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Award of Excellence
Janet Jarman Corbis
"Crossings: The Dream of the Rich North"
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1 of 35
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On a scorching summer afternoon in August, 1996, Marisol, 8,
daydreams at dusk while she waits for another load of garbage to arrive at
the municipal waste dump in Matamoros, Mexico. She, her mother and several
siblings searched for recyclable items to resell in the dump, before they
moved to the United States.
Every year tens
of thousands of Mexicans illegally cross the
border into the U.S. searching for a better life in 'El Norte,' where they
often disappear into a black hole of anonymity, exploitation and uncertainty,
their lives and contributions largely misunderstood. Marisol, her
mother and several siblings were living and working in the municipal dump in
Matamoros, Mexico in 1996, when they decided to try their luck and cross the
border. This essay documents the family's struggle over an eight-year period
(from August 1996 to the present), covering the obstacles and opportunities
they encountered in Mexico and the U.S. , moving from Matamoros to Florida
and onwards to Texas. This required coping with a new language, confusing
customs, discrimination and exploitation. Over time the American Dream seemed
to be slipping away. Their story repeats itself throughout the United States
each day, and across the world, as similar economic realities move immigrants
across borders.
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