tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44917683313218680702011-04-21T14:52:25.393-07:00Discovering the Central American influence on border culture.HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.comBlogger161100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-79764797586023785092008-05-16T21:57:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:48.884-08:00

It is a common misconception that only students with wealthy parents are able to study abroad. Believe me, I too once felt that way. Then I discovered there is hope! Hope in the form of several grants and scholarships that are available to those who would otherwise be unable to pay the often hefty costs of going to, living in, and studying in another country.Of those is the Benjamin A. Gilman

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-88477472811058216272008-05-07T21:55:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:48.993-08:00

Before I went to Guatemala, I had some inkling that I would not come home the same person I left, but I had no idea just how much the experience would change me.I lost some parts of me, but at the same time, I discovered others.For one, I lost my innocence. I can no longer blindly believe that all the world is inherently good. Such horrible things have happened, things that, in my sheltered

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-53518081422343890262008-04-27T22:59:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:49.277-08:00

The first American soldier to die in the War in Iraq wasn't even American. He was Guatemalan.Recently, I had the opportunity to view The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez, a documentary by Heidi Specogna about the "green-card soldier" who died on March 21, 2003, one day after the war officially began.Born in a small Guatemalan village in the midst of the Civil War, Gutierrez was orphaned and

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-52884464721181915082008-04-21T23:44:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:49.415-08:00

One of my favorite things about studying abroad in Guatemala was meeting the many amazing people who are actively involved in the social issues of their homeland. One of these individuals was Daniel Hernandez-Salazar, a famous Guatemalan photographer.As an aspiring photojournalist, I feel that photography in today's world is like art was in the past; even if you can't read (and there still are an

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-24358005062011783192008-04-14T12:32:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:49.731-08:00

On April 3, my Border Beat colleagues and I went to Nogales, Ariz., to report on the St. Andrew's Children's Clinic, which is held the first Thursday of every month and provides free medical services to the children of poor Mexican familes.The clinic began in 1973 in a small church in Nogales, Mexico, helping only a few needy individuals. Due to the increasing numbers of patients and volunteers

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-19873163331222785832008-04-06T12:39:00.001-07:002008-04-13T23:40:51.619-07:00

Hi everyone!I hope that you are enjoying my blog thus far. Instead of an entry this week, I have decided to upgrade the appearance of my blog. If you will note on the right-hand side of the screen, I have added some extra resources that I thought you might find interesting. One is a list of links to the CIA World Factbook entries for the six Central American countries. Although several of my blog

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-1887054112759360602008-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:50.038-08:00

Before actress Angelina Jolie made it so popular, international adoptions had long been a common occurrence in the United States. Whether it was because they could not have children, could no longer have them, or simply wanted to give a good life to a child who might not have one in his or her own country, U.S. families have been adopting orphaned children from countries across the globe for many

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-35642453076368784342008-03-16T00:01:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:50.506-08:00

"When you read through this collection, I mostly want you to know that no matter what the subject of the poem, it came from a torture survivor, the child of a survivor or someone connected to the Owl and Panther Writing Group. The refugees wrote with the arm that had been smashed by a machete, spoke without teeth, slipped shoes over battered feet. They had to awaken from the nightmare of

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-88113250983730036762008-03-09T20:19:00.000-07:002008-12-08T15:47:50.823-08:00

There is an important distinction between an immigrant and a refugee. Most people don't understand the difference, said Marge Pellegrino, coordinator for the Owl and Panther Project, a youth program that lets children of refugees express themselves through writing.An immigrant more or less has a choice in leaving their home country. A refugee, according to the United Nations definition, is "a

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-40090074292753059652008-03-03T07:57:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:47:51.318-08:00

OTMs. That's what the Border Patrol calls all immigrants who do not come from any of the 31 states of Mexico. Other Than Mexicans.According to Border Patrol agent Jesus Rodriguez, of the 378,239 apprehensions made during the 2007 fiscal year, over 2,000 were OTMs. Most of those, he said, were from Central America - specifically Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua.The highest

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-56930117731682951152008-02-24T22:26:00.000-08:002008-02-27T18:28:49.675-08:00

In my endless search for Central American influence on the Arizona-Mexico border, I ran across this little gallery in Tucson: As someone with extensive experience traveling in Latin American countries, I asked Teachnor if she saw any Central American influence on Tucson's border culture. Unfortunately, she said that it was quite minimal. Much of the Latin American influence comes from our

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-25762596590563379152008-02-17T18:18:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:47:51.652-08:00

South of 6th Street, tucked in among several thrift stores along Tucson's famous Fourth Avenue, is Maya Quetzal, a Guatemalan restaurant.I heard about the place on 429 N. 4th Ave. earlier this week from my friend, Christine, who had studied abroad with me in Guatemala. I think it was a mix of nostalgia and an intense craving for black beans, frijoles negros, that drew us to eat there last

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-72263227896258446472008-02-11T07:32:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:47:52.079-08:00

For me, the most fascinating thing about going to a university is meeting people not only from all over the country, but from all over the world. The University of Arizona is no exception. On any given day, you might pass people from five different countries, just in the ten minutes it takes to walk to class. If you happen to walk near the Center for English as a Second Language building, that

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-91709618925241312212008-02-04T07:32:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:47:52.442-08:00

A friend recently asked me why people in Latin America hate Americans so much. Although I never felt hatred aimed directly at me at any point during my travels in Central America, I was definitely aware of the animosity that existed toward the United States. In answer, I told him to read a history of relations between the U.S. and Latin America.While any honestly written book on the subject would

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-84458972953284261342008-01-27T21:25:00.000-08:002008-12-08T15:47:52.590-08:00

"People get desperate when they don't have money for food." So says Milton, a Nicaraguan immigrant whose efforts to reach the United States in search of a better life are captured in the 2005 National Geographic film, Wetback: The Undocumented Documentary.I first saw the award-winning documentary, written and directed by Arturo Perez Torres, last November in Antigua, Guatemala. Filled with

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4491768331321868070.post-7380109672648186852008-01-19T18:05:00.000-08:002008-02-03T22:41:49.022-08:00

Hi, my name is Heather Raftery and I'm a journalism student at the University of Arizona. I chose journalism because I simply love to hear people's stories. Cursed with an overpowering curiosity, I find myself saying what, how, and why more often than anything else. I constantly want to know everything about something or someone. It really is a disease, but one that can be put to practical uses.

HEATHER RAFTERYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01358034974923242264noreply@blogger.com0