With the publication of “Desert, Divided” and “One nation, divisible” (HCN, 3/19/18), HCN demonstrated a commitment to tell the stories of the borderlands and to embrace the region as part of the West. The correspondents and photographers humanized the daily struggles of life there, sketching portraits of communities that reveal the complexity of the border. I appreciated especially Chelsey Luger’s detailed report on the impact of “the wall” on the Tohono O’odham people. Maya L. Kapoor’s amazing overview included the voices of political representatives, business people, conservationists and — in a singularly moving encounter — an undocumented man named Cosme. I look forward to reading more about the border.
Meg Scherch-Peterson
Embudo, New Mexico
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Humanizing the Borderlands.
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