Your goal is to write a book about this trip. I saw that you stopped in Mission, Texas. Is there a pending lawsuit against that chemical company?
Not that chemical company. The case has already gone through. There's another case against another few companies that Missionaries have been working on for the last seven years. That whole place is a mess. It's disgusting. The chemical companies are trying to weasel their way out of their responsibility, citing that residents can actually prove that their birth defects, spina bifida, brain cysts, physical deformities and cancers are products of chemical contamination.
How old is Ester? How long has she lived there in Mission, Texas? What's her last name?
Ester Salinas has lived in Mission for all her life. She's... older. Like she should be my mother. That's the diplomatic way of skirting the issue.
Who are the most special people you've engaged with on your trip?
Special people... Ester Salinas, the de facto lead organizer of a cancer-struck community in Mission, Texas, is one of those people. There have been many, many more amazing people with whom I’ve been exceedingly fortunate to cross paths. I can’t say that it’s fair to pick and choose. Read the blog. You can do the picking and choosing for me.
How do you come into contact with these people? Do you know them beforehand? Do you call them ahead of time?
I started off by cruising through the Internet, looking for potential conversation partners. That was somewhat ineffective. The project truly blossomed when I was able to connect with established and experienced activist leaders at a conference in Houston, Texas. People there connected me with others down the line, and I’ve been operating off of that spawn of networks since.
I didn’t know anybody in Texas before this trip started. I’m constantly calling people, setting up conversations in the next town down the road. Some blow me off without so much as a returned phone call, while others quickly shuffle me in and out of their offices and don’t really take what I’m doing seriously. The generous treat me to lunch or invite me into their homes to sleep for the night. I never know what to expect.
What will you do when you've finished your trip and your book? Will you do a book tour on your bike?
When I finish the book, I imagine that there will be a tour component to this, yes, but I'm not sure if I'll be making it by bike. One thing at a time.
In the long term, I hope to replicate this project in different border communities. In other words, I hope to work with a university to get students down to the border and spend a summer talking with people and creating documentaries or something of the like. I want my (and I only take possession loosely, as this is truly a community effort) work to continue. We need to understand what's happening along the border and why.
I imagine that I'll eventually end up in one of these communities in a more lasting, committed way. I want to be one of the people making waves in a community. You have to stay in one long enough to do so.
Will you do this again?
I don't know yet. It's enough work just to get through it once.
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