Border Issues Fair to be held Jan. 17 in Sahuarita

The Santa Cruz Valley Border Coalition’s Fifth Annual Border Issues Fair, “Why Deaths in the Desert?,” will be held on Saturday, Jan. 17, at The Good Shepherd United Church of Christ in Sahuarita.

Every day, thousands of men, women and children from Mexico and Central America attempt to cross the border into Arizona. Tragically, many die in the desert. Learn more about the dynamics behind this reality, what’s being done to prevent it, and how you could become involved.

The fair will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the church campus, 17750 S. La Canada Dr., and will feature the following speakers:

John Carlos Frey will speak on “Human Rights Violations on the U.S.-Mexico Border.” Frey is the screenwriter and director of the film, “The Gatekeeper,” which starkly portrays the immigration situation along the US-Mexico Border.

Journalist and writer Miriam Davidson will present “Nogales, Ten Years Later.” Her book “Lives on the Line, Dispatches from the U.S.- Mexico Border,” published in 2000, tells five true stories from the border cities Nogales, Ariz., and Nogales, Sonora.

The Rev. Robin Hoover, First Christian Church, Tucson, president of Humane Borders, will speak on “Deaths in the Desert, Why Here?”

A $10 donation is requested. Lunch will be included. Ted Warmbrand, a Tucson musician, will provide entertainment during lunch. Following lunch, the three presenters will engage in a panel discussion and answer questions from the audience.

Groups that offer area residents an opportunity to become directly involved will have displays. These include the Border Action Network, BorderLinks, Derechos Humanos, Los Descondocidos, the Naco Migrant Resource Center, Humane Borders, JustCoffee, No More Deaths, and Samaritans. Photographer Michael Hyatt and artists Valerie James and Debbi McCullough will have some of their work there.

For more information, call Shura Wallin at 520-399-5877.

jrichardson@gvnews.com | 547-9726