> 00:00:28,440 Speaker 2: I spent last night sleeping out by the migrant camp 9 00:00:28,600 --> 00:00:34,040 Speaker 2: in Nocumber, one of the camps. It was extremely cold 10 00:00:34,080 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 2: like and I had a good sleeping bag, right it 11 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:38,960 Speaker 2: must have been much much worse for people have blankets. 12 00:00:39,280 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 2: I had a young woman completely breaking down and crying 13 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,839 Speaker 2: this morning, understandably because it's terrible and people have been 14 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,839 Speaker 2: there for five six days now. We ran out of 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,760 Speaker 2: food all our distribution sites today. We just desperately need 16 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:58,200 Speaker 2: more help and we need a much larger scale operation, 17 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:01,080 Speaker 2: but we can't find that. So if you're able to help, 18 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:03,240 Speaker 2: please please do. I know it's a difficult time of year. 19 00:01:03,920 --> 00:01:05,920 Speaker 2: I'm not asking you to give money that I wouldn't give. 20 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:10,479 Speaker 2: I'm thousand plus dollars deep in this. I'm not asking 21 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,479 Speaker 2: you to do things that I wouldn't do spending half 22 00:01:13,520 --> 00:01:17,920 Speaker 2: my week out there. Like I'm not just preaching something 23 00:01:18,120 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 2: that I am not part of. Is something I'm very 24 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 2: much part of. Some think it's very important to me 25 00:01:21,640 --> 00:01:23,679 Speaker 2: and it would mean a lot to me if people 26 00:01:23,720 --> 00:01:27,200 Speaker 2: could help however they can, either materially or with their time. 27 00:01:27,880 --> 00:01:33,880 Speaker 2: Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy the episode. 28 00:01:35,680 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: Hi. 29 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:39,360 Speaker 2: Hello, it's me James, the guy who does podcasts who 30 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,400 Speaker 2: talks to you when you're driving to work, and today 31 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:45,039 Speaker 2: on this podcast it Could Happen Here, which is about 32 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,040 Speaker 2: the world falling apart and people who are putting it 33 00:01:47,120 --> 00:01:49,960 Speaker 2: back together. I am joined by two friends of mine. 34 00:01:50,040 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 2: We are in the desert in a Cumber at the 35 00:01:52,400 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 2: Cumba Hot Springs Hotel, which is open now thankfully. We've 36 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,560 Speaker 2: just spent most of today and the last two months 37 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:04,240 Speaker 2: doing mutual aid project out here. So if you guys 38 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:06,840 Speaker 2: like to introduce yourselves in any way you think is relevant, 39 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:08,080 Speaker 2: that would be great to start off with, and then 40 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 2: we can talk about what's been going on here. 41 00:02:10,400 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 3: I am have aal I use the them pronouns. I 42 00:02:14,280 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 3: live in San Diego but now currently living in Harcumber 43 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:24,120 Speaker 3: helping out with the migrant crisis at the border. 44 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:30,960 Speaker 4: Hi, I'm alo like alo Vera, I use she her pronouns, 45 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:35,079 Speaker 4: And I've been doing mutual aid for a couple of 46 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:40,600 Speaker 4: years now and recently have come into the scene of 47 00:02:40,639 --> 00:02:42,680 Speaker 4: helping with the refugee crisis at the border. 48 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,600 Speaker 2: Massive thank you, Okay. So I think to start off with, 49 00:02:47,600 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 2: can one of you or both of you describe just 50 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,679 Speaker 2: what we've seen today. I think it's very hard for 51 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 2: people to get a grasp of how the scale of 52 00:02:56,200 --> 00:02:59,359 Speaker 2: what's happening and how bad it is here. 53 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:00,200 Speaker 1: Yeah. 54 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:04,920 Speaker 3: So today we are in the wake of a holiday 55 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:10,600 Speaker 3: where c BP takes off, well most of them are 56 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:14,359 Speaker 3: taking off for the holiday, and probably what is it 57 00:03:14,480 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 3: iss action as well, who picks up the migrants. So 58 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,920 Speaker 3: there's a huge backlog of people not getting picked up, 59 00:03:21,000 --> 00:03:24,920 Speaker 3: stuck in these open air detention sites. And this is 60 00:03:25,000 --> 00:03:26,760 Speaker 3: some of the highest numbers that we've seen in a 61 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:29,160 Speaker 3: long time since like the beginning of this what happened 62 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 3: in September, right, Yeah, and it's insane, like the amount 63 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:36,800 Speaker 3: of people that we were running out of food. Basically 64 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,680 Speaker 3: we barely made it by on peanut butter and jelly sandwich, 65 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:41,200 Speaker 3: the world famous peanut butter. 66 00:03:43,320 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 2: Because we feed them they just want the sandwich. 67 00:03:47,400 --> 00:03:48,200 Speaker 1: And it was wild. 68 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 3: It was It's it's like the desperation is getting worse 69 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:55,640 Speaker 3: because as it gets colder, you know, people are suffering more. 70 00:03:55,840 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 3: They're you know, shivering more, so it's using more energy. 71 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:01,520 Speaker 3: They're more hungry when we show up there tailing our 72 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,760 Speaker 3: van as we pull up, which doesn't didn't always happen, 73 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:07,680 Speaker 3: And yeah, the desperation is real. 74 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: We saw what like three sixty I. 75 00:04:12,080 --> 00:04:15,280 Speaker 3: Think at one camp Willows and then at another camp 76 00:04:15,320 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 3: it was one fifty at another camp totally what seven 77 00:04:20,880 --> 00:04:21,560 Speaker 3: math is hard? 78 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:24,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, and it varies throughout the day, right, Like 79 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,479 Speaker 2: I'm surprised. We should explain, maybe Ali can do this. 80 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:31,200 Speaker 2: What is it open at detention site? 81 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:31,360 Speaker 5: Right? 82 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 2: Oads is yacarnoon we use What does that look like? 83 00:04:34,720 --> 00:04:37,600 Speaker 4: So an opener detention center from what I've seen, is 84 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:42,440 Speaker 4: literally just people left out in the desert with nothing. 85 00:04:43,000 --> 00:04:46,720 Speaker 4: The shelter that they have has either been built themselves 86 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:50,680 Speaker 4: by the shrubs and you know, the manzanita bushes that 87 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:53,560 Speaker 4: they find around there that they also burn, which creates 88 00:04:53,760 --> 00:04:57,640 Speaker 4: awful smoke, as well as what we provide them in 89 00:04:57,720 --> 00:05:01,479 Speaker 4: terms of tarps, blankets, tents. What I've seen in the 90 00:05:01,520 --> 00:05:07,240 Speaker 4: open air detention centers is essentially when Border Patrol has 91 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 4: the start of a quarter, they have the money to 92 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 4: really get people out of there. You have a lot 93 00:05:12,480 --> 00:05:17,200 Speaker 4: of people just processed very quickly. It doesn't pile up. 94 00:05:17,600 --> 00:05:19,880 Speaker 4: And then because of that, all the infrastructure that we 95 00:05:19,960 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 4: put into these places, and all of the infrastructure that 96 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:26,720 Speaker 4: these refugees build themselves, right this is not provided by 97 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,039 Speaker 4: Border Patrol, gets basically ruined. And so you have soiled 98 00:05:31,080 --> 00:05:34,240 Speaker 4: blankets that have become the tops of tents because that's 99 00:05:34,279 --> 00:05:34,920 Speaker 4: their only use. 100 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: At this point. 101 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:39,680 Speaker 4: You have not enough shelters, so people are sleeping just 102 00:05:39,800 --> 00:05:42,320 Speaker 4: among the rocks and trees because it's the best they can. 103 00:05:43,839 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 4: And I think one of the most notable points of 104 00:05:47,920 --> 00:05:52,839 Speaker 4: these open air detention centers is legally speaking, Border Patrol 105 00:05:52,839 --> 00:05:56,039 Speaker 4: gets around this by not really calling them detention centers, 106 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,000 Speaker 4: saying that they're not detained and that technically they're free. 107 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:01,920 Speaker 4: But the reality is there's nowhere for them to go 108 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:07,719 Speaker 4: without getting you know, arrested or deported. But because of 109 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:10,400 Speaker 4: this loophole, Border Patrol has no obligation to feed them, 110 00:06:10,440 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 4: and so when they do feed them at the start 111 00:06:12,480 --> 00:06:14,360 Speaker 4: of the quarter when they have the budget at which 112 00:06:14,400 --> 00:06:19,000 Speaker 4: they blow. It's oranges, it's crackers. It's not enough to 113 00:06:19,120 --> 00:06:22,480 Speaker 4: live off of when you're stuck there for five days. 114 00:06:23,480 --> 00:06:27,080 Speaker 4: I spoke to a Kurdish migrant today who had been 115 00:06:27,120 --> 00:06:30,560 Speaker 4: there for five days. And you know, we've heard of 116 00:06:30,640 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 4: people staying there for an entire week, just stuck in 117 00:06:33,800 --> 00:06:36,760 Speaker 4: these camps as they overflow with people because they're not 118 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:39,600 Speaker 4: cleared due to whether it be a holiday season or 119 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 4: whatever it might be that puts us in this circumstance. 120 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:45,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, and obviously most people won't have been here. You 121 00:06:45,920 --> 00:06:47,560 Speaker 2: can look on a map or Google Maps that you 122 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:50,000 Speaker 2: want to, but all of this is happening like literally 123 00:06:50,080 --> 00:06:52,279 Speaker 2: in the shadow of the border wall in some cases, 124 00:06:52,360 --> 00:06:54,680 Speaker 2: or right next to the border wall. Sometimes it's a 125 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:57,960 Speaker 2: little bit next, a little bit further away. And just 126 00:06:58,240 --> 00:07:00,960 Speaker 2: to explain why there are these where they eye you, 127 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 2: guys want to explain like how people are getting to 128 00:07:03,279 --> 00:07:06,200 Speaker 2: the because cir Cumber. If you've got Google Maps, if 129 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:08,240 Speaker 2: you're not driving, like, you can put it up and 130 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:09,600 Speaker 2: you can look right, we're like an hour and a 131 00:07:09,600 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 2: bit east of San Diego, at seventy miles east of 132 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,280 Speaker 2: San Diego closer to El Centro in San Diego. So 133 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 2: can you explain how people are ending up here by 134 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 2: the hundreds of thousands. 135 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:19,680 Speaker 1: Yeah, so. 136 00:07:21,160 --> 00:07:24,000 Speaker 3: Talk to many migrants and they stay in a hotel 137 00:07:24,080 --> 00:07:27,160 Speaker 3: in TJ. I have no idea which one, and wouldn't 138 00:07:27,200 --> 00:07:30,640 Speaker 3: give that information if I did, but they, Yeah, they 139 00:07:30,680 --> 00:07:34,080 Speaker 3: stay in a hotel in TJ. And they get separated 140 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 3: by nationality. So the Coyotes take their passports from them 141 00:07:37,360 --> 00:07:40,280 Speaker 3: and put them in stacks and separate them by their nationalities. 142 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,440 Speaker 3: So you'll get you know, Chinese nationalists together, You'll get 143 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:46,760 Speaker 3: people that are from Turkey together, mostly Kurdish, and. 144 00:07:46,720 --> 00:07:48,840 Speaker 1: Then you'll get whatever their nationality is. 145 00:07:48,880 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 3: And I'm sure the outliers get just lumped into whatever 146 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,040 Speaker 3: is the most you know, like group, yeah, language group exactly. 147 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 3: And then they get in the morning, I guess that 148 00:07:59,560 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 3: like five or six am, they drive all the way 149 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:05,920 Speaker 3: out from TJ to Hkamba and get dropped off at 150 00:08:06,120 --> 00:08:08,840 Speaker 3: there's three points where there's breaks in the walls. And 151 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:12,720 Speaker 3: these walls obviously they don't go over the mountains because 152 00:08:12,760 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 3: Trump was trying to build distance rather than actual stopping people, 153 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 3: and so these breaks in the walls are very easy 154 00:08:20,480 --> 00:08:21,120 Speaker 3: to cross. 155 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:22,720 Speaker 1: It's literally just walking over. 156 00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:26,119 Speaker 3: There was some remnants of concertina wire or bob wire 157 00:08:26,200 --> 00:08:29,000 Speaker 3: like in the area, but it's all ripped and super 158 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 3: easy to cross. 159 00:08:29,840 --> 00:08:32,120 Speaker 1: And so the. 160 00:08:31,920 --> 00:08:36,679 Speaker 3: Coyotes will drop them off near or bits away from 161 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,640 Speaker 3: that point and have them walk in when that's where 162 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 3: border patrol. After they cross, border patrol will intercept them 163 00:08:42,600 --> 00:08:45,280 Speaker 3: give them wristbands for the day they arrived. We actually 164 00:08:45,280 --> 00:08:47,000 Speaker 3: just saw this last week. They must have ran out 165 00:08:47,040 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 3: of wristbands because they were giving like Sunday wristbands when 166 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 3: it was like a Wednesday. Yeah, everybody saying fuck like 167 00:08:54,640 --> 00:08:57,120 Speaker 3: and that makes our job more complicated too. Not only 168 00:08:57,160 --> 00:08:59,640 Speaker 3: their job, I'm sure, because they're trying to process them 169 00:08:59,679 --> 00:09:02,079 Speaker 3: in order, but our job because we're trying to record 170 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:03,559 Speaker 3: how long have people been here. I remember I was 171 00:09:03,600 --> 00:09:06,080 Speaker 3: talking to a Chinese nationalist and had to call a 172 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:08,360 Speaker 3: translator just to see like because they had a Sunday 173 00:09:08,360 --> 00:09:11,560 Speaker 3: wristband and I think it was Tuesday or something already, 174 00:09:12,160 --> 00:09:13,959 Speaker 3: and I was like, wait, you got you've been here 175 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,560 Speaker 3: for two days. And they were like like trying to 176 00:09:16,600 --> 00:09:18,800 Speaker 3: explain what the language barrier wants. The translated like, no, 177 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:20,840 Speaker 3: we got here three hours ago. We kept thinking they 178 00:09:20,880 --> 00:09:23,520 Speaker 3: got here three days ago. They kept showing the number 179 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:26,200 Speaker 3: three on their hands, and so, yeah, they give them 180 00:09:26,240 --> 00:09:28,400 Speaker 3: these wristbands and then tell them to wait in these 181 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:31,479 Speaker 3: areas that are very close to where they are intercepted, 182 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:35,360 Speaker 3: and Border patrol will tell them there's cameras all over 183 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:38,760 Speaker 3: the desert, we're watching you, so don't leave, and if 184 00:09:38,800 --> 00:09:41,079 Speaker 3: you leave, it'll mess up your migro process or your 185 00:09:41,160 --> 00:09:44,040 Speaker 3: asylum process, and so they most of them stay. We've 186 00:09:44,080 --> 00:09:46,760 Speaker 3: actually have seen a lot of people walking on the 187 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:50,080 Speaker 3: eighty here trying to get to town because they're desperate, 188 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:53,040 Speaker 3: they're cold, they're hungry, and they're probably just like fuck this, 189 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:56,720 Speaker 3: you know. But it's interesting too, how like border patrol 190 00:09:57,080 --> 00:10:00,520 Speaker 3: in all media aspects denies the existence of the camps. 191 00:10:00,760 --> 00:10:03,640 Speaker 2: Yeah, they're not explicitly to me right later, they don't exist, 192 00:10:03,760 --> 00:10:06,200 Speaker 2: or they don't detain people people that they what they'll 193 00:10:06,200 --> 00:10:08,600 Speaker 2: say to people aren't detained here, that they're free to go. 194 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:11,400 Speaker 1: Which technically they are and they can walk. 195 00:10:11,440 --> 00:10:15,280 Speaker 3: But I had a Kurdish friend that I met at 196 00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:17,800 Speaker 3: one of the camps that we call Moon Camp, and 197 00:10:17,960 --> 00:10:21,720 Speaker 3: twenty year old from Turkey, and he said that him 198 00:10:21,720 --> 00:10:23,840 Speaker 3: and a bunch of friends that he was traveling with 199 00:10:24,360 --> 00:10:27,120 Speaker 3: just walked to the subway up the street, got a 200 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 3: subway sandwich, and then border patrol showed up after they 201 00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:32,560 Speaker 3: had ordered their food, yeah, and said you have to 202 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:35,120 Speaker 3: go back with us, but finish your food here, because 203 00:10:35,160 --> 00:10:37,880 Speaker 3: imagine them walking in was being taken back with subway 204 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:39,560 Speaker 3: sandwiches and be like, oh, we can just leave and 205 00:10:39,559 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 3: get out of here. Like so they just finished their 206 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:43,760 Speaker 3: sandwiches and then he took them straight back. 207 00:10:43,800 --> 00:10:47,040 Speaker 1: So that is detention. If you can't leave, then you're 208 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:49,240 Speaker 1: in detention. That's the debt. By definition. 209 00:10:49,320 --> 00:10:51,480 Speaker 2: I feel like, yeah, and I don't think people think 210 00:10:51,480 --> 00:10:53,680 Speaker 2: they are free to leave. And I don't think people 211 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:58,520 Speaker 2: certainly they're not told what situation they were in, right, 212 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 2: I think that maybe they would assume that, But there's 213 00:11:01,160 --> 00:11:03,640 Speaker 2: also not very many places for them to go. We 214 00:11:03,679 --> 00:11:05,400 Speaker 2: are in the middle of nowhere. 215 00:11:06,000 --> 00:11:09,520 Speaker 4: So from what I've talked to different people, you know, 216 00:11:09,880 --> 00:11:12,960 Speaker 4: on top of just like crossing the border, there's also 217 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 4: an entire period where these people are traveling and all 218 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:21,680 Speaker 4: of them travel in different ways, and some of them 219 00:11:21,720 --> 00:11:24,360 Speaker 4: are traveling all the way from South America through Panama, 220 00:11:24,440 --> 00:11:26,360 Speaker 4: through the jungle, and you know, people are dying on 221 00:11:26,400 --> 00:11:29,000 Speaker 4: the route over here, and some of them are lucky 222 00:11:29,080 --> 00:11:32,439 Speaker 4: enough to just fly in and and you know, right, yeah, 223 00:11:32,440 --> 00:11:34,520 Speaker 4: they have to fight to Cancun, fly into Cancun, and 224 00:11:34,559 --> 00:11:36,680 Speaker 4: then make their way over to TJ and make it 225 00:11:36,679 --> 00:11:43,199 Speaker 4: through the border. And I have seen, like for myself 226 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,960 Speaker 4: with my own eyes, you know, burns from motorcycle exhaust 227 00:11:47,000 --> 00:11:49,320 Speaker 4: from you know, the different methods that they've used to 228 00:11:50,360 --> 00:11:54,720 Speaker 4: get here. And I've seen spider bites, I've seen, you know, 229 00:11:56,360 --> 00:11:58,520 Speaker 4: injuries that are infected that have been infected for a 230 00:11:58,520 --> 00:12:01,079 Speaker 4: long time because they've been that way since they were 231 00:12:01,080 --> 00:12:04,199 Speaker 4: in the jungle, and it's inadequate. I had a woman 232 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:09,240 Speaker 4: that I was helping give medical care to whose ankles 233 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:11,800 Speaker 4: were swollen from a steroid that she was given that 234 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:14,120 Speaker 4: she should not have been given and that she had 235 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 4: a bad reaction to. And yeah, that's just been their 236 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:23,600 Speaker 4: reality traveling here and trying to get here. On top 237 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:26,920 Speaker 4: of that, I think that speaking of medical issues and 238 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,480 Speaker 4: speaking on what you were saying earlier about the threats 239 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:32,640 Speaker 4: of becoming undocumented, the threats of you know, being forced 240 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,840 Speaker 4: to stay in these camps. There's even fear of having 241 00:12:35,880 --> 00:12:40,920 Speaker 4: a medical emergency. So like when EMS comes out, when 242 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:42,880 Speaker 4: we call nine to one one or Border patrol calls 243 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:47,040 Speaker 4: nine one one, right, they're not like working in connection 244 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:48,960 Speaker 4: with Border Patrol. They're just going to a hospital as 245 00:12:49,000 --> 00:12:51,160 Speaker 4: if it was you know, someone house person on the 246 00:12:51,160 --> 00:12:55,920 Speaker 4: street going to the hospital. And so they end up there, 247 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 4: and if they're not given the proper information to get 248 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,959 Speaker 4: a court tape, to finish their asylum process and to 249 00:13:04,080 --> 00:13:07,199 Speaker 4: really like be submitted properly into the country, they are 250 00:13:07,240 --> 00:13:09,800 Speaker 4: at risk of becoming undocumented. And I think that fear 251 00:13:10,280 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 4: has spread among people, and I've definitely noticed personally that 252 00:13:13,480 --> 00:13:16,640 Speaker 4: there is fear to have nine to one call to 253 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,040 Speaker 4: be taken away in an ambulance because they fear, you know, 254 00:13:20,760 --> 00:13:22,400 Speaker 4: becoming undocumented or being. 255 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:23,640 Speaker 2: At risk or separated. 256 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,920 Speaker 4: Separated has been a big thing because if they end 257 00:13:26,040 --> 00:13:28,880 Speaker 4: up having their process either take longer or just be 258 00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,440 Speaker 4: stuck in the hospital or whatever it may be, they're 259 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,000 Speaker 4: away from their family, they have to go through a 260 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,040 Speaker 4: different process. They're not processed that at the detention center 261 00:13:37,080 --> 00:13:39,400 Speaker 4: is the same way or at the same time. So 262 00:13:39,440 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 4: it's just it's a it's a there's a lot of 263 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:45,440 Speaker 4: fear and I think that's led to a lot of 264 00:13:45,520 --> 00:13:48,960 Speaker 4: unnecessary harm. And we do our best in terms of 265 00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:51,960 Speaker 4: medical care, but there's you know, we're limited. We you know, 266 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:55,160 Speaker 4: it's over the counter, it's you know, it's we can't 267 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:55,560 Speaker 4: do much. 268 00:13:56,080 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it's a street medicine really yeah exactly. Yeah, 269 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 2: Like we have some doctors and nurses and other qualified 270 00:14:03,920 --> 00:14:06,480 Speaker 2: medical people come and help, but they don't have the 271 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 2: diagnostic tools that they need. Right, Like today we had 272 00:14:09,120 --> 00:14:11,840 Speaker 2: somebody who had clearly some high issues and like the 273 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:13,640 Speaker 2: best we can do is say, this person needs to 274 00:14:13,679 --> 00:14:16,240 Speaker 2: go to hospital. But then in this case they were 275 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:18,360 Speaker 2: able to take the person's partners. Sometimes they won't take 276 00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,640 Speaker 2: the person's partner. Sometimes the person could be separated from 277 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,320 Speaker 2: their children, and so they're obviously very afraid of that. 278 00:14:24,640 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 2: And to compound that, I think like the release that 279 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:32,160 Speaker 2: they're not released in the way they had proviously been released, 280 00:14:32,160 --> 00:14:35,280 Speaker 2: that they're dumped onto the street at certain transit centers, right, 281 00:14:35,320 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 2: and then again it falls onto volunteers nonprofits to help 282 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:51,960 Speaker 2: them get to where they're going to go. The scale 283 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,200 Speaker 2: of the mutual aid operation is really impressive, and it's 284 00:14:56,240 --> 00:14:59,640 Speaker 2: something that I don't think is is like we don't 285 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,360 Speaker 2: talk about enough. People don't really understand it, So could 286 00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:06,200 Speaker 2: maybe we just start like literally what we do every 287 00:15:06,320 --> 00:15:08,880 Speaker 2: day in a day. We havevolity here every day. 288 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:12,640 Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, One thing I forgot to mention is I 289 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,200 Speaker 3: am here every single day now full time, ten plus 290 00:15:17,200 --> 00:15:22,120 Speaker 3: hours a day. It's eight days a week. And so yeah, 291 00:15:22,120 --> 00:15:24,040 Speaker 3: every day we wake up. I wake up around like 292 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,400 Speaker 3: six am, and we try to get to the first camp, 293 00:15:27,440 --> 00:15:31,119 Speaker 3: which is down the street from where I'm staying, around 294 00:15:31,440 --> 00:15:35,000 Speaker 3: seven thirty or eight o'clock in the morning. And the 295 00:15:35,040 --> 00:15:37,280 Speaker 3: previous night we have loaded the van up with peanut 296 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 3: butter and jelly sandwiches because they have a good hold, 297 00:15:39,800 --> 00:15:42,280 Speaker 3: you don't need to keep them really refrigerated much or 298 00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 3: you know, the YadA YadA, and so it's just peb 299 00:15:45,960 --> 00:15:50,200 Speaker 3: and j's water and fruit and we give them each 300 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 3: one at least sometimes more if we have the capability, 301 00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:59,080 Speaker 3: and then we another person who is also here full 302 00:15:59,120 --> 00:16:02,160 Speaker 3: time will hit another camp on their way because it's 303 00:16:02,160 --> 00:16:04,280 Speaker 3: on their way to meet up at a central location 304 00:16:04,400 --> 00:16:08,280 Speaker 3: we call the Youth Center or the YC, where all 305 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 3: of our donations end up, whether it's clothes, blankets, food items, 306 00:16:14,360 --> 00:16:17,640 Speaker 3: non perishables, perishables. We have a fridge and in that place. 307 00:16:17,720 --> 00:16:20,040 Speaker 3: Once we get there, we'll assess what we need to 308 00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:22,080 Speaker 3: do is do we need to make more food? Do 309 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,400 Speaker 3: we have enough to go feed the third camp, which 310 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:26,440 Speaker 3: we call one seven seven, which is all the way 311 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:30,080 Speaker 3: in Boulevard a little outside of Hakamba, And if we 312 00:16:30,120 --> 00:16:32,240 Speaker 3: have enough, we'll just hit we'll leave and hit that 313 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,840 Speaker 3: spot and then come back and start dinner. And in 314 00:16:35,880 --> 00:16:38,120 Speaker 3: the meanwhile, we have a lot of volunteers that will 315 00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 3: show up and make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches because 316 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,280 Speaker 3: that is our easy go to staple. It's quick to 317 00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:45,520 Speaker 3: give out. It's you know, not a whole lot of 318 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 3: prep time to make you know, five hundred sandwiches, which 319 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:53,360 Speaker 3: seems like a lot, but we've gone through probably tens 320 00:16:53,360 --> 00:16:55,640 Speaker 3: of thousand sandwiches by this point. 321 00:16:56,280 --> 00:16:59,000 Speaker 2: So he gave out a thousand PB andjs today. 322 00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:00,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, yeah, totally. 323 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 3: Yeah, we ran out like today, I gave out everything 324 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,000 Speaker 3: and there was even people where like the two we 325 00:17:06,520 --> 00:17:10,119 Speaker 3: got everybody in the line, which was I think I 326 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:13,159 Speaker 3: think that was around three sixty. No, no, it was 327 00:17:13,160 --> 00:17:16,920 Speaker 3: three sixty when we did account and so in the morning, Yeah, 328 00:17:16,960 --> 00:17:19,159 Speaker 3: and we ran out and but we had two. So 329 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,560 Speaker 3: like a lot of the times, especially the micros that 330 00:17:21,560 --> 00:17:23,520 Speaker 3: have been there multiple days, they'll jump in. There's like 331 00:17:23,560 --> 00:17:25,720 Speaker 3: always two people or three people that are like, I'm 332 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,560 Speaker 3: here to help Kurdish people, our amazing help and are 333 00:17:29,600 --> 00:17:32,160 Speaker 3: always willing to step up. But yeah, this morning at 334 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:34,439 Speaker 3: Willow one of the camps, we had two guys that 335 00:17:34,480 --> 00:17:37,280 Speaker 3: were kind of controlling the line and helping keep them back, 336 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:39,600 Speaker 3: and one of them like send them to us one 337 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:42,080 Speaker 3: at a time. And at the very end of it, 338 00:17:42,119 --> 00:17:44,199 Speaker 3: I had nothing for them, and I was like going 339 00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:46,480 Speaker 3: to hook them up with a couple of sandwiches and 340 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 3: a little like everybody who helps, I'll cook them up 341 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:50,840 Speaker 3: with a couple of extra sandwiches or food items or 342 00:17:50,880 --> 00:17:55,200 Speaker 3: water or cigarettes even And uh, yeah, I had nothing 343 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:58,520 Speaker 3: for them except for kids sandwiches or kid sandwiches kid packs. 344 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:01,360 Speaker 3: So we make these little sand which bags full of 345 00:18:01,400 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 3: like different candies and you know, granola bars and things 346 00:18:05,040 --> 00:18:06,800 Speaker 3: that kids would like to eat and give them a 347 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 3: lot of nutrition and stuff. 348 00:18:08,080 --> 00:18:10,119 Speaker 1: So I just gave them extra. 349 00:18:09,920 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 3: That and once other migrants saw me giving those things 350 00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:15,040 Speaker 3: out that I had been holding and telling other people, no, 351 00:18:15,119 --> 00:18:18,119 Speaker 3: these are for kids, then everybody swarmed and it was 352 00:18:18,200 --> 00:18:21,160 Speaker 3: just like, okay, well, I'm giving all the kid whoever's there, 353 00:18:21,200 --> 00:18:24,520 Speaker 3: whoever's arm is there, They're getting you know, a kid's pack, 354 00:18:24,680 --> 00:18:26,840 Speaker 3: and got rid of literally all of our food. And 355 00:18:26,880 --> 00:18:29,160 Speaker 3: I think we put in like twelve plus cases of water, 356 00:18:29,720 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 3: forty packs, and they were all gone except for maybe 357 00:18:32,359 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 3: like ten or fifteen waters. 358 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:38,680 Speaker 1: It was one of the more dire mornings. 359 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 3: That we've had, especially Yeah, at these camps. 360 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:46,040 Speaker 4: I know that three p sixty was the number that 361 00:18:46,080 --> 00:18:47,800 Speaker 4: you guys got in the morning, but I believe that 362 00:18:48,119 --> 00:18:49,879 Speaker 4: by the time that we were working in the evening, 363 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:51,800 Speaker 4: at least when I was doing medical check, the number 364 00:18:51,800 --> 00:18:54,760 Speaker 4: that I was getting told either around the camp or 365 00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,760 Speaker 4: from Border Patrol was five hundred at Willows So and 366 00:18:58,840 --> 00:19:01,200 Speaker 4: this is you know, these are numbers that even Border 367 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,040 Speaker 4: Patrol is like freaking out over. They are, you know, 368 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,919 Speaker 4: worried because they can't deal with this quantity of people 369 00:19:08,960 --> 00:19:11,879 Speaker 4: and keep them processing while there's still a consistent flow. 370 00:19:12,960 --> 00:19:15,480 Speaker 4: And that's you know, it puts a lot of strain 371 00:19:15,520 --> 00:19:17,800 Speaker 4: on us because, like you were saying, we're running out 372 00:19:17,800 --> 00:19:22,119 Speaker 4: of food. We don't have enough to feed five hundred people. 373 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,520 Speaker 4: You know, every day, even though we're just doing you know, 374 00:19:25,560 --> 00:19:28,320 Speaker 4: two meals, a breakfast and as best we can a dinner, 375 00:19:28,760 --> 00:19:31,680 Speaker 4: and trying to make sure that dinner is a hot 376 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 4: meal because it is frigid out here. I slept in 377 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,119 Speaker 4: my van and I kept having to wake up to 378 00:19:38,200 --> 00:19:42,280 Speaker 4: try and warm up and do something to keep myself 379 00:19:42,359 --> 00:19:45,640 Speaker 4: from freezing. And I, you know, I can only imagine 380 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:50,440 Speaker 4: what it's like for them with what minimal equipment they have. 381 00:19:50,480 --> 00:19:54,000 Speaker 4: Some of them don't even have tents. So it has 382 00:19:54,119 --> 00:19:59,160 Speaker 4: been a lot. I know that today, running medical, I've 383 00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:02,640 Speaker 4: seen a lot of people with colds, and I am 384 00:20:02,720 --> 00:20:05,720 Speaker 4: suspicious that that perhaps there is COVID running around, that 385 00:20:05,800 --> 00:20:09,560 Speaker 4: perhaps there is, you know something, there's definitely something, some 386 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:12,280 Speaker 4: kind of very severe illness. Going through the camps and 387 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,679 Speaker 4: being in this freezing cold is not helping anyone's immune system. 388 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:17,960 Speaker 4: And on top of that, I've seen broken fingers and 389 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,160 Speaker 4: some other stuff. And that's that's been my today. Yeah, 390 00:20:21,160 --> 00:20:23,479 Speaker 4: has been treating that and then helping out with dinner, 391 00:20:23,600 --> 00:20:25,960 Speaker 4: which I will say I tried a little bit of 392 00:20:26,000 --> 00:20:27,760 Speaker 4: the lentils and rice, and I can say we are 393 00:20:27,760 --> 00:20:28,600 Speaker 4: feeding them well. 394 00:20:28,680 --> 00:20:33,760 Speaker 1: It is delicious, delicious food. Thank you. 395 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 4: Sam Schultz, an amazing cook and an amazing helper for 396 00:20:38,640 --> 00:20:42,199 Speaker 4: us making sure that we, you know, are able to 397 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:44,320 Speaker 4: do this for like you were saying, for a long time, 398 00:20:45,040 --> 00:20:48,280 Speaker 4: you know, this was put on uh, you know, one 399 00:20:48,320 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 4: family of locals to really yeah, one family of Quakers 400 00:20:53,119 --> 00:20:57,520 Speaker 4: to really take care of these people day in and 401 00:20:57,600 --> 00:21:01,840 Speaker 4: day out. And it wasn't until you came here and 402 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:04,440 Speaker 4: we're able to actually like be here full time that 403 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:10,920 Speaker 4: there was even just an extra hand around. And you know, right, 404 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,439 Speaker 4: volunteers are here during the week. But the reality is 405 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:15,320 Speaker 4: is we are all still stuck at work, we all 406 00:21:15,359 --> 00:21:18,920 Speaker 4: still live in this healthscape. We're all still stuck grinding 407 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,960 Speaker 4: those gears and making ends meet. And so coming out 408 00:21:23,000 --> 00:21:24,919 Speaker 4: here for a lot of us is you know, like 409 00:21:24,960 --> 00:21:27,359 Speaker 4: for me, is a weekend task. It's you know, it's 410 00:21:27,600 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 4: what we can do. It's what we have the ability 411 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 4: and the time and the gas money for. And on 412 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:35,840 Speaker 4: top of that, a lot of us spent a lot 413 00:21:35,840 --> 00:21:38,199 Speaker 4: of our own money. I know that I've spent like 414 00:21:38,600 --> 00:21:40,560 Speaker 4: at least a grand and a half on just like 415 00:21:40,720 --> 00:21:44,480 Speaker 4: supplies for these runs, on supplies for whatever I can. 416 00:21:46,119 --> 00:21:49,600 Speaker 4: And you know, sometimes we get we're able to get 417 00:21:49,600 --> 00:21:53,040 Speaker 4: reimbursed by our mutual aids, and sometimes the money runs 418 00:21:53,119 --> 00:21:54,720 Speaker 4: dry and we just, you know, we need a lot 419 00:21:54,720 --> 00:21:56,560 Speaker 4: of support out here that we don't have, that we 420 00:21:56,600 --> 00:21:58,520 Speaker 4: don't get And I feel like we really felt that 421 00:21:58,600 --> 00:21:59,680 Speaker 4: today running out of food. 422 00:22:00,680 --> 00:22:03,959 Speaker 2: Yeah, it was bleak today. And of course the thing is, 423 00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,040 Speaker 2: like we can feed five hundred people and do this 424 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:09,480 Speaker 2: gargantuane effort, and then we have to feed the same 425 00:22:09,560 --> 00:22:12,080 Speaker 2: number tomorrow. And like if we clear out us that 426 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,000 Speaker 2: we on top of like those of us who are 427 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,720 Speaker 2: able to go out to do medicals, to do feeds, 428 00:22:18,440 --> 00:22:20,879 Speaker 2: sometimes some of us go out and construct shelters or 429 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:22,280 Speaker 2: to check that there aren't people who are sick and 430 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:24,680 Speaker 2: the shelters who aren't getting care that they need, et cetera, 431 00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:27,440 Speaker 2: et cetera. Like you said, people have to cook, right, 432 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,439 Speaker 2: people have to make pbdas people have to resupply our 433 00:22:31,480 --> 00:22:33,679 Speaker 2: stuff and drive it up from San Diego, which is 434 00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:37,000 Speaker 2: an hour and fifteen minutes away. Like it's a gargantuine 435 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 2: effort that it's exclusively taken on by volunteers, and like 436 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:46,359 Speaker 2: a relatively small group of volunteers considering the scale of 437 00:22:46,400 --> 00:22:50,200 Speaker 2: the task at hand. I wonder like if you would 438 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,040 Speaker 2: like talk about your volunteering experience a little bit, because 439 00:22:53,119 --> 00:22:54,879 Speaker 2: I think it's been great. Like it's a very diverse 440 00:22:54,880 --> 00:22:57,439 Speaker 2: group of people. We've had so many We have the 441 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:00,439 Speaker 2: Schultz family who are Quakers, who are amazing, who have 442 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:04,320 Speaker 2: been like spearheading this since the start. We have like 443 00:23:05,000 --> 00:23:07,600 Speaker 2: obviously a lot of anarchist people, and a lot of 444 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:12,480 Speaker 2: people from various migrant advocacy and aid groups. Uh that's 445 00:23:12,480 --> 00:23:15,160 Speaker 2: what we had the Black Panthers the other day. And 446 00:23:15,200 --> 00:23:16,960 Speaker 2: it's probably a ton of people I'm missing. 447 00:23:16,640 --> 00:23:20,840 Speaker 3: But yeah, in church groups, church careers, I mean, the 448 00:23:20,880 --> 00:23:23,080 Speaker 3: whole the y C was kind of given to us 449 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:25,360 Speaker 3: and I think now we're renting it to my knowledge, 450 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:29,919 Speaker 3: but that was given to us by the what's the 451 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:33,760 Speaker 3: Church of Methodist Church here in Hukumba. And then there's 452 00:23:33,800 --> 00:23:37,640 Speaker 3: a group of Mormons and they're just kind of unaffiliated 453 00:23:37,640 --> 00:23:39,479 Speaker 3: from the church in a way, like they're not There 454 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:42,479 Speaker 3: was just a family that saw the need and some 455 00:23:42,520 --> 00:23:45,080 Speaker 3: of the elders were helping load up the beans that 456 00:23:45,119 --> 00:23:48,080 Speaker 3: they made the other day. You know from the house 457 00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,399 Speaker 3: that the lady that makes it, and then another lady, 458 00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,320 Speaker 3: Mormon lady makes us these roles and we'll just like 459 00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:57,080 Speaker 3: give us like hundreds and hundreds of bread rolls, which 460 00:23:57,320 --> 00:23:59,400 Speaker 3: everybody loves, even the volunteers. 461 00:24:00,040 --> 00:24:02,520 Speaker 1: I've been eating the bread home made rolls. Yeah, it's 462 00:24:02,560 --> 00:24:03,160 Speaker 1: super good. 463 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 3: So that Yeah, like you said, mutual ad groups, anarchists, 464 00:24:07,200 --> 00:24:09,879 Speaker 3: just individuals. Random people will show up they heard it. 465 00:24:09,920 --> 00:24:11,320 Speaker 3: We had a couple of people show up that heard 466 00:24:11,320 --> 00:24:16,639 Speaker 3: it on National, NPR, KPBS, and you know, then they 467 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,680 Speaker 3: orgs border kindness. I'll look, Gelato will come out here 468 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,080 Speaker 3: and send volunteers and whatnot. But it's hard to really 469 00:24:24,119 --> 00:24:26,160 Speaker 3: rely on volunteers. Like we have a sign up sheet 470 00:24:26,200 --> 00:24:27,720 Speaker 3: and everything so we can kind of gauge what the 471 00:24:27,800 --> 00:24:28,520 Speaker 3: day is going to be like. 472 00:24:28,520 --> 00:24:30,320 Speaker 1: But sometimes people don't show up, and. 473 00:24:31,800 --> 00:24:34,399 Speaker 3: Sometimes especially around the holiday times, it gets really thin 474 00:24:34,480 --> 00:24:36,760 Speaker 3: because everybody's got their own lives and things to do. 475 00:24:36,920 --> 00:24:41,239 Speaker 3: And but yeah, I mean I started volunteering just on 476 00:24:41,280 --> 00:24:43,600 Speaker 3: my weekends when I was working full time at my 477 00:24:44,240 --> 00:24:48,480 Speaker 3: dead end job back at home in San Diego, and 478 00:24:48,960 --> 00:24:50,960 Speaker 3: I would you know, saw the need. I was down 479 00:24:50,960 --> 00:24:54,719 Speaker 3: at Whiskey eight in San di Sidro pretty much every 480 00:24:54,800 --> 00:24:55,600 Speaker 3: day after work and. 481 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:56,320 Speaker 1: On the weekends. 482 00:24:56,400 --> 00:24:59,480 Speaker 3: And then when they started doing street releases at IRIS 483 00:24:59,560 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 3: station in San Diego. I would just be there full 484 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:06,760 Speaker 3: time and on my weekends, just be there until in 485 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,480 Speaker 3: death and Haitian Bridge started showing up and kind of 486 00:25:09,480 --> 00:25:12,160 Speaker 3: took in Detention Resistance and they kind of took over 487 00:25:12,160 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 3: that scene, and so the need was like, oh, Jakamba 488 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:18,600 Speaker 3: needs help, so I just would come. After that, I 489 00:25:18,640 --> 00:25:21,800 Speaker 3: just started coming out here every weekend from I would 490 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 3: get off on a Thursday at like two pm, take 491 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:26,800 Speaker 3: care of my cats at home for a second, then 492 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,920 Speaker 3: drive out, help out whatever I could by the time 493 00:25:30,920 --> 00:25:34,720 Speaker 3: I got here, spend the night somehow either I never 494 00:25:34,800 --> 00:25:36,439 Speaker 3: had to sleep in my car, but I would be 495 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:40,119 Speaker 3: ready to, and then I have some friends here that 496 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:43,760 Speaker 3: would put me up for the night and stay Thursday 497 00:25:43,840 --> 00:25:46,679 Speaker 3: night to Friday, work all day Friday and all day 498 00:25:46,720 --> 00:25:48,600 Speaker 3: Saturday until I had to go home because I worked 499 00:25:48,640 --> 00:25:51,440 Speaker 3: at five am on Sunday. And then all that week 500 00:25:51,480 --> 00:25:54,840 Speaker 3: I would just be at wait going down after work. 501 00:25:54,920 --> 00:25:57,000 Speaker 3: And so I haven't had a day off since this 502 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 3: really started. I mean, I think I got the flu 503 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:01,800 Speaker 3: for a week five days right am. I had a 504 00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:04,240 Speaker 3: fever four or five fucking days in a row, which 505 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:08,080 Speaker 3: is horrible, but so not really a day off. 506 00:26:08,160 --> 00:26:10,639 Speaker 1: Technically, but yeah. 507 00:26:10,400 --> 00:26:12,800 Speaker 3: And then I since I had been coming out here 508 00:26:12,840 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 3: every weekend and dedicating my time to Hukumba and had 509 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:17,840 Speaker 3: so many ties with like the locals and I know, 510 00:26:17,920 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 3: the people who own the hotel out here that we 511 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,119 Speaker 3: are currently at, and just you know, showed face and 512 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,399 Speaker 3: it showed a strong worth work ethic, I guess to 513 00:26:27,560 --> 00:26:30,399 Speaker 3: help feed these people, and the passion of you know, 514 00:26:30,440 --> 00:26:32,760 Speaker 3: and the amount of care that I gave and attention 515 00:26:32,880 --> 00:26:36,439 Speaker 3: to these people and listening to them and the Schultz 516 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,080 Speaker 3: family who are like the main on the ground people. 517 00:26:39,119 --> 00:26:43,080 Speaker 3: Since day one, We're like, yeah, this this person needs 518 00:26:43,080 --> 00:26:45,080 Speaker 3: to be out here. We want to have all out 519 00:26:45,119 --> 00:26:49,639 Speaker 3: here full time and all Lochlado got a grant to 520 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:53,240 Speaker 3: UH to basically fund that, and so once that money 521 00:26:53,280 --> 00:26:56,240 Speaker 3: came through, I just took a sabbatical from my nine 522 00:26:56,280 --> 00:26:59,120 Speaker 3: to five and I was like, peace, I got more 523 00:26:59,160 --> 00:26:59,840 Speaker 3: important things. 524 00:27:00,080 --> 00:27:02,919 Speaker 1: Do you think give Jeff Bezos more money? You know? 525 00:27:04,240 --> 00:27:06,959 Speaker 1: So he needs more yachts clearly? 526 00:27:07,119 --> 00:27:07,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, clearly? 527 00:27:07,840 --> 00:27:09,879 Speaker 1: Yeah and more space trips you know. 528 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:12,479 Speaker 2: Yeah. 529 00:27:13,400 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: So yeah. 530 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,240 Speaker 3: So ever since then, I've just you know, I'm lucky 531 00:27:16,280 --> 00:27:18,639 Speaker 3: enough to have that, and you know, showed that, you know, 532 00:27:19,080 --> 00:27:21,000 Speaker 3: dedication to where I can be out here, and I 533 00:27:21,080 --> 00:27:23,840 Speaker 3: honestly like some people may think like, oh, because I'm 534 00:27:23,840 --> 00:27:25,919 Speaker 3: getting paid, I'm a boss or I'm a lead, and 535 00:27:26,160 --> 00:27:28,200 Speaker 3: like to me, it's like, no, we're all leading and 536 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,880 Speaker 3: I'm still just doing the same work. I'm just now 537 00:27:30,960 --> 00:27:35,440 Speaker 3: able to be here well on payroll forty eight hours 538 00:27:35,520 --> 00:27:38,119 Speaker 3: a week, but in reality it's ten hour days, eight 539 00:27:38,200 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 3: days a week. 540 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:42,040 Speaker 2: It's all the time. And like, yeah, I think it's 541 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,879 Speaker 2: really important that people know actually that we have a 542 00:27:43,960 --> 00:27:47,320 Speaker 2: very veryverque group. It's not like everybody is necessarily like 543 00:27:47,359 --> 00:27:50,080 Speaker 2: committed to horizontal organizing is a bill and endule, but 544 00:27:50,080 --> 00:27:51,880 Speaker 2: that's how we operate and it works really well. 545 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:55,920 Speaker 3: Yeah, especially Sam and the Quakers, they're very good at 546 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:59,159 Speaker 3: listening to the American Friends Society. 547 00:27:58,720 --> 00:28:02,879 Speaker 2: Right, Yeah, it works so well. Like when I was 548 00:28:02,880 --> 00:28:05,679 Speaker 2: just thinking the other day, I was out here and 549 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:08,520 Speaker 2: it was the day before the holiday, and first of all, 550 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,080 Speaker 2: we had this moment where this lady pulled up and 551 00:28:10,119 --> 00:28:12,119 Speaker 2: she was like, hey, who's in charge. We were all 552 00:28:12,160 --> 00:28:14,560 Speaker 2: like everyone's in charge, and the lady was like what 553 00:28:14,800 --> 00:28:17,679 Speaker 2: how does that? How did you then? But then like 554 00:28:17,760 --> 00:28:19,440 Speaker 2: another time, we had a bit of a crisis we 555 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,560 Speaker 2: ran out of balls when we're trying to feed people, 556 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,600 Speaker 2: and like one of us came up with yeah, and 557 00:28:25,600 --> 00:28:28,280 Speaker 2: the ziplock back yeah we made. So we were like, 558 00:28:28,400 --> 00:28:30,160 Speaker 2: we didn't have bowls, we had sandwiches, So we gave 559 00:28:30,200 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 2: them a sandwich and then took the zip block back 560 00:28:32,080 --> 00:28:35,119 Speaker 2: back and filled it with beans. And like, you know, 561 00:28:35,119 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 2: it wasn't the person who'd been here for the longest 562 00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:39,520 Speaker 2: or done the most sessions, but it was a great 563 00:28:39,560 --> 00:28:41,640 Speaker 2: idea and it got us out of a difficult situation. 564 00:28:41,760 --> 00:28:44,680 Speaker 2: And like, I think, because we organize with respect for 565 00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:47,000 Speaker 2: each other, we can listen to each other and incorporate 566 00:28:47,080 --> 00:28:49,040 Speaker 2: those ideas. And you had something to say. 567 00:28:49,320 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, I just I want to highlight the community 568 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 4: that I've seen built here. I know that in terms 569 00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:03,280 Speaker 4: of nine hich organizing, I I personally have seen you know, 570 00:29:04,360 --> 00:29:07,600 Speaker 4: everyone step up and lead, even people who are there 571 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:10,360 Speaker 4: their first day. Right if there is a task to 572 00:29:10,480 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 4: be done and they say they know how to do 573 00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:15,640 Speaker 4: it and they have a good idea, they're leading it, 574 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,280 Speaker 4: They're spearheading it. There is you know, there's no second 575 00:29:19,280 --> 00:29:23,800 Speaker 4: guessing or egos that I've seen, at least not to 576 00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:26,440 Speaker 4: such a degree that it's been harmful, and I think 577 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 4: that that has given us a lot of power and 578 00:29:30,000 --> 00:29:33,440 Speaker 4: has allowed sort of our creativity to get us through this. 579 00:29:34,760 --> 00:29:39,720 Speaker 4: I think it's a testament to what non hierarchical organizing 580 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:46,440 Speaker 4: means and how you know, lack of hierarchy and lack 581 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:49,320 Speaker 4: of a dedicated leader doesn't mean a lack of leadership. 582 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:52,720 Speaker 4: I think it falls on all of us to lead. 583 00:29:52,800 --> 00:29:55,959 Speaker 4: It falls on all of us to bring what we 584 00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:58,440 Speaker 4: know to the table, whether that be from the experience 585 00:29:58,440 --> 00:30:01,760 Speaker 4: that we've had coming here and working here and knowing 586 00:30:01,800 --> 00:30:05,240 Speaker 4: the details and the minutia of what's going on specifically 587 00:30:05,280 --> 00:30:08,240 Speaker 4: here in Hakumba with this project, or what we bring 588 00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 4: to the table from our past experiences. And I think 589 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 4: that that has really beautifully coalesced into a really efficient 590 00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:20,000 Speaker 4: system as best as we can do, as best as 591 00:30:20,040 --> 00:30:22,600 Speaker 4: we can manage. You know, we've really made do and 592 00:30:22,920 --> 00:30:25,080 Speaker 4: kept people alive in a huge way. 593 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:28,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I think kept people alive is right, Like 594 00:30:28,960 --> 00:30:31,520 Speaker 2: if if I don't know how this would have gone 595 00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:33,360 Speaker 2: down if we weren't here, because I don't know if 596 00:30:33,360 --> 00:30:37,080 Speaker 2: they would have kept doing it, but certainly more people 597 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:40,600 Speaker 2: would have been very unwell or passed away like, I 598 00:30:40,640 --> 00:30:43,080 Speaker 2: think we can all think of a different medical emergency 599 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,960 Speaker 2: where we've had to intervene to stop it getting much worse. 600 00:30:47,040 --> 00:30:49,160 Speaker 3: Yeah, Like just last week, I think, did you come 601 00:30:49,160 --> 00:30:52,760 Speaker 3: out the day after something rained on all of us 602 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:54,640 Speaker 3: and there was like a heavy downpour. 603 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:55,640 Speaker 1: We weren't even ready. 604 00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:57,160 Speaker 3: We thought it was, oh, it might be like a 605 00:30:57,200 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 3: little drizzle or it might be light rain here, and 606 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:03,280 Speaker 3: they're scattered. But then we set up and we're cooking 607 00:31:03,320 --> 00:31:05,920 Speaker 3: and getting ready for to do lunch or after breakfast 608 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:07,800 Speaker 3: and getting ready to do our dinner and stuff, and 609 00:31:07,840 --> 00:31:10,680 Speaker 3: it just started downpouring on us. And I was driving 610 00:31:10,720 --> 00:31:12,600 Speaker 3: and I told you, oh, yeah, you showed up that 611 00:31:12,680 --> 00:31:15,560 Speaker 3: day and literally like we inter as we got to 612 00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,040 Speaker 3: we were like, oh fuck, we got to like move now. 613 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:20,120 Speaker 3: So we just got all the ponchos that we had 614 00:31:20,120 --> 00:31:21,760 Speaker 3: a bunch of ponchos, got them all in the car, 615 00:31:22,120 --> 00:31:25,200 Speaker 3: drove to the first camp that we had fed that morning, 616 00:31:25,760 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 3: and we're just started handing out ponchos as the rain's 617 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,440 Speaker 3: coming down. They're walking in as you know, the coyotes 618 00:31:32,480 --> 00:31:34,560 Speaker 3: dropped them off and that's a long hike had the 619 00:31:34,560 --> 00:31:36,520 Speaker 3: Moon camp from where they end up to where they 620 00:31:36,560 --> 00:31:39,720 Speaker 3: break in the wall is thirty minute. 621 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:40,520 Speaker 1: Walk, yeah, so or so. 622 00:31:41,240 --> 00:31:44,120 Speaker 3: And so they are arriving in the pouring rain, their 623 00:31:44,160 --> 00:31:48,120 Speaker 3: socks are getting wet. It is super cold, especially at 624 00:31:48,160 --> 00:31:52,240 Speaker 3: Moon because of the location. It's just ridiculously cold, and 625 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,840 Speaker 3: that's like case for hypothermia. And we're there to you know, 626 00:31:56,640 --> 00:31:59,360 Speaker 3: to stop them from getting so wet. We're giving them 627 00:31:59,400 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 3: trash bags for their bags, ponchos for their being their persons. 628 00:32:03,040 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 3: I remember seeing this little girl, she must have been 629 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:08,800 Speaker 3: like five or six. And then we had cardboard and 630 00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:11,280 Speaker 3: because we didn't think it was going to be so 631 00:32:11,400 --> 00:32:14,040 Speaker 3: pouring before we when we loaded up the van and 632 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 3: we had cardboard to keep you know, the ground drive 633 00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:17,800 Speaker 3: for them to like lay on in their tents or whatever. 634 00:32:17,920 --> 00:32:20,560 Speaker 3: And people took the cardboard out of the van and 635 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,440 Speaker 3: we're like blocking the rain and shielding this little child 636 00:32:23,480 --> 00:32:25,880 Speaker 3: from getting wet, you know. And it's super windy at 637 00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:28,480 Speaker 3: Moon too, at that camp. It's the location. It gets 638 00:32:28,480 --> 00:32:32,960 Speaker 3: a lot of the the wind from uh whatever that passes, Yeah, 639 00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,680 Speaker 3: it comes up from Yeah. 640 00:32:34,920 --> 00:32:46,480 Speaker 6: Yeah. 641 00:32:46,640 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 2: I think anything you said, which we should probably touch on, 642 00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:51,680 Speaker 2: it's like perhaps it's because of the way we organize, 643 00:32:51,760 --> 00:32:54,120 Speaker 2: because we don't have like strict rolls jobs or low 644 00:32:54,200 --> 00:32:57,120 Speaker 2: leadership things. But like you'd mentioned it before, but like 645 00:32:57,240 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 2: nine times out of ten, we end up doing things 646 00:32:58,960 --> 00:33:02,320 Speaker 2: with people know people right, Like the other day, I know, 647 00:33:03,160 --> 00:33:05,120 Speaker 2: like a Kurdish guy and I set up a ton 648 00:33:05,160 --> 00:33:07,960 Speaker 2: of tents, Colombian dude, and I built this amazing shelter 649 00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 2: and it wasn't for hit and his family, it was 650 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:12,080 Speaker 2: for anyone who needed it. 651 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,600 Speaker 4: I definitely have seen that sort of collaboration with the migrants, 652 00:33:17,640 --> 00:33:21,200 Speaker 4: and I feel like it doesn't feel like charity. It 653 00:33:21,280 --> 00:33:23,360 Speaker 4: feels like mutual aid. And on top of that, when 654 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 4: I'm hearing from them, you know they you know, they're 655 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:27,720 Speaker 4: helping us out. But then on top of that, they're saying, 656 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:30,960 Speaker 4: I'm going to get processed and I'm coming back, I'm helping, 657 00:33:31,040 --> 00:33:34,120 Speaker 4: and I'm have you been in touch with anyone who 658 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:35,880 Speaker 4: is who has come back yet? 659 00:33:36,760 --> 00:33:37,200 Speaker 2: Well? Yeah. 660 00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,600 Speaker 3: Actually, like early on in IRIS, when I was doing IRIS, 661 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:42,560 Speaker 3: there was like a few people that were staying a 662 00:33:42,560 --> 00:33:46,480 Speaker 3: few days before they traveled onward and they just wanted 663 00:33:46,480 --> 00:33:48,320 Speaker 3: to be around and help. There was also a dude 664 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 3: we just called him Columbia because he was from Columbia, 665 00:33:51,440 --> 00:33:54,000 Speaker 3: it's kind of that nickname stuck and he stuck around. 666 00:33:54,200 --> 00:33:57,520 Speaker 3: I mean he got sponsored by pretty much loosely sponsored 667 00:33:57,560 --> 00:34:00,800 Speaker 3: by one of the organizers that was helping out of 668 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:03,840 Speaker 3: Wa and he stuck around. He came out to Ukumba 669 00:34:03,880 --> 00:34:06,360 Speaker 3: a bunch of times. He killed it on everything he did, 670 00:34:06,400 --> 00:34:09,440 Speaker 3: cooking dishes, whatever, you know, cleaning up whatever. He just 671 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:12,359 Speaker 3: he just saw that need. And yeah, I mean I've 672 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:14,879 Speaker 3: been in contact with a couple of people that said 673 00:34:14,920 --> 00:34:17,239 Speaker 3: they would come out, and you know, I don't pressure them. 674 00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:20,279 Speaker 3: I don't and a A I wanted pressure them to 675 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:22,919 Speaker 3: come out because they came here for you know, better 676 00:34:23,000 --> 00:34:24,839 Speaker 3: life and all that. But at the same time, it's 677 00:34:24,880 --> 00:34:26,879 Speaker 3: just hard to get back to some people because I've 678 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:29,960 Speaker 3: given them brought to way too many Kurdish people to 679 00:34:30,000 --> 00:34:32,120 Speaker 3: get back to everyone on WhatsApp and that's you know, 680 00:34:32,160 --> 00:34:34,040 Speaker 3: I got signal, I got regular text. 681 00:34:33,840 --> 00:34:35,800 Speaker 1: And then whatsappened That kind of gets buried. 682 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 2: So, yeah, there was some Afghan folks out here in September. 683 00:34:39,760 --> 00:34:41,440 Speaker 2: A few Afghan folks who would come out. I think 684 00:34:41,480 --> 00:34:45,280 Speaker 2: they had arrived either in May or but perhaps earlier. 685 00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:47,319 Speaker 2: But there were some afcron folks who came out and 686 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 2: we're able to help us. Of course, like it's great 687 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:52,879 Speaker 2: because we don't all have all the languages we need 688 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:54,520 Speaker 2: and we don't have all the skills we need, and 689 00:34:54,560 --> 00:34:57,440 Speaker 2: so the more people we can incorporate, even if temporarily 690 00:34:57,440 --> 00:34:59,960 Speaker 2: well they're here, then like the better we can help people, 691 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:01,440 Speaker 2: right right. 692 00:35:01,320 --> 00:35:06,000 Speaker 3: Yeah, exactly, yeah, yeah, I mean, but I think definitely 693 00:35:06,080 --> 00:35:08,560 Speaker 3: the the the vibe is there that they want to 694 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:11,800 Speaker 3: come help. And yeah, like the other day I was feeding. 695 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:15,440 Speaker 3: We're doing a hot dinner and we set up and everything, 696 00:35:15,520 --> 00:35:17,960 Speaker 3: and then all these Kurdish people because I you know, 697 00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 3: will wear this caffee like a like a scuff yeah, 698 00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:29,160 Speaker 3: with the scarf that that you gave me, uh all 699 00:35:29,200 --> 00:35:32,719 Speaker 3: the way from Comishla, and so they recognize it. 700 00:35:32,760 --> 00:35:34,400 Speaker 1: And then I know the saying is bji. 701 00:35:34,200 --> 00:35:37,560 Speaker 3: Kredistan when you know you're from Turkey, oh you Kurdish 702 00:35:37,600 --> 00:35:40,400 Speaker 3: because most of the people from Turkey are Kurdish, not 703 00:35:40,520 --> 00:35:43,320 Speaker 3: all the most, And so you know, we'll start talking 704 00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:45,319 Speaker 3: and then you know, they get all excited and then 705 00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:47,560 Speaker 3: they would just want to help, you know. And I 706 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 3: think even regardless of if I said that or not, 707 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:52,040 Speaker 3: or had the scarf on, they would still just want 708 00:35:52,040 --> 00:35:52,359 Speaker 3: to help. 709 00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:54,160 Speaker 1: Remember one time I was surrounded. 710 00:35:54,320 --> 00:35:56,600 Speaker 3: It was just me serving one of the things, because 711 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,960 Speaker 3: we'll serve multiple things water like a soup, and then 712 00:36:00,080 --> 00:36:02,200 Speaker 3: a rice or a bread or whatever, and then maybe 713 00:36:02,200 --> 00:36:04,560 Speaker 3: some hand wipes or something, and so we just had 714 00:36:04,800 --> 00:36:07,120 Speaker 3: it was just me in the middle, surrounded my Kurdish people, 715 00:36:07,160 --> 00:36:08,319 Speaker 3: and I remember the dude next to me. 716 00:36:08,640 --> 00:36:10,279 Speaker 1: It was just like someone videotape. 717 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:15,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, we Krittish people help really well, tell the world, 718 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:15,680 Speaker 3: you know. 719 00:36:16,680 --> 00:36:19,799 Speaker 2: Yeah, and then like even yeah, when we're not doing food, 720 00:36:19,840 --> 00:36:21,440 Speaker 2: So it's like guys will often come up to me 721 00:36:21,480 --> 00:36:24,319 Speaker 2: and be like, hey, do you have bin bags? We'd 722 00:36:24,320 --> 00:36:25,880 Speaker 2: like to clean up. We'd like it's a mess here 723 00:36:25,880 --> 00:36:26,759 Speaker 2: and we'd like to clean up. 724 00:36:27,239 --> 00:36:29,279 Speaker 3: Yeah, we're unloading every time I'm loading, Like that's its 725 00:36:29,280 --> 00:36:32,640 Speaker 3: cellphone charging station. I want, Like it doesn't matter, you 726 00:36:32,680 --> 00:36:35,920 Speaker 3: know what nationality. Someone is there to help, They're like, oh, 727 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:37,440 Speaker 3: can I grab the table? Can I do this? How 728 00:36:37,440 --> 00:36:38,759 Speaker 3: can I plug this in? A lot of times are 729 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 3: plugging and I'm like, no, I got this a certain way. 730 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:43,080 Speaker 3: I like to plug this all in that makes sense 731 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:47,960 Speaker 3: and relatively high risk activity. I don't want any electrocution or. 732 00:36:48,840 --> 00:36:50,480 Speaker 2: Like the other day I was chopping some stuff with 733 00:36:50,520 --> 00:36:52,080 Speaker 2: an axe and guy wanted to help, and I was say, 734 00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:54,000 Speaker 2: look if I hurt myself and I can get to hospital. 735 00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 2: If you hurt yourself, it's going to be a rough. 736 00:36:56,320 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 3: That could have been a stick it out. 737 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:00,839 Speaker 1: He might purpose hurt himself at. 738 00:37:00,760 --> 00:37:03,839 Speaker 2: That point he had his whole family. Yeah, but yeah, 739 00:37:03,840 --> 00:37:06,839 Speaker 2: we build shelters, and like, some people are really good 740 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:08,399 Speaker 2: at that, and they're good at tying knots, and they're 741 00:37:08,440 --> 00:37:10,080 Speaker 2: good at seeing things at three D and some people 742 00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,600 Speaker 2: are not. So like, often just get a team of 743 00:37:12,640 --> 00:37:14,879 Speaker 2: people who can help, and then you'll get a team 744 00:37:14,920 --> 00:37:18,080 Speaker 2: of people who need shelter. So we'll just career to 745 00:37:18,160 --> 00:37:20,080 Speaker 2: round building shelters for people. And it's fun. Like it 746 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,000 Speaker 2: can't I'm sure it's not a very stimulating environment out there, 747 00:37:24,000 --> 00:37:26,360 Speaker 2: you know. So being engaged in a talk, completing stuff 748 00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:28,560 Speaker 2: and helping people, I'm sure he's rewarding. 749 00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:30,319 Speaker 3: Or like, yeah, even tonight we had a dude from 750 00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:34,359 Speaker 3: Turkey who just like was holding his head. Tia one 751 00:37:34,400 --> 00:37:38,360 Speaker 3: of our local residents. She lives around here. Medically, she's 752 00:37:39,440 --> 00:37:41,800 Speaker 3: doesn't have a whole lot of medical experience other. 753 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:43,520 Speaker 1: Than being a mother or a grandmother. 754 00:37:43,800 --> 00:37:45,960 Speaker 3: And working in as a pharmacy tech and knowing a 755 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:49,120 Speaker 3: little bit about it and learning and being super badass. 756 00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:52,040 Speaker 3: She came to me and she's like, look, this guy 757 00:37:52,280 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 3: has a headache, he's a migraine and he has medication 758 00:37:55,360 --> 00:37:57,760 Speaker 3: from TV. So this is obviously like an ongoing situation. 759 00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:01,879 Speaker 3: And my eyes were her just from all the smoke, yeah, 760 00:38:01,880 --> 00:38:04,000 Speaker 3: the fires that they were starting in the area, and 761 00:38:04,040 --> 00:38:08,320 Speaker 3: he's just sitting there holding his head, clearly, just absolutely miserable. 762 00:38:08,360 --> 00:38:11,040 Speaker 3: So she took him in her car just to like 763 00:38:11,080 --> 00:38:13,080 Speaker 3: give some heater and to warm them up and to 764 00:38:13,120 --> 00:38:14,759 Speaker 3: try to make him feel better, get him away from 765 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:16,879 Speaker 3: the smoke. And she's like, yo, we got to get 766 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,760 Speaker 3: this guy. He's here traveling alone from Turkey. He doesn't 767 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:22,880 Speaker 3: have anybody. So we went and found some more and 768 00:38:22,920 --> 00:38:24,560 Speaker 3: I think he was Kurdish as well. We went and 769 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:29,440 Speaker 3: found another Turkish person or Kurdish person from Turkey, and 770 00:38:29,520 --> 00:38:31,960 Speaker 3: I grabbed this person and I was like, hey, I 771 00:38:32,000 --> 00:38:35,839 Speaker 3: have somebody here who has a gnarly migraine and they 772 00:38:35,880 --> 00:38:37,120 Speaker 3: just they need their heir alone. 773 00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:38,520 Speaker 1: They don't have shelter they need. 774 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:41,000 Speaker 3: And so this guy came over and talked to him 775 00:38:41,000 --> 00:38:42,399 Speaker 3: and was like look, I got we got a tent 776 00:38:42,480 --> 00:38:45,040 Speaker 3: over here, come camp with us. Like that's the kind 777 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 3: of shit that we have to deal with, you know 778 00:38:47,200 --> 00:38:49,600 Speaker 3: what I mean, Just like the migrants will like getting 779 00:38:49,640 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 3: a migrant to help another migrant, you know, it's just 780 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:55,440 Speaker 3: like it's community. That's what like mutual aid is about. 781 00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:59,640 Speaker 4: I think that and that specific situation, I had been 782 00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:02,680 Speaker 4: talking to the group that took him in. I'd been 783 00:39:02,719 --> 00:39:04,359 Speaker 4: talking with them and chatting with him, and I sat 784 00:39:04,400 --> 00:39:06,319 Speaker 4: by the fire with them just talking about you know, 785 00:39:06,320 --> 00:39:08,919 Speaker 4: what was your experience like, and trying to get warm 786 00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:11,680 Speaker 4: because God, it's cold out there, even for us volunteers, 787 00:39:11,719 --> 00:39:14,000 Speaker 4: and you know, we're far away from the fires, and 788 00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,160 Speaker 4: it's really hard because you know, this road is cleared 789 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:20,560 Speaker 4: and so there's you know, there's no warmth out there 790 00:39:21,080 --> 00:39:24,680 Speaker 4: by where they have to stand to get food. But 791 00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,239 Speaker 4: what I what I wanted to highlight was that because 792 00:39:28,440 --> 00:39:31,440 Speaker 4: we are interacting with these people as equals, because we 793 00:39:31,520 --> 00:39:33,880 Speaker 4: are coming here and seeing them as people, and we 794 00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:37,680 Speaker 4: spend the time to talk with them and to build 795 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,560 Speaker 4: commune with them, we can build those connections which allow 796 00:39:42,440 --> 00:39:45,200 Speaker 4: people like the gentleman with the migraine to you know, 797 00:39:45,280 --> 00:39:49,160 Speaker 4: be taken in and to have you know, basically a 798 00:39:49,200 --> 00:39:52,239 Speaker 4: temporary family while he's there and make sure that he's 799 00:39:52,280 --> 00:39:56,080 Speaker 4: taken care of. And that's I think something that really 800 00:39:56,160 --> 00:39:59,239 Speaker 4: highlights the strength of this type of organization and this 801 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:02,400 Speaker 4: type of work, type of you know, the way that 802 00:40:02,680 --> 00:40:07,279 Speaker 4: our politics, the way that our ideals really shine in 803 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:08,240 Speaker 4: this kind of setting. 804 00:40:09,760 --> 00:40:12,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's right. Like I've been around a lot of 805 00:40:12,600 --> 00:40:15,600 Speaker 2: humanitarian crises and you know, refuse situations, and I think 806 00:40:15,640 --> 00:40:17,960 Speaker 2: we're doing it really excellent. Do you have a stectually 807 00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:21,839 Speaker 2: Given the minimal funding and and sort of scale of 808 00:40:22,320 --> 00:40:24,160 Speaker 2: access to resources we have, we could do a lot 809 00:40:24,200 --> 00:40:26,040 Speaker 2: more if we had a lot more money, but we don't. 810 00:40:26,800 --> 00:40:33,560 Speaker 3: You know, we're cooking on like a fucking burners us. Yeah, bro, 811 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:35,400 Speaker 3: we took up to a propaneting that's made out of 812 00:40:35,400 --> 00:40:37,680 Speaker 3: an old cag that's just like if you turn it 813 00:40:37,719 --> 00:40:40,560 Speaker 3: on wrong and let the gas bleed, you will blow 814 00:40:40,600 --> 00:40:44,319 Speaker 3: yourself up. So it's just like like Sam shuw is 815 00:40:44,360 --> 00:40:46,799 Speaker 3: you know, responsible for everybody at the youth center where 816 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:49,280 Speaker 3: we do stuff. So he doesn't really like other people cooking, 817 00:40:49,360 --> 00:40:50,680 Speaker 3: does it. I mean, even though I know how to 818 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:52,279 Speaker 3: do it, He's like doesn't even like me doing it 819 00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,720 Speaker 3: because he's responsible for me if anything were to happen. 820 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:58,000 Speaker 3: So it's like our capacity is super limited. We don't 821 00:40:58,000 --> 00:41:00,400 Speaker 3: have enough burners, we don't have enough containers. We have 822 00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:03,399 Speaker 3: a couple one really nice like locking containers that hold 823 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:05,399 Speaker 3: hot food and keep the food hot, but not enough 824 00:41:05,840 --> 00:41:09,560 Speaker 3: to serve upwards of six hundred people at all three camps, 825 00:41:09,640 --> 00:41:12,799 Speaker 3: and not enough vans, like it would be ideal, like 826 00:41:12,880 --> 00:41:16,520 Speaker 3: in my situation to send a van that has charging 827 00:41:16,600 --> 00:41:20,120 Speaker 3: capabilities to charge everybody's cell phone, to feed everybody, to 828 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,960 Speaker 3: give them water and all their needs, blankets, medical to 829 00:41:24,080 --> 00:41:25,439 Speaker 3: each camp all at once. 830 00:41:25,560 --> 00:41:27,480 Speaker 1: Instead of us driving, it's. 831 00:41:27,480 --> 00:41:29,520 Speaker 3: Cooking a massive amount of food of the UTH center 832 00:41:29,920 --> 00:41:32,640 Speaker 3: and hoping we have enough to hit all three camps. 833 00:41:32,719 --> 00:41:34,920 Speaker 3: Because the numbers we can try to call border patrol 834 00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:37,680 Speaker 3: offices and get numbers, but the numbers are always a 835 00:41:37,680 --> 00:41:40,600 Speaker 3: little skewed or just off, you know, or sometimes lately 836 00:41:40,640 --> 00:41:43,360 Speaker 3: they have just been straight up not giving us the 837 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:50,080 Speaker 3: fucking numbers, like being dicks, especially uh Campo Border Patrol Office, 838 00:41:50,120 --> 00:41:53,960 Speaker 3: which because we deal with two different Campo takes care 839 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,719 Speaker 3: of the Boulevard open air detention site and then the boulevard. 840 00:41:58,719 --> 00:42:01,640 Speaker 3: Border Patrol takes care of the willows. 841 00:42:01,239 --> 00:42:03,719 Speaker 1: In the moon camp in a kumba and. 842 00:42:03,719 --> 00:42:08,799 Speaker 3: Straight up the boulevard Port of Patrol called Campo Nazis. 843 00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,480 Speaker 3: Like they treat their employees like Nats. They're just Nazis, 844 00:42:11,480 --> 00:42:12,800 Speaker 3: and I've seen it in fact. 845 00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:15,560 Speaker 2: Yeah, but yeah, like we have to interact with board 846 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:18,960 Speaker 2: Patrol a lot to get people the help that they need, right, 847 00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,399 Speaker 2: but like, yeah, they're definitely some cases where like there 848 00:42:21,400 --> 00:42:23,480 Speaker 2: have been certain people who are much like they they 849 00:42:24,040 --> 00:42:26,919 Speaker 2: the agent I spoke to today for a Border Pol agent, 850 00:42:27,000 --> 00:42:29,000 Speaker 2: he was very accommodating. He took the person who was 851 00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:32,520 Speaker 2: in medical distress and their partner, He drove them himself 852 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:36,040 Speaker 2: to where they could be ms and ensure that the 853 00:42:36,040 --> 00:42:38,600 Speaker 2: pretunity they go to hospital, Like I don't have a 854 00:42:38,600 --> 00:42:40,799 Speaker 2: whole lot of knowledge what happened afterwards that we don't have. 855 00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:44,120 Speaker 2: We're not entitled to their private medical information and not 856 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:46,840 Speaker 2: should we be. But like other times, it could be 857 00:42:46,920 --> 00:42:49,520 Speaker 2: much harder. So it's just luck of the drawer, right, 858 00:42:49,600 --> 00:42:53,200 Speaker 2: Like we there's so much we don't control, I guess, yeah, 859 00:42:53,239 --> 00:42:57,520 Speaker 2: and like we don't know exactly, Like we can't control 860 00:42:57,560 --> 00:43:00,000 Speaker 2: who goes when, who has the highest level of knee 861 00:43:00,200 --> 00:43:02,000 Speaker 2: you know, like constantly people will be coming up to 862 00:43:02,040 --> 00:43:04,560 Speaker 2: me and being like, hey, like today I was warming 863 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:06,880 Speaker 2: up milk for babies in my camping stuff, right, and 864 00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:08,279 Speaker 2: it was three or four babies, and they were like, 865 00:43:08,280 --> 00:43:09,960 Speaker 2: do you think they'll take us first? We have babies, 866 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:13,000 Speaker 2: And like I think most of the people there would 867 00:43:13,080 --> 00:43:15,400 Speaker 2: rather give up their space and let that baby go 868 00:43:15,440 --> 00:43:17,160 Speaker 2: out because no one wants to see a fucking baby 869 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:21,560 Speaker 2: shivering out there like it's fucked, it's terrible, but we 870 00:43:21,640 --> 00:43:23,480 Speaker 2: don't know, and we can't tell you and we can't 871 00:43:23,520 --> 00:43:27,120 Speaker 2: help you, and so like a lot of that stuff's 872 00:43:27,080 --> 00:43:29,360 Speaker 2: outside of our control. But the stuff that's within our control, 873 00:43:29,400 --> 00:43:32,040 Speaker 2: I think we've done a really good job of I 874 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:35,360 Speaker 2: wonder like if people are listening. I think I just 875 00:43:35,360 --> 00:43:37,200 Speaker 2: want to convey that we're all just weird, like a 876 00:43:37,239 --> 00:43:42,840 Speaker 2: group of like we're not like Ragca extremely like Motley Crewe, 877 00:43:43,640 --> 00:43:47,200 Speaker 2: and but we're really doing excellent work. I think if 878 00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:49,719 Speaker 2: it may blow our trumpet, but like if people want 879 00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:52,400 Speaker 2: to come and help, first of all, I would like 880 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,440 Speaker 2: you probably can. People think that they can't, they don't 881 00:43:56,440 --> 00:43:59,000 Speaker 2: have anything useful, Like I promise you do, Like if 882 00:43:59,040 --> 00:44:01,840 Speaker 2: you can, if you can like lift a ladle or 883 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:05,920 Speaker 2: like a palette of water bottles, or drive a vehicle, or. 884 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:11,480 Speaker 3: Multiple multiple languages, sometimes it's like yeah you want or 885 00:44:11,520 --> 00:44:14,920 Speaker 3: even just right, or even just one language other than English, 886 00:44:14,920 --> 00:44:18,560 Speaker 3: because I mean even some people speak perfectly English out there, 887 00:44:18,840 --> 00:44:21,799 Speaker 3: and so just going out there and paying attention to them, 888 00:44:21,880 --> 00:44:24,520 Speaker 3: even if you don't have the capacity to cook food 889 00:44:24,719 --> 00:44:27,160 Speaker 3: or to serve food or whatever, if you can go 890 00:44:27,239 --> 00:44:30,040 Speaker 3: talk to people and you're sociable and you can make 891 00:44:30,080 --> 00:44:32,439 Speaker 3: connections and listen to their needs. And you know, there's 892 00:44:32,520 --> 00:44:35,799 Speaker 3: Google Translate, there's we have a list of translators, like 893 00:44:35,840 --> 00:44:39,400 Speaker 3: a form with numbers, so if you have a language barrier, 894 00:44:39,440 --> 00:44:41,560 Speaker 3: you can just call start calling down the line of 895 00:44:41,640 --> 00:44:44,360 Speaker 3: numbers of Mandarin or this language or that language, and 896 00:44:44,400 --> 00:44:46,040 Speaker 3: you can get I got a hold of somebody one 897 00:44:46,080 --> 00:44:48,759 Speaker 3: time for Mandarin to figure out how many days they 898 00:44:48,760 --> 00:44:50,759 Speaker 3: had been there, and it was like called a couple 899 00:44:50,760 --> 00:44:53,200 Speaker 3: of people, first no answer, and then finally someone picked up, 900 00:44:53,239 --> 00:44:56,440 Speaker 3: and so it's yeah, you know, anybody, there's always you 901 00:44:56,440 --> 00:45:00,479 Speaker 3: could always find something. Honestly, one thing that I make doing, 902 00:45:00,520 --> 00:45:02,560 Speaker 3: which when I first started coming out here, we had 903 00:45:02,640 --> 00:45:05,799 Speaker 3: a little bit more volunteers, especially I was coming out 904 00:45:05,800 --> 00:45:08,920 Speaker 3: on the weekends, when weekends typically we have more volunteers 905 00:45:08,920 --> 00:45:11,120 Speaker 3: because people have jobs in the weekdays, and week days 906 00:45:11,120 --> 00:45:13,840 Speaker 3: we have less. But I was when I first started 907 00:45:13,880 --> 00:45:16,440 Speaker 3: coming out to Hookumba on the weekends, I started bringing 908 00:45:16,440 --> 00:45:21,239 Speaker 3: my guitar and my bongos and my you know, different instruments, tambourines, 909 00:45:21,280 --> 00:45:23,360 Speaker 3: and I we gave out all the instruments to the 910 00:45:23,400 --> 00:45:26,200 Speaker 3: migrants at night while we were giving them dinner to 911 00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:28,600 Speaker 3: they were around the campfire and so that they can 912 00:45:28,640 --> 00:45:31,759 Speaker 3: play and enjoy themselves and lift their spirits and so 913 00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:34,320 Speaker 3: like that would be rad to have somebody on spot 914 00:45:34,360 --> 00:45:36,840 Speaker 3: all the time with a guitar and like jamming with 915 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:39,840 Speaker 3: the migrants and lifting their spirits because it's they're miserable. 916 00:45:39,840 --> 00:45:43,839 Speaker 3: And one dude from Muzbekistan once sold me. Spoke really 917 00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,120 Speaker 3: good English, and in fact he told me about there's 918 00:45:46,120 --> 00:45:47,399 Speaker 3: like commercials and so he. 919 00:45:47,360 --> 00:45:50,880 Speaker 1: Worked at like a center where they send people over here. 920 00:45:51,160 --> 00:45:51,399 Speaker 2: Wow. 921 00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:53,480 Speaker 3: Yeah, like he was on the call center or whatever 922 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:54,759 Speaker 3: for it or something like that. 923 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:57,040 Speaker 1: But well, I was like, well, like how was it? 924 00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,760 Speaker 3: Like I he was like, honestly, we're just bored. Yeah, 925 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:02,440 Speaker 3: they're just waiting and at that time, like the weights 926 00:46:02,480 --> 00:46:06,560 Speaker 3: were like four or five days. You know, it changes, 927 00:46:06,600 --> 00:46:08,640 Speaker 3: it vary as it goes from two to three to 928 00:46:08,760 --> 00:46:11,640 Speaker 3: four or five, and the dissensions and sometimes they get 929 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:14,920 Speaker 3: out the same day if they're lucky. But yeah, it 930 00:46:14,960 --> 00:46:17,960 Speaker 3: was just we're bored and we're just waiting and they're anxious, 931 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:20,520 Speaker 3: and which also just tears at their spirit while they're 932 00:46:20,560 --> 00:46:23,359 Speaker 3: you know, their first day in America, you know. 933 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:26,720 Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly, Yeah, like welcome to America, sleeping with jesseet. 934 00:46:26,719 --> 00:46:28,680 Speaker 2: It's like just above freezing. 935 00:46:29,040 --> 00:46:33,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, and here's no blankets, no structures, no anything, no food, 936 00:46:33,800 --> 00:46:36,800 Speaker 3: no water. If your lucky, Border patrol will bring crackers 937 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:38,560 Speaker 3: and water for not enough people. 938 00:46:38,920 --> 00:46:41,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, and yeah, a bunch of US waiters turn up 939 00:46:41,520 --> 00:46:43,040 Speaker 2: with blankets and that's it. 940 00:46:44,200 --> 00:46:44,439 Speaker 1: Yeah. 941 00:46:44,840 --> 00:46:47,800 Speaker 4: And I know that even if it's you know, I 942 00:46:48,520 --> 00:46:52,040 Speaker 4: try and include other people. But even just like I 943 00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:53,920 Speaker 4: go out there with my guitar sometimes and there's a 944 00:46:53,960 --> 00:46:56,280 Speaker 4: lull and or we're waiting to pack up or whatever, 945 00:46:56,320 --> 00:46:59,920 Speaker 4: and I'll be playing and I think the little moments 946 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:04,200 Speaker 4: like that mean everything for these folks. And I know 947 00:47:04,280 --> 00:47:06,640 Speaker 4: that I've you know, I'll bring up that I have, 948 00:47:07,040 --> 00:47:08,880 Speaker 4: you know, on a day that I don't have my guitar, 949 00:47:08,920 --> 00:47:11,200 Speaker 4: I'll bring up that I play it and the migrants 950 00:47:11,200 --> 00:47:13,040 Speaker 4: will be all excited, wanting me to bring it out 951 00:47:13,120 --> 00:47:16,480 Speaker 4: or wanting me to to you know, whatever the activity 952 00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:20,800 Speaker 4: may be, just to to stimulate, you know, their minds 953 00:47:20,800 --> 00:47:23,959 Speaker 4: a little bit. I mean, this is it's it's really 954 00:47:24,040 --> 00:47:30,800 Speaker 4: bleak and being there for for days, for just stuck 955 00:47:30,920 --> 00:47:34,440 Speaker 4: in the desert with nothing to do, right, And I 956 00:47:34,480 --> 00:47:37,040 Speaker 4: mean sometimes, you know, I've seen a soccer ball out 957 00:47:37,080 --> 00:47:39,040 Speaker 4: there that the kids play with, and that's that's so 958 00:47:39,160 --> 00:47:43,040 Speaker 4: heartwight warming. Things like that that really, you know, we 959 00:47:43,120 --> 00:47:46,319 Speaker 4: want these people to feel like they can still be 960 00:47:46,440 --> 00:47:49,560 Speaker 4: in community with each other like they're not. And I 961 00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:51,560 Speaker 4: feel like things like that really. 962 00:47:51,320 --> 00:47:51,759 Speaker 1: Help to. 963 00:47:53,239 --> 00:47:57,840 Speaker 4: Repair that sense of desperation, because right now, with the 964 00:47:57,920 --> 00:47:59,720 Speaker 4: level of desperation, we do see a lot of fighting 965 00:47:59,719 --> 00:48:01,920 Speaker 4: for some applies, a lot of fighting for resources because 966 00:48:02,760 --> 00:48:06,160 Speaker 4: it's it's hard. It's hard out there. People want to 967 00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:09,440 Speaker 4: make sure that their kids have blankets. People are so 968 00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:14,680 Speaker 4: cold they can't sleep, And I feel like things that 969 00:48:14,760 --> 00:48:18,239 Speaker 4: bring them together, activities that really make them feel like 970 00:48:18,280 --> 00:48:22,200 Speaker 4: a community out there and help us feel in community 971 00:48:22,239 --> 00:48:25,560 Speaker 4: with them, allows us to have a more cohesive relationship 972 00:48:25,560 --> 00:48:28,840 Speaker 4: and allows things to go more smoothly. And I think it's, 973 00:48:29,160 --> 00:48:32,640 Speaker 4: you know, in some cases, more important than the supplies themselves, 974 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:35,520 Speaker 4: because it makes sure that they go to the right places. 975 00:48:35,560 --> 00:48:38,560 Speaker 4: It helps us triage, it helps us, you know, it's 976 00:48:38,600 --> 00:48:41,200 Speaker 4: its own tool for survival. 977 00:48:41,360 --> 00:48:46,120 Speaker 3: It could distract them from their suffering, you know, if 978 00:48:46,120 --> 00:48:48,759 Speaker 3: they can have an ounce of joy, you know, and 979 00:48:48,840 --> 00:48:52,480 Speaker 3: this horrible condition, in these horrible conditions, that it'll distract 980 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:56,200 Speaker 3: them enough to smile and to laugh and to not 981 00:48:56,280 --> 00:48:57,040 Speaker 3: be miserable. 982 00:48:57,400 --> 00:48:59,759 Speaker 2: Yeah, I have a normal moment. Yeah. So I wonder 983 00:48:59,800 --> 00:49:03,600 Speaker 2: if people want to help, what are the ways that 984 00:49:03,680 --> 00:49:04,720 Speaker 2: they can help. 985 00:49:06,000 --> 00:49:09,160 Speaker 3: Ways it can help are are coming out here directly, 986 00:49:09,239 --> 00:49:10,040 Speaker 3: hands on the ground. 987 00:49:10,719 --> 00:49:12,960 Speaker 1: Money donating money. 988 00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:16,920 Speaker 3: Is another huge need because a lot of the supplies 989 00:49:17,160 --> 00:49:19,120 Speaker 3: that we need cost money. 990 00:49:19,640 --> 00:49:22,440 Speaker 1: We need a new kitchen, we need, you know, a. 991 00:49:22,440 --> 00:49:26,520 Speaker 3: Dishwashing station because we're currently just dumping all of our 992 00:49:26,560 --> 00:49:33,319 Speaker 3: dish washing water into a lawn that has a small drain. Yeah, 993 00:49:33,360 --> 00:49:38,280 Speaker 3: and yeah, a Loolato is one organization that takes money 994 00:49:39,200 --> 00:49:43,000 Speaker 3: that you can donate to. Border Kindness is another one. Yeah, 995 00:49:43,080 --> 00:49:46,480 Speaker 3: I know, Detention Resistance is out here. A lot the 996 00:49:46,480 --> 00:49:50,080 Speaker 3: most direct way to is would be donating directly to 997 00:49:50,200 --> 00:49:56,360 Speaker 3: Sam Schultz himself. So yeah, and just you know, following 998 00:49:57,400 --> 00:50:00,480 Speaker 3: those same organizations, they're a free shit. Color Active is 999 00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:03,680 Speaker 3: another one. They mostly focus on W eight. But this 1000 00:50:03,719 --> 00:50:06,600 Speaker 3: is all related, right, Like I we had this man 1001 00:50:06,840 --> 00:50:10,799 Speaker 3: from Turkey who came with his dog Bom bomb or 1002 00:50:10,840 --> 00:50:13,279 Speaker 3: bam bam like he said flintstones, but they say bomb bomb, 1003 00:50:13,320 --> 00:50:17,640 Speaker 3: I guess. And he was stuck in one of the camps, 1004 00:50:17,800 --> 00:50:21,640 Speaker 3: and so you know, we like took his dog because 1005 00:50:21,800 --> 00:50:23,480 Speaker 3: he was not going to be taken from the camp. 1006 00:50:23,520 --> 00:50:26,239 Speaker 3: He spent the night alone because they had enough room 1007 00:50:26,239 --> 00:50:27,880 Speaker 3: for him. They's like, they don't know how to process 1008 00:50:27,880 --> 00:50:30,640 Speaker 3: a fucking dog, I guess. So we took his dog 1009 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:33,120 Speaker 3: for him and so he could get processed. And once 1010 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:36,400 Speaker 3: he ended up out of detention at Central, which is 1011 00:50:36,440 --> 00:50:40,320 Speaker 3: where they released them, we reunited his dog with him. 1012 00:50:40,440 --> 00:50:43,280 Speaker 3: Very emotional on both sides of the separation. 1013 00:50:42,920 --> 00:50:47,400 Speaker 1: And the reuniting. So you know, there's all these organizations. 1014 00:50:47,400 --> 00:50:49,960 Speaker 3: You can you know, volunteer down in Central at the 1015 00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:54,000 Speaker 3: when they release you can you know there's and so yeah, 1016 00:50:54,040 --> 00:50:56,600 Speaker 3: but following all these accounts sharing the stories, you know 1017 00:50:56,600 --> 00:50:59,680 Speaker 3: what I mean on your social media, be it Twitter, 1018 00:50:59,719 --> 00:51:04,600 Speaker 3: all re call it the other thing or you know, Instagram, Facebook, 1019 00:51:04,680 --> 00:51:07,440 Speaker 3: whatever your media is. Discord YadA YadA. 1020 00:51:08,920 --> 00:51:11,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. I think even sharing my stories is really powerful. 1021 00:51:11,280 --> 00:51:13,600 Speaker 2: People could translate, they can reach out, they want to 1022 00:51:13,640 --> 00:51:16,640 Speaker 2: do that. I looked up the r L it's for 1023 00:51:16,719 --> 00:51:21,120 Speaker 2: border Kindness. It's link tr dot e e slash border Kindness, 1024 00:51:21,560 --> 00:51:26,040 Speaker 2: and for it's altlado a l O t r O 1025 00:51:26,560 --> 00:51:30,839 Speaker 2: l a d o dot org slash donate And. 1026 00:51:30,760 --> 00:51:33,040 Speaker 1: They pay me to be out here, so please don't 1027 00:51:33,040 --> 00:51:33,440 Speaker 1: it to them. 1028 00:51:33,920 --> 00:51:37,200 Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, help them and border kindas. Jackie and James 1029 00:51:37,239 --> 00:51:38,680 Speaker 3: are great, They're always out here. 1030 00:51:38,840 --> 00:51:40,880 Speaker 1: It's either one is wonderful. 1031 00:51:42,239 --> 00:51:45,320 Speaker 4: I also wanted to highlight the lovely mutual aid groups 1032 00:51:45,360 --> 00:51:48,160 Speaker 4: that do a lot of work. There's not as many 1033 00:51:48,360 --> 00:51:51,080 Speaker 4: of them directly putting their efforts out here, but I 1034 00:51:51,120 --> 00:51:53,400 Speaker 4: know that they have helped me work out here and 1035 00:51:53,440 --> 00:51:55,360 Speaker 4: make sure that I have the funds I need to, 1036 00:51:56,560 --> 00:51:59,520 Speaker 4: you know, do little store runs that are necessary on 1037 00:51:59,560 --> 00:52:01,920 Speaker 4: a on a moment's notice at times because we we 1038 00:52:02,000 --> 00:52:04,400 Speaker 4: run out of something and we can't wait for a 1039 00:52:04,400 --> 00:52:08,960 Speaker 4: bulk order supply and the you know, there there are 1040 00:52:09,000 --> 00:52:11,239 Speaker 4: these mutual aid groups. You know, they they put in 1041 00:52:11,239 --> 00:52:15,279 Speaker 4: the work to reimburse folks when we do things like that, 1042 00:52:15,360 --> 00:52:18,920 Speaker 4: when we have to go make runs because we can't 1043 00:52:18,960 --> 00:52:21,600 Speaker 4: bulk order, we can't do it the most efficient way 1044 00:52:21,640 --> 00:52:25,319 Speaker 4: because we have a need right now. And that has 1045 00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:28,719 Speaker 4: saved us in a lot of different moments, especially I 1046 00:52:28,800 --> 00:52:31,920 Speaker 4: used to volunteer down at W eight in Sandy Cidro 1047 00:52:32,880 --> 00:52:35,839 Speaker 4: and that was the primary way that we got resources 1048 00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:42,160 Speaker 4: was through these mutual aid groups who who fundraised and 1049 00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:44,320 Speaker 4: and I yeah, I just wanted to highlight them and 1050 00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:49,840 Speaker 4: highlight the So there's the Rose Cute Collective. I know 1051 00:52:49,880 --> 00:52:52,640 Speaker 4: that they do a lot of fundraising. I know that 1052 00:52:52,680 --> 00:52:56,600 Speaker 4: you were saying free Ship, Free Shit Collective. Yeah. Uh, 1053 00:52:56,800 --> 00:53:00,160 Speaker 4: there's a few Freestore SD Yeah, there's a there's a 1054 00:53:00,160 --> 00:53:04,399 Speaker 4: few different ones who you know, their funds help keep 1055 00:53:04,520 --> 00:53:08,279 Speaker 4: us running, especially in the hardest of times right now. 1056 00:53:08,840 --> 00:53:10,240 Speaker 2: Yeah, because we're all broke. 1057 00:53:11,440 --> 00:53:15,320 Speaker 4: We're so broke, we have no money, have any money. 1058 00:53:15,960 --> 00:53:18,520 Speaker 3: I'm on the migrant diet because I'm broke, and I'm 1059 00:53:18,560 --> 00:53:21,200 Speaker 3: just eating the food that we feed them when there's leftovers. 1060 00:53:21,560 --> 00:53:23,200 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, we've been a lot of peb and j 1061 00:53:23,320 --> 00:53:27,200 Speaker 2: and beans help us, help us feed ourselves and that 1062 00:53:27,560 --> 00:53:30,960 Speaker 2: was wonderful. Thank you so much. Yeah, everyone listening to 1063 00:53:30,960 --> 00:53:31,160 Speaker 2: you do. 1064 00:53:31,239 --> 00:53:31,759 Speaker 1: Name, thank you. 1065 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:35,160 Speaker 2: Yeah, and come down here. If someone came from San 1066 00:53:35,160 --> 00:53:38,719 Speaker 2: Francisco in May, come back, Like there are places you 1067 00:53:38,719 --> 00:53:40,200 Speaker 2: can stay are in the desert if you want to 1068 00:53:40,200 --> 00:53:42,520 Speaker 2: come and help. But even if you have language skills 1069 00:53:43,280 --> 00:53:45,319 Speaker 2: like we there were so many ways you can help. 1070 00:53:45,880 --> 00:53:50,040 Speaker 4: Come down. I've always had a place to stay, even 1071 00:53:50,040 --> 00:53:52,960 Speaker 4: though I like, like of all I've I've always been 1072 00:53:53,000 --> 00:53:54,600 Speaker 4: ready to sleep in my van, but always had a 1073 00:53:54,640 --> 00:53:59,000 Speaker 4: spot to say, come down. It's you know, it's worth it. 1074 00:53:59,000 --> 00:54:03,080 Speaker 4: It's there's a vortex that's not coming they called the 1075 00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:05,120 Speaker 4: locals call it, call it of vortex. You know. You 1076 00:54:05,320 --> 00:54:08,560 Speaker 4: you come here and it's like every past lifetime has 1077 00:54:08,920 --> 00:54:11,879 Speaker 4: has been here and you're destined to be here. There's 1078 00:54:11,880 --> 00:54:14,719 Speaker 4: something special about this town and I've really fallen in 1079 00:54:14,719 --> 00:54:15,680 Speaker 4: love with it since coming. 1080 00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:18,920 Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, I hope we'll be boogum. It would mean 1081 00:54:18,920 --> 00:54:21,440 Speaker 2: a lot to me if like we could do something 1082 00:54:21,520 --> 00:54:24,520 Speaker 2: cool and like further support something that's very important to 1083 00:54:24,520 --> 00:54:26,000 Speaker 2: me and I think very important for the world. 1084 00:54:26,880 --> 00:54:28,319 Speaker 1: Totally. It's sick. 1085 00:54:33,600 --> 00:54:35,960 Speaker 5: It could happen here as a production of cool Zone Media. 1086 00:54:36,160 --> 00:54:38,840 Speaker 5: For more podcasts from cool Zone Media, visit our website 1087 00:54:38,880 --> 00:54:41,120 Speaker 5: cool zonemedia dot com, or check us out on the 1088 00:54:41,160 --> 00:54:44,600 Speaker 5: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, 1089 00:54:45,120 --> 00:54:47,240 Speaker 5: you can find sources for It could happen here, updated 1090 00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:51,400 Speaker 5: monthly at cool zonemedia dot com slash sources. Thanks for listening.