Archived from my old Xanga blog:

Here’s the article from the San Diego Union Tribune that my video was mentioned in. The quote is not verbatim, but it’s close enough… I guess. My part is in brown text. My last name is spelled wrong, but I’m used to that. BTW, Tom was a very nice fellow.

**** BEGIN TRANSMISSION ****

Anti-border event to examine divide
Tijuana weekend camp to feature talks, photography exhibits

By Tom Wetzling

August 24, 2001

Luis Rosales sees the U.S.-Mexico border — or any border, for that matter — as a historical mistake that is “inhumane and murderous and needs to be deleted.”

That’s why the 26-year-old Tijuana medical student is one of the main organizers for Borderhack, an anti-border camp being held this weekend on the Tijuana beach.

“Some people are afraid of the word hack,” Rosales said, “but I can ensure you, we are absolutely nonaggressive.”

More than 400 people gathered peacefully for the first Borderhack last year, and this year Rosales expects more than 500. The camp will again be set up next to the metal border fence that runs into the ocean, separating the Tijuana beach from Border Field State Park in Imperial Beach. The event will feature talks and workshops, photography exhibits, and independent radio and movie presentations. Bands from both sides of the border will also perform.

The name Borderhack was invented last year by Rosales and Laboratorios Cinematik, a multimedia network group in Tijuana. “In the world of computers, hacking is an exploration or investigation of a system with the goal of understanding it, not of destroying it,” Rosales wrote on the Borderhack Web site, “and that is exactly what we are trying to do: to understand the border, to know what it represents and to become aware of the role that we play in it.”

Though the word is new, the concept is not.

In Germany four years ago, the idea for such a camp was created at an international art exhibition, “documenta X,” which used the slogan “kein mensch ist illegal” (no human being is illegal). Along the German-Polish border river, activists and artists expressed their opposition to the treatment of illegal immigrants.

The border that separates Germany and Poland is used by thousands of migrants and refugees who are not allowed to enter legally. An increasing number of border patrol agents are being stationed there to detect “illegal” border crossings.

This year, the original motto of the German anti-border-camp has been revised. “We are all illegal” is the new message being printed on T-shirts.

Ben Weinstein, a 54-year-old San Diego teacher, wore one yesterday at a news conference to publicize the event. Weinstein is a member of La Resistencia, a Texas-based nonprofit with a chapter in San Diego.

“It is so important to do something,” Weinstein said. “Every human life is more important than a law.”

Michelle Osoria, a Southwestern College student and a member of La Resistencia, sees Borderhack as a global movement with anti-globalization sentiments.

“I do want a world without borders. But globalization now is just a symbol of economic inequality,” she said.

Osoria is going to present a video documentary this weekend. She calls it “Divide and Conquer,” and it opens with the inscription on the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor — Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Victor Clark, who heads the Binational Office for Human Rights in Tijuana, is impressed with the way Borderhack has reached a new generation of human rights activists. “They can now get in contact with the whole world,” he said.

The Borderhack Web site is www.de-lete.tv/borderhack/eng/index.html. The camp begins at 1 p.m. today and ends late Sunday night at Playas de Tijuana, near the lighthouse. For transportation information, call La Resistencia at (619) 497-1035.

Tom Wetzling is a German journalist working at The San Diego Union-Tribune for the summer on an Arthur F. Burns Fellowship.

Copyright 2001 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.

**** END TRANSMISSION ****

One more thing, folks. These articles can be accessed from two Union Tribune sites. I don’t know how long they will be accesible, but here are the links.

Link 1
Link 2

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Archived from my old Xanga blog:

Good news! To explain, here’s a clip from my e-newsletter (Click here if you’d like to subscribe to the Fudgecake Times, which informs you about my movies once or twice a month) :

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“DIVIDE AND CONQUER” SET TO SCREEN AT BORDERHACK 2.0

For the first time, one of my movies will
premiere at a large public event! In fact, I may get
to mention it at the press conference in T.J.
tomorrow. “Divide and Conquer” discusses just a few
injustices that the U.S.-Mexico Border represents.
Although I am passionate about the subject, this video
I made is rather sub par. I simply tell myself it was
good experience and will prepare me for a REAL border
documentary. This movie is amateurish at best.
Nonetheless, the feature must be SOMEWHAT adequate
since it’s set to play several times at Borderhack!
Perhaps I shouldn’t have put it down so much…
Anyway, hope to see you there! E-mail me if you have
any questions or comments abou the movie, or read
below!

________________________

WHAT’S “DIVIDE AND CONQUER” ALL ABOUT?

The film is short, and links the FTAA, trade,
maquiladoras, and the physical border wall together.
It was recorded almost entirely in Mexico except for a
few shots of the U.S.-side of the border walls. I did
the location shooting, and Karla Amador did the moving
shots taken from inside the car. She also interviewed
a few maquila workers, but unfortunately the day was
so windy we weren’t able to use any of the interview
footage due to poor sound quality.

The movie was a project of mine for my Telemedia
131 class, Intro to Film and Video Production taught
by Robert Schneider. It was sadly made with less time
than I had originally desired. There was some
flakiness on my partner’s behalf and I did almost the
entire thing myself except for some of the camera
work. “Divide and Conquer” is less than four minutes
long and will probably play repeatedly throughout the
day until Borderhack ends on Sunday afternoon.
Hopefully some of you can attend! It’s going to be
fun! You won’t be sorry!

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A happy update to what I posted in the newsletter. I was able to mention to a Union Tribune reporter that my movie was playing. He may put it in his article, and he’s coming to the event on Friday so perhaps he’ll see it too!!!! I’ll post more if anything happens. !!!

*Learn more about Borderhack.*

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