Date of Award

2020

Document Type

Restricted Thesis

Terms of Use

© 2020 Lucy Jones. All rights reserved. Access to this work is restricted to users within the Swarthmore College network and may only be used for non-commercial, educational, and research purposes. Sharing with users outside of the Swarthmore College network is expressly prohibited. For all other uses, including reproduction and distribution, please contact the copyright holder.

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

Peace & Conflict Studies Department

First Advisor

Sa'ed Atshan

Abstract

In a 2019 photo series, Federica Valabrega of NPR shares the stories of twelve Central American women applying for asylum at the US-Mexico border. Some of them are mothers seeking a better life and opportunities for their children, some are young women escaping everyday gender-based violence and discrimination in their home countries, and many of them are fleeing domestic violence. Along with the pictures, Valabrega accounts their individual backgrounds, the trials of their journeys north, and the difficulties of the asylum and border crossing process. The photos show the women in the temporary camp at the border where they must wait for their asylum claims to be processed—after the difficult and dangerous journey north, they must now join the list of 5,000 other asylum seekers in an extended process that very rarely guarantees them the protection of asylum in the United States. Some of these women, and many Central American migrants in general, may attempt to cross the border illegally if they are not granted asylum. Despite the threat of violence, deportation, and family separation, migrant women, like those in Valabrega’s series, will do whatever it takes to ensure a better future for themselves and their children. The courage and strength demonstrated by Central American women in this context is a crucial part of understanding the migration and refugee crisis today because it shows the gravity of the situation, and the necessity of making social and legal changes to protect the human rights, lives, and futures of migrants.

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