Journalist Documents Traumatic Experiences of Central American Immigrants Passing Through Mexico
October 27, 2016
Drawing on his experiences in the field in 2012, 2015, and 2016, journalist and photographer Joseph Sorrentino will speak about "The Unwanted" on Wednesday, November 16, discussing the traumatic conditions facing Central American immigrants who immigrate northward through Mexico as they flee violence in their home countries. The presentation will be held in the LAII Conference Room from 12:00-1:00 p.m., and is free and open to the public.
Sorrentino's research considers the estimated 400,000 people who flee the extreme violence of the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador each year, passing through Mexico on their way to the U.S., and document their experiences along a "journey that can only be described as horrific." The presentation will cover three projects Sorrentino did in Mexico in 2012, 2015 and 2016. Photographs and refugees' own words will show what the journey is like and how U.S. pressure on Mexico has worsened conditions for refugees.
Sorrentino has worked as a freelance journalist and photographer for about 20 years. During that time he's written about farmworkers in New York and chile pickers in New Mexico; campesinos in Mexico and, for the last several years, the plight of Central American refugees. His articles have appeared in Commonweal Magazine, In These Times and 100Reporters. For more on Sorrentino and his work, visit Sorrentino's website.
