Friendship Park at the US-Mexico border in San Diego, Calif. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
Friendship Park at the US-Mexico border in San Diego, Calif. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
The Realities of the US-Mexico Barrier
By Kelly Bessem
April 30, 2017 marked the fifth time the Door of Hope/Puerta de Esperanza was opened at the US-Mexico border near San Diego, Calif. to let family members from each country momentarily hug each other. This year six families were given three minutes each.
This emotional event began in 2013 when Enrique Morones, founder of the social justice non-profit Border Angels, realized the child of one of his volunteers had never hugged her father.
“This event isn’t political, it’s about the image of a daughter hugging her had for the first time,” Morones said.
The Door of Hope/Puerta de Esperanza remains closed. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
Enrique Morones explains how he negotiated the opening of the door. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
People in the US try to share something on a cell phone through the tiny holes in the fence. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
A Mexican resident looks for people through the fence; an American resident stoops down to speak with a child on the other side. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
Though they cannot touch, family and friends talk through the thick border fence. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
A young man tries to fit his pinky through to touch someone on the other side of the fence. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
The US-built fence towers over those celebrating on either side. | Photo by Kelly Bessem
Kelly Bessem was able to see this historic event through a trip organized by the California Geographic Society Conference, which she attended through the Geography Department at Humboldt State.
