No More Deaths Spring Break 2011 invitation

Dear friends of No More Deaths,

Please share this email and information with anyone you think might be interested.

We are finalizing our plans for the No More Deaths 2011 Spring Break program and hope that you will be able to participate.
Spring Break 2011 announcement and sign-up form (http://tinyurl.com/nmdspringbreak2011)
Your help in alleviating death and suffering in the desert is needed more now than ever. More bodies of undocumented people have been found this year than have ever before been recorded and the recent elections have put increasingly hateful legislation on the table, jeopardizing the everyday lives of many people living in the United States. The defeat of the DREAM Act and of comprehensive reform requires dramatic action.

This is the seventh year of No More Deaths’ humanitarian work in the desert north of the Mexican border—see www.nomoredeaths.org—and our third year to offer a Spring Break program. The coming 2011 Spring Break program will be more diverse and comprehensive than ever before. All participants will receive border-issues, medical and trail-walking training and will be able to be a part of the desert humanitarian work. Additionally, many more opportunities will be available to volunteers who wish to participate to make a real difference in the lives of migrants and in the future of U.S. border policy. A list of planned activities is below:
Walking the migrant trails near the border, servicing supply drops with water, food and supplies, and providing aid to people we may encounter. See Desert Aid under Projects at www.nomoredeaths.org.
Seeking and mapping new trails beyond our present territory which are currently unknown to NMD.
Meeting on the border with hundreds of migrants and residents deported every day, providing them with food, clothing, medical care and phone contact with their families. See Mexico Aid Centers under Projects at www.nomoredeaths.org.
Taking testimony from migrants of physical and human rights abuses by Border Patrol and other authorities. See Border Patrol Abuse Report under Projects at www.nomoredeaths.org.
Helping create a national home-town network to assist remaining family members whose lives have been broken up by inhumane immigration enforcement.
Cooperating locally with other border rights organizations seeking humane treatment and immigration reform.
Creating an outreach tool kit, a media campaign, and a film documenting the work of No More Deaths.
Attending “Operation Streamline,” an inexcusable federal court exercise in Tucson that every working day counsels, charges, pleads, tries, convicts, and sentences 70 migrants plucked from the desert, all in less than two hours. All plead guilty every day. Many more are prosecuted in other border cities.
Participating in global conscience raising and movement building that can give you knowledge and skills for action to take back to your home community. See We Reject Racism and Border Patrol Custody Standards Campaign under Projects at www.nomoredeaths.org.
To view photos of past No More Deaths Spring Break activities, go to http://StevePaige.zenfolio.com/p117738108. You can download any of these photos for free by selecting the photo, running your cursor over the top left of it, and choosing “Download Original.”

You may join us in March by going to:
Spring Break 2011 announcement and sign-up form (http://tinyurl.com/nmdspringbreak2011)
We welcome individuals as well as college groups. The program will run for three consecutive weeks: March 5–12, March 12–19, and March 19–25. The training begins on Saturday at 5 p.m. each week and volunteers and groups will be placed in the field Sunday afternoon, ending Friday evening with a celebration in Tucson.

We hope you will join us this spring (and this summer!) on our mission to end immigration-related death and suffering on the border, in the nation and in the world at large.

Con esperanza,

Desert Aid Working Group (the DAWGs)