Central America’s Forgotten History: Revolution, Violence, and the Roots of Migration, by Aviva Chomsky, reviewed by Mark D. Walker

This book seemed a perfect follow-up to the Guatemalan Journey, one writer’s take on Guatemala. In contrast, this book provides a historical overview of some underlying causes of growing immigration to the U.S. Plus, one of my favorite authors, Todd Miller, who wrote Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security, offered good reasons to read it, I have waited for Central America’s Forgotten History for the past decade. This thorough and thought-provoking book revives the history that has long been severed from the Central American experience in US discourse, especially around immigration. Chomsky demonstrates that you can’t divorce […]

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Million Mile Walker Dispatch, March, Drama on the Border: No Easy Solutions

Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, As the number of asylum-seeking migrants, including unaccompanied minors, crossing the southwest border of the U.S. soared to 3,500 a day in February, and the number of unaccompanied minors from Central America rose 60%, many of us are asking, “What’s going on in Central America anyway?” I’ll explore this and more in Culture Watch. My Writing & Book Reviews will include several book and movie reviews.  We’ll look to inspiration in Voices of the Day and, as always, What Others Are Saying. My latest article, “Tschiffely’s Epic Ride: Part of the Yin & Yang of Travel Series,” was in […]

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The Nuances of This Thanksgiving & a New Political Moment! November Newsletter

Dear Friends and Colleagues from Around the World, Like many families, our clan celebrated Thanksgiving in a very different way this year, which included a “Video Chat” where all my children and grandkids shared what they were thankful for and their hopes for the coming year. As a family of immigrants, our take on what’s coming next is revealing. Culture Watch will include a special announcement about an interview with Global Connections TV about my book “Different Latitudes,” several book reviews and a special movie about the complex relations that can exist between immigrants. I’ll report on my Webinar with the overseas staff of […]

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