University of Scranton Teach-In on Torture

On Thursday, Education for Justice will host a Teach-In on Torture during which several University of Scranton faculty will address our office's 2014-2015 annual theme through their disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. The presentation schedule is as follows:

Love, Justice, and Torture (8:30 AM - 9:45 AM) 

• Dr. Cyrus Olsen (Theology)
• Dr. Matt Meyer (Philosophy) 

Enhanced Interrogations and Terror: Historical, Legal, and Psychological Perspectives (10:00 AM - 11:15 AM) 

• Dr. Jessica Nolan (Psychology)
• Dr. Michael Jenkins (Sociology/Criminal Justice)

Beneath the Blindfold (11:45 AM - 12:45 PM)

• Film screening led by Justine Johnson (Director of the Jane Kopas Women’s Center)

Guantanamo and the War on Terror (1:00 PM - 2:15 PM)

• Dr. Harry Dammer (Sociology/Criminal Justice)

Hell House: Scaring the Jesus into You (2:30 PM - 3:45 PM)

• Dr. Hank Willenbrink (English & Theater)

What’s in a Name? Semantics and Torture in the War on Terror (4:00 PM - 5:15 PM)

• Dr. Teresa Grettano (English & Theater)

The day-long event will take place in the PNC auditorium (LSC 133) at the University of Scranton and is free and open to the public. 

Guatemala's Rios Montt trial and other assorted thoughts

I traveled to West Virginia University last week to give a presentation on The Genocide Trial of Efraín Ríos Montt and the Struggle Against Impunity in Guatemala. It was a great trip where I met with some terrific students in the political science and the Latin American Studies programs. I also gave a talk in an undergraduate international relations course about the recent unaccompanied minors crisis and the US and Central American response to the crisis.

West Virginia seems to be confronting the same challenges as we do at the University of Scranton - declining undergraduate interest in Latin American Studies and continued questions from colleagues and administrators about the universities' allocation of scarce resources to "under-performing" departments. A few years after arriving in Scranton, we were approaching 30 students enrolled in our Latin American Studies program. As we have moved to offering a major and and concentration (roughly equivalent to a minor), we are now at two majors and eleven concentrators.

I don't know if this is a general pattern.For those of us at the University of Scranton, I don't think that our students have a strong interest in international affairs. Many do, obviously, but I don't think that the level of interest reaches those at other institutions. We have a good number of students whose interest in Latin America flows from their participation in volunteer trips to the region and to the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice in Washington, D.C. and to the history of the Jesuits in El Salvador. However, that has not translated into interest in studying the regionally academically. One barrier is language. Students generally don't want to complete the Spanish-language requirements for completing the concentration and the major. We, the faculty, don't want to remove the requirements (yet).

We are also, unfortunately, more limited in terms of faculty than we were a few years ago. That means we offer fewer classes in the program. While one of our Spanish language professors will most likely be replaced, I can't say that the Philosophy Department's interest in hiring a philosophy professor who can teach Latin American Thought, or something similar, is high on their agenda. How is everyone else doing?

Back to Guatemala and the Rios Montt trial. The International Justice Monitor has an update with A New Judge is Appointed to Hear Genocide Trial as Final Decision Around CICIG’s Mandate Approaches.

On April 9, the high-risk appeals court named Judge Jaime Delmar Gonzalez to complete the three-judge trial court set to rehear the case against former dictator Efrain Rios Montt and his head of military intelligence, Mauricio Rodriguez Sanchez. They are charged with genocide and crimes against humanity in relation with the killing of 1,771 indigenous people and the rape and torture of many others.

A new trial was scheduled to start on January 5 but was suspended the same day after Rios Montt’s defense attorneys succeeded in forcing the recusal of Presiding Judge Jeannette Valdes. With the naming of Judge Gonzalez, there is again a full panel.

However, many obstacles remain for a new trial to start. The high-risk court’s calendar makes it unlikely that a new date can be set before 2017. Moreover, the former general’s declining health situation could impede a new trial, as he has refused to appear by video conference, as recommended by the Guatemalan national health institute. There is still an outstanding question of whether a historic amnesty might prevent the prosecution, contrary to prior domestic and international decisions on this issue. Further, the investigative judge, Carol Patricia Flores, has not yet resolved various preliminary matters and has refused to do so without Rios Montt appearing in person.

I don't remember hearing 2017 before. Ouch. There seems to be a greater likelihood that CICIG's mandate is extended than there is that Rios Montt spends another day in jail.

Next scattered thought. I invited Hermano Juancito to the University of Scranton to give a presentation on his missionary work in Honduras. John is a graduate of the University. In case you are in the area, the talk is scheduled for 6:00 PM in Brennan 228. Latin American Studies might have to do some recruiting tonight.

They said that San Pedro Sula wasn't that bad and laughed

The Grim Reaper awaits 

On Tuesday, we returned to the Kino Border Initiative (KBI) in Nogales, Mexico. While most of the other Scranton faculty and staff on the trip served food to the migrants, I sat down to help the first time arrivals complete a survey. The survey included questions like their name, age, hometown, where they had been deported from (the border area of living in the US), and whether they had suffered some form of abuse.

I'd say the migrant who moved me the most was Nicolas. He wrote that he was 19 and was traveling with his brother who was 32. However, he looked more like he was 12 years old. Later I learned that he was 14 and his older brother was actually his dad which honestly made more sense. I assume that he said that he was 19 so that he would not be separated from his dad. They had both been recently deported from the United States after getting detained while in transit. The young boy did speak to me but I was affected by the fact that he and his dad were most likely returning to their hometown in the state of Guerrero. Guerrero is the Mexican state where 43 college students were disappeared and presumably killed by police working in cahoots with a local drug gang.

Unlike Monday, all the migrants I spoke to had left their homes primarily because of the lack of work. It seemed that unemployment, violence, and family reunification all played a role but that the lack of economic opportunity was the primary cause for why they had left their homes.

While it wasn't too many, I was surprised at the number of migrants who had lived in the United States without papers but had decided to return home voluntarily. They often returned to Mexico to visit a sick or dying relative. They were then caught returning to the US. While it is somewhat hard to believe, they hadn't realized how much more difficult and dangerous the illegal trip to the US is today than when they had last made the trip a few years ago. They were honestly surprised.

Another migrant stood out. We spoke about Illinois, Colorado, and North Dakota - three states where he had worked before returning to Mexico voluntarily. He was apprehended crossing the border. I asked if he was considering recrossing. He said no. He was returning to his home state (which at this moment I don't remember). He did not want to risk getting apprehended again because a second apprehension would be a felony and result in jail time. Neither he nor his family could risk that. He thanked all the volunteers at KBI in Spanish and then in English which he spoke rather well.

Mexicans are allowed in KBI only after they've been deported and only for a few days. However, Central Americans are welcome to come in and eat even if they haven't attempted the trek to the United States. They are still only allowed to come in for a few days. I spoke to two young men from San Pedro Sula. They hoped to cross the border on Saturday. It was to be the first attempt for the two of them.

I asked if they were leaving San Pedro because of the violence. They looked at each other and sort of laughed. They said that San Pedro wasn't that bad. It sure seemed like a bit of black humor to deal with what is a pretty rough city.

Unaccompanied Minors at the University of Scranton

In case you are in the area, Alejandra Marroquin, Latino Outreach Coordinator at Catholic Social Services in Scranton, and I will be discussing Unaccompanied Minors from Central America Thursday morning at 11:30 AM at the University of Scranton. The event is sponsored by the Office of Multicultural Affairs and Education for Justice (which is the office I oversee).

You can read some of what I've written on the topic in Despite U.S. Efforts, Root Causes of Migration Crisis Prevail in Central America and Should the US deport unaccompanied minors?