{"id":369,"date":"2019-08-19T20:34:35","date_gmt":"2019-08-19T20:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.peoplenotprofits.co\/salv\/?p=3819"},"modified":"2019-08-19T20:34:35","modified_gmt":"2019-08-19T20:34:35","slug":"humanitarian-aid-is-never-a-crime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2019\/08\/19\/humanitarian-aid-is-never-a-crime\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cHumanitarian Aid Is Never a Crime\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/embed\/story\/2019\/8\/19\/humanitarian_aid_is_never_a_crime\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:100px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Volunteers with the \nhumanitarian aid group No More Deaths have been venturing into the harsh\n Sonoran Desert for years to leave life-saving supplies for migrants \ncrossing the U.S.-Mexico border. Longtime volunteer Scott Warren was \ncharged with three felonies for the alleged crime of providing food, \nwater and shelter to migrants. After a hung jury in June, he is now \nfacing retrial on two felony counts and faces a possible 10 years in \nprison. As he awaits his next trial as well as deals with misdemeanor \ncharges in another case of aiding migrants, Democracy Now! followed him \ninto the Sonoran Desert for his first trip in a year accompanying other \nNo More Deaths volunteers who left water and food for migrants making \nthe treacherous journey north.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h5>Transcript<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> This is <em>Democracy Now!<\/em>\n I\u2019m Amy Goodman, broadcasting from Tucson, as we continue our journey \ninto the Sonoran Desert with humanitarian activist Scott Warren and No \nMore Deaths. Deep into the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, just \nnorth of the U.S.-Mexico border, Scott and two other volunteers, Geena \nJackson and Paige Corich-Kleim, hiked into the desert over the weekend \nto leave food and water for migrants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Scott, how does it feel to be coming out here to be part of a water drop for the first time since your trial, in over a year?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n It\u2019s good to be back out in the desert, and it\u2019s good to just be having\n a presence out here again and to be part of that, part of the work that\n people are doing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> What are your plans right now? Where are we? And what are you going to do?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>PAIGE CORICH-KLEIM:<\/strong>\n We\u2019re in Organ Pipe, and we\u2019re heading in to check on some water drop \nlocations that are just up in these hills here. So, we\u2019re hiking in to \ncheck on those areas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> And how do you know about the presence of migrants in this area?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n We\u2019ve spent several years now in these areas doing search and rescue, \nsearch and recovery, and doing water drops. And so, we just know that \npeople are moving through these areas. And they\u2019ve been moving through \nin large numbers for a while. Also, in these mountainous areas, \noftentimes there\u2019s trails that people will hike. And so, it\u2019s easy to \nfind those trails and sort of find evidence of where people have gone \nbefore. And then, that\u2019s where we try to get humanitarian supplies to \npeople.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Have you found bodies or bones in these hills?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n Yep. Yeah, we have, unfortunately. Where we\u2019re going, in fact, there\u2019s \nbeen several recoveries that we\u2019ve been in involved in, and searches, \nand people who have died in this area, yeah.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Can you describe this area we\u2019re walking through?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n Sure, an area that\u2019s \u2014 from here, we\u2019re probably maybe 15 miles north \nof the border, as the crow flies. And we\u2019re hiking into these mountains \non the west side of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, which is \nHia-Ced O\u2019odham land and territory. And its Sonoran Desert can be really\n difficult to walk through, because even these areas that might look \nlike they\u2019re flat, there\u2019s actually quite a bit of terrain and \ntopography, because there\u2019s these washes. So, oftentimes what seems like\n it could be even just a flat, easy walk is like really strenuous, \nbecause you\u2019re dropping down into these deep washes and then climbing \nback out and then going again and going down into a wash and climbing \nback out again. So, it can be really difficult to hike through here.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Can you say what a wash is? A little gully?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n Yeah, it\u2019s a gully, yeah. It\u2019ll have water in it when it rains. But \nmost of the time it\u2019s dry. This is one way where we know where to drop \nwater, which is, we\u2019re on these trails that are pretty distinct and are \nused by migrants.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> And what were they created by?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong> By people, by migrants just walking through here over time and establishing this path.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong>\n So, as you drop&nbsp;\u2014 make this water drop, I mean, we are standing here. \nIt\u2019s over 100-degree weather. Just walking for \u2014 what? \u2014 half an hour, \nit is so beyond depleting.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong> Yeah.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> For migrants, some of them walk for days, and it can even be hotter than this.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n Yes. Yep, that\u2019s correct. Yeah, days in this weather. You can\u2019t carry \nenough water. You know, even if you\u2019re able to carry like four gallons \nof water, you\u2019ll go through that. And so, people are dependent on \nfinding the few water sources that do exist in this desert, which \nsometimes you get to a watering hole, and the water can be quite dirty, \nor it can be dry. So, it\u2019s a really \u2014it\u2019s really risky.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>PAIGE CORICH-KLEIM:<\/strong>\n So, whenever we leave water gallons, we write messages on them, just \nsimple things for people to find, partially so that folks know that it\u2019s\n not Border Patrol like putting out water that\u2019s a trap, and also just \nto kind of show a level of care and solidarity with people who are \nmaking a really dangerous trip. So, we just like write little notes on \nthem and then leave those for people to find.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> What are you going to write?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>PAIGE CORICH-KLEIM:<\/strong>\n I usually write kind of religious notes, so like \u201cVayan con la fuerza \nde Dios\u201d or \u201cQue Dios bendiga su camino,\u201d which means \u201cGo with the \nstrength of God\u201d or \u201cMay God bless your journey.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Geena, can you describe what you\u2019re writing on that bottle?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GEENA JACKSON:<\/strong>\n For this one, I wrote \u201c\u00a1\u00c1nimo!\u201d and \u201c\u00a1Mantenga la fuerza!\u201d and \u201c\u00a1S\u00ed, se\n puede!\u201d and words of \u2014 I don\u2019t know \u2014&nbsp;words of strength. I don\u2019t know. \nWe\u2019ve asked some of our patients before what would feel good to read on \nthe gallon, or what would be like a nice message, or what \u2014&nbsp;I don\u2019t know\n \u2014 what makes the water seem more trustworthy. And a lot of people have \nsaid, like, more religious stuff. And a lot of people have said \n\u201c\u00a1Animo!\u201d So, \u201c\u00a1Animo!\u201d it is.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Geena, you\u2019re now laying out canned beans. Why beans?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GEENA JACKSON:<\/strong>\n So, we lay out the cans that have pop tops, so that people can open \nthem pretty easily. And we want to put out things that have calories in \nthem and also salt. Drinking water is not enough. A lot of dehydration \ncomes from electrolyte imbalance. So, you need like sodium in addition \nto water. So we want to put out salty food, or beans have calories and \nis, like, starchy and has sugars, as well. Yeah, just for some caloric \nintake in addition to the water.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> And you\u2019re putting this in the shade.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GEENA JACKSON:<\/strong>\n Yeah. Well, so, we want to protect the pop tops, because you can\u2019t get \nin the beans or any can very easily if you can\u2019t get into it. So, a lot \nof times I put them upside down, so that birds won\u2019t peck at the shiny \npart and break the pop top. And also, if it rains, we don\u2019t want water \nto collect in there, because it will rust the pop top. So, I put those \nunderneath, here. And then, we just want the gallons to be in a shadier \narea, just to protect the plastic so it doesn\u2019t disintegrate and for the\n quality of the water. But we\u2019ll come back and check on these drops \nwithin like one week, two weeks, three weeks, and then can swap out if \nanything has gotten old, or if things are used, we\u2019ll pack up the empty \ngallons and leave fresh ones.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> Is this against the law in these parts?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>GEENA JACKSON:<\/strong>\n Humanitarian aid is never a crime. It is a humanitarian imperative to \ntry and ease the death and suffering in this area. And regardless of \ngovernment agencies trying to prosecute humanitarian aid workers, we \nmaintain that humanitarian aid is never a crime.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong> As you watch this, Scott, what your colleagues are doing, from No More Deaths, do you get to describe this in the courtroom?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p><strong>SCOTT WARREN:<\/strong>\n Yeah, I\u2019m just noticing the energy of this moment, and I think maybe \nbecause all of us are here, and hearing here my friends describe the \nmessages that they\u2019re writing on the bottles. It\u2019s so routine for us \nthat we do this, but even I forget like how important and like how \nbeautiful and really kind of sacred it is for us. And it\u2019s an honor for \nus to be able to be out here and do this work, I think.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>AMY GOODMAN:<\/strong>  That was Scott Warren with No More Deaths. It was his first time in  more than a year accompanying a water drop in the desert. He faces a  November retrial for helping migrants last year. When we come back, we  speak with Robin Reineke, co-founder of Colibr\u00ed Center for Human Rights.  She identifies the remains of thousands of migrants who have been found  in the Sonoran Desert. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Originally Posted on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.democracynow.org\/2019\/8\/19\/humanitarian_aid_is_never_a_crime?fbclid=IwAR3c-9ezhQSwmWapf7iFDu1NdNf24dtCFx2lySKocMwG9418XoiJb-_26x8\">Democracy Now!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The original content of this program is licensed under a <a href=\"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/3.0\/us\/\">Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License<\/a>.  Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of  the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately  licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.salvavision.org\/2019\/08\/19\/humanitarian-aid-is-never-a-crime\/\">Salvavision<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Volunteers with the humanitarian aid group No More Deaths have been venturing into the harsh Sonoran Desert for years to leave life-saving supplies for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":762494,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369\/revisions\/762494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}