@heretical_i

Back last winter when I was photographing the #ContainerWall in southern Arizona, most conversations about the future or the San Rafael Valley section of the border seemed pretty unanimous that Biden would try to build more wall there at some point. Or, if not Biden, whoever the next president is, R or D. They all want it.

I was visiting relatives (nice liberal Democrats) recently who watch CNN. I wanted to scream at the TV when reporters talked about the "crisis" at the U.S-Mexico border. Watching mainstream media, it is entirely understandable why no one understands the situation.

I now spend most of my year in the desert 30 miles from Mexico, doing desert aid (e.g. water drops on migrant trails) and, this winter, covering protests against the #ContainerWall. Every time I think I...kinda?...understand the border dynamics, I learn something new that torques my previous assumptions. So, I don't blame people who are not immersed in this for not understanding it.

But the way issues are framed by MSM are almost designed to lead to a sense of panic or a sense that this is too complex to understand. It's the result of a mix of ideological preconceptions, lazy reporting and the demands of fast-paced, ad-supported, corporate-profit-driven media.

My story on the #ContainerWall will probably never feel done, but it's done for now until I feel like going back to edit more and add more side stories as blog posts. This image is from the "Coda" I wrote after the wall had been removed. I felt the need to articulate a larger context for activists.

There is no way to sustain a system of such gross inequity where (if you believe the Border Patrol's numbers; I don't), a shipping container full of goods and materials comes into the U.S. through or from Mexico for every 4 people who come here through or from Mexico without documentation. It's probably closer to 2 people per shipping container full of goods and raw materials.

Those numbers tell a much bigger story of injustice that needs to be addressed.

https://www.mikaljakubal.com/container-wall-protest/

Just got back from this event. If I can make time tomorrow, I'll write up a short piece with photos. About two dozen people showed up. It was lovely, and also lovely to be there when it was warm for a change. It was cold in mid-December when we were all camped there.

The #ContainerWall is gone, but "they", whichever administration, will eventually try to build a more permanent wall across the San Rafael Valley and anywhere else they didn't get one up the first round.

This time, there is a big commitment to stopping them. They will need a bigger jail.

For more background on the #ContainerWall and the protests that stopped it, I wrote an extensive story with lots of pictures! https://mikaljakubal.com/container-wall-protest

If you're in #Arizona, there's a celebration/rally this Sunday at the former #ContainerWall #protest campsite. It's a good excuse to come see this beautiful area and learn about this successful protest campaign.
Please share widely.

I'm learning more than I ever expected about the San Pedro River and have been spending tons of time in the area. Part of its headwaters is the SW side of the Huachuca Mountains, where the #ContainerWall blocked some of its seasonal tributaries.

It flows northward from Mexico, east of the Huachuca, Whetstone, Rincon and Santa Catalina mountains and then into the Gila River. From there, it flows in to Phoenix where it is never heard from again.

I've allocated this gorgeous day to staying inside to do 1 (one) of The Big Things on my list. I've narrowed it down to two:

Completely rework/finish my #ContainerWall story on my photo website (it's now a hodge podge of material tossed there as the story progressed);

Or fix/redesign the front page and site-wide nav on my business site (both front page and nav are a mess right now).

*flips coin*
"No, not that one."
*flips coin*
No, not that one either.

Maybe a bike ride instead?

I'm briefly quoted in this story about people organizing, fighting back and stopping the #ContainerWall along the southern Arizona border.

I'm still working on my longer photo journal story about it, but I do have lots of photos and some words on my website already.

https://azluminaria.org/2023/02/17/how-southern-arizona-environmentalists-and-advocates-blocked-a-border-wall-of-shipping-containers/

#Arizona #border #Protest

The last ten stacks of containers along the #ContainerWall as of late morning yesterday, January 30th.

I just received word this evening (Jan 31st) that the last containers were removed today, ending the saga of the container border wall. At least in Arizona.

Texas has since used the tactic along the border near El Paso. The insanity never stops.

One of the last containers heads to the staging area where it will be loaded onto a flatbed trailer and hauled out. At this point, I don't know where they're going. The former container lot near Whetstone, AZ is mostly empty.

Note I'm in Mexico shooting this, just behind the barbed wire cattle fence. The "Normandy barrier" was built in the early 2000s. Protesters have vowed to stop any new walls through this area. Stay tuned.

#ContainerWall
#GoodFuckingRiddance
#NoBorderWall

I want to point out that if I hadn't been there on multiple trips like this and gone to this crazy amount of effort, no one would have known about the hydraulic spill. There would also be no photos or videos of the month-long #ContainerWall removal project despite the fact that it is a public contract on public land, costing Arizona taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Here's a photo of the hydraulic oil leak from #ContainerWall contractor AshBritt's excavator used to move the containers. You can see it blasting out near the top of the arm and pouring off the bottom and puddling on the ground.

Local enviro groups are demanding that the Forest Service investigate and ensure the company does a thorough hazmat cleanup. (Because you know they won't otherwise.)

#Border #BorderWall #BorderLands #PublicLands

Well, you win some you lose some. This was supposed to be the last day of the #ContainerWall. I'm on the Mexico side of the border and had my camera set up on a tripod for a time-lapse of the last dozen or so stacks of containers being hauled out. But just after I got set up, one of their giant excavators blew a hydraulic line. Looks like they're calling it a day. It's chilly, but sunny here today, but snow and rain predicted for tomorrow. So I am out.

Just got word that tomorrow really is likely the last day of the #ContainerWall. I'm so tired today. The thought of a 4-hour drive tonight, camping in my truck in the cold and then flying my drone at dawn is...exhausting. But, I've come this far, so I might as well carry on one more day, right?

To paraphrase Darth Vader, "The sunk cost fallacy is strong in this one."

In the meantime, here are two close ups of a container wall worker. I'm only going to use one. Which do you prefer? Poll —>

People have crossed this land for millennia. They will always cross this land.

This is an orphan segment of Trump-era border fence, from the Mexican side, at Monument 102.

The last section of the #ContainerWall is being dismantled in the San Rafael Valley below. Like the container wall, this should also be torn down.

#Border security is a racist fairy tale. It is not possible without global security. You can't fence your way to justice or wall your way to peace and stability.

As always, lots more #ContainerWall photos on my site https://mikaljakubal.com/container-wall-protest

Huachuca Mountains and #ContainerWall from Mexico.

The #ContainerWall is almost gone. As of the end of work yesterday, January 27th, there were about four dozen container stacks left to go. The crew starts work before dawn and ends about 2-3pm. Oddly, yesterday the dismantling crew left at 10am, so I didn't get many pictures of that part of the work.

This is the view from near Coronado Peak just at dawn.

It's hard to tell when they'll be done, but for sure sometime this coming week. Good riddance.

#border #borderlands #borderwall