Border Coalition schedules fair on issues at Lutheran church

Special to the Green Valley News

Mexico/US border issues, what fuels the situation today, what’s being done will be discussed at the Santa Cruz Valley Border Coalition’s Fourth Annual Border issues Fair, “Close Encounters on the Border,” from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, at Desert Hills Lutheran Church, 2150 S. Camino del Sol.

Speakers will include Dr. Anna Ochoa O’Leary, adjunct lecturer at the Mexican American Studies and Research Center; Mike Marizco, a freelance journalist who covers border issues and writes for the Web site, borderreporter.com; and Mike Wilson, human rights advocate from the Tohono O’odham Nation.

O’Leary will speak on “Close Encounters of the Deadly Kind: Gender and Migration in a Time of Increased Border (in) Security.” Mike Marizco will speak on the “Rise of Organized Crime on the Border.” Mike Wilson will speak on “No Exemptions from Accountability.”

A $10 registration donation will include a Mexican lunch provided by local restaurants. The Santa Cruz River Band will provide entertainment during lunch. After lunch, the three presenters will engage in a panel discussion and answer questions from the audience. Many groups which offer area residents an opportunity to become directly involved will have displays, including the Border Action Network, BorderLinks, Derechos Humanos, Humane Borders, JustCoffee, No More Deaths and Samaritans. Artists Valerie James and Debbi McCullough and Michael Hyatt, photographer, will have some of their work there.

For additional information, call Shura Wallin, 399-1454.