I remember Juarez, long ago
Posted: Wednesday, September 08, 2010
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
I receive regular updates on various topics directly from the FBI. One of which is activities on the drug and illegal alien front along the Mexican-U.S. Border. It saddens me to read of those things and especially concerning places with which I once was acquainted. I'd like to share a couple of quotes from their update of today.
I was drafted into the army during the Korean conflict and my first stop, after the induction process, was Fort Bliss, Texas, adjacent to El Paso. I was a rural southern farm boy who was homesick and not too happy.
Nevertheless, I found the massive desert land with it's boondocks and scrub brush, the Sugarloaf mountains on the western side of Fort Bliss and a sky that went from here to yonder, to be really awesome!
I saw tumbleweeds rolling and bouncing across the desert (and across the roadways) for my first time. Unbelievably, sand shifts and moves across the flat places and roadways as a light fog sometimes does in the south. I was there for some 10 months and it came two rain showers and one six inch snow. Some will tell you that it does not snow in El Paso. But you can assure them it did in January 1952. I loved the fact that we had sunshine that year at least 360 days.
All of these extraordinarily beautiful new sights made my army training bearable. Then there was El Paso...and Juarez. El Paso was an oasis from the desert with TREES! I don't know where they got them but they had lots of beautiful trees. Warm, friendly people, excellent eating places and even a military YMCA with good clean bunks where GI's could sleep over night for $0.25.
And even though the temperatures rose to 105-110 degrees F. During the hot summer months, those temperatures felt about as hot as it does 15 degrees cooler in Alabama. The humidity is extremely low there. All the new recruits had swollen and crusty, sore lips in about two weeks after arriving there. But thankfully, after a few weeks of that, you become acclimated to it and your lips go back to normal.
Although I was homesick during my entire stay there, I loved the place. And then there was Juarez. We were warned to be careful when we crossed the bridge over the Rio Grande which separated the two cities. They cautioned us not to break any laws there because the Mexican police were known for brutality. They also cautioned us to be on the alert for drunken or drugged residents there who could become violent in their search for a few dollars. I witnessed none of either.
What I did see, was several lanes of autos in each direction moving slowly through the customs officers with walkways on either side of the southbound lanes and also the northbound. If you walked over, you passed an officer and had to declare your country of residence...even though you had on a U.S. Army uniform. We also had to be back in the U.S. before midnight. The walk across the bridge was another severe surprise. Although the river bed was wide and deep, the water passing under the bridge was perhaps10-15 feet wide and less than knee deep on small children, some of whom were always playing there.
But as you left the bridge, you entered a different world entirely. Narrow congested streets, with lots of adobe style buildings. Street venders calling out their wares, souvenirs, tamales, and several other types of Mexican foods. And multitudes of saloons, bars and such, lining both sides of the street. Here and there was a public toilet, sitting right against the sidewalk. I never went in one but I smelled several I would imagine those were removed sometime over this 58-59 year period.
But most of the saloons had loud Mexican music. Most of it sounded alike to me but their aggressive production of it filled the atmosphere with gaiety and one could hardly help becoming happy and wearing a smile. And lots of really beautiful girls, lots of them. But the streets there at that time were relatively safe, and certainly a lot of enjoyment to be found. It was similar to a wild party, all over town.
But today, it is reported that Juarez may be the most violent and dangerous town in the world Here is another quote from the FBI updates which give a little of the hazards as they are presently.
"We think al Qaeda is violent," said one of our senior agents in El Paso, "but the cartels here are often just as willing to resort to extreme brutality and bloodshed to carry out their objectives."
The disturbing level of violence sometimes overshadows the national security risks along the border, Perkins said. "Unfortunately, there are border guards who are corrupt-people who can wave vehicles through checkpoints. Those vehicles could contain narcotics or illegal aliens, but they could also be pieces to the next dirty bomb brought into the country by terrorists. We are working very hard to make sure that doesn't happen."
The dangers with which we are facing on our border now is as equally important as that one in Afghanistan. Yet our government won't do anything, or allow others to do anything to stop the influx of illegal aliens and illegal drugs. If nothing is done, it will only grow worse as we seem to be losing more control every day.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)You wrote this so well! The last paragraph echos exactly my thoughts and feelings. I dread what is happening and agree that each day brings an element of loss. National Geographic has a new program about the Border wars. There is just more than can be handled and the folks trying to patrol are risking life and limb daily with no help, very little respect, and no (or next to none) support from the government. Lets face it, it is a national life and liberty danger to this country to permit the cartels and illegals and (who knows what other creeps are getting in) letting this influx of people continue.Thanks for reading and commenting OGM, I agree whole heartedly. Something absolutely has to be done. We are now so infiltrated by criminals and terrorists, in just a few more years, you will see car-bombings and all sorts of stuff which we do not want.I've had a lot of thought about the car bombings and other extremes like that here in the States. All we would need is one or two - we couldn't deal with it. Other countries handle it with an acceptance that just would not happen here I'm afraid. There'd be freak outs - and chaos I think. The stock market? Fear? I can still remember when the sniper was shooting people. But I also think with this border "crap" and the loose immigration rules even for permissible immigration, we are simply asking for trouble. It simply cannot continue as it is - it's gone on too long already. We care so much about what the world thinks about us and not enough about our own well being. It's more important to let everyone in to get votes, to be politically correct, to protect the few and abuse the larger majority and on and on. Upps, there I go - on my soap box. Sorry. Thought of deleting yet it's how I feel at the moment so I vent, albeit helplessly. What really can be done???Well, OGM your soap box rant is just exactly right. What has to be done, as cruel as it sounds, is put troops and an impenetrable fence to totally stop the influx. Then pin employers down to heavy fines and even prison terms for hiring those without legal papers, and send the illegals back. There would be a number of them not located and would remain but strongly searching for them would thin them down. After that, set up a means of legal entry and screen out the criminal portion.This ought to be the biggest proposition for choosing any person to elected office, his stand on this. I hope the economy and health care gets straightened out and my vote will depend a good ddeal on those aspects as well. But I will not vote for any one who refuses to seal the border and remedy this situation.Have to tell you very much I agree with you! I find the border issues of paramount importance - and I will not vote for anyone who ignores that problem. I also do not agree with across the board amnesty for those here but I would capitulate if, indeed, the border issue going forward would be finally addressed. I consider the illegals only part of the problem. I really think people that want to harm us, besides drug creeps, are seeping into our borders. While the important people in DC are arguing about visas, green cards, and permission to enter this country, they may just be coming in any way they can including the borders. And I'm afraid they will annialate a big portion of us. I consider it merely a matter of time. Hopefully, I'm wrong! By the way, the illegal situation is even worse than we know. The Border program talked to some of the people that were intercepted. Several were from Sri Lanka and others from other countries. Only three of the men and one boy were from Mexico. This problem is way bigger than we think!! It simply infuriates me. However, I would never deem it necessary to be rude like this one woman was to one of our authors in a store. See, here I go again. Thanks for giving me voice Joel. Be well! HeidiGlad to oblige, I'm just happy to find someone to agree with me. And to learn your name, thanks Heidi.
A sad state of affairs on our borders. Thank you for the look back at what the area once was.GraceThank you Grace for reading my article and your kind remarks. Yes, I remember those days with fondness, eventhough, I used to lay awake at night and think of the 1600-1800 miles between me and my folks and it seemed that 2 years (the length were were conscripted for) would be like a lifetime. Juarez was a fun town, dependent upon the money spent by thousands of GI's stationed at Ft. Bliss and Biggs Air Force Base, both large military installations dating back to the nineteenth and early 20 centuries. Both Juarez and El Paso were beautiful and friendly towards the military in those days. No all locations were so.
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