The characters unfold, the narrative flows, and the protagonist details each of the moments that could leave the reader chilled. It could well be a book by one of the great fiction writers, like Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea, where hope, tragedy, and heroism are recounted to expose these bittersweet moments of the contemporary world.
But this book, Soldiers and Kings, is an anthropological study of a migratory phenomenon that has left an unknown number of dead and missing over thousands of kilometers, and its author, Jason de Leon, is a renowned anthropologist, winner of the MacArthur ‘Genius’ Grant. The MacArthur Foundation defines his work as follows: ‘Combining ethnographic, forensic, and archaeological evidence to bring to light the human consequences of immigration policy at the U.S.–Mexico border.’
Jason de León holds a PhD in Anthropology and is Director of the Cotsen Institute for Archaeology, as well as Professor of Anthropology and Chicana/o and Central American Studies at the University of California-Los Angeles; and executive director of the Undocumented Migration Project.
“This work, which took me seven years, changed my perspective on migration. When I started my fieldwork, I had very defined ideas of what I was looking for, but living for so long with the guides or ‘coyotes’ who facilitate the transfer of migrants to the United States has given me another perspective,” says De León.
“I became interested in anthropology because we do it to have a different perspective on things. Many times, politicians don’t like our answers.”
The idea of this book stems from two premises: giving voice and telling a very important part of the migratory machinery and, two, telling their stories, showing that they are human beings and not criminals, that there are very valid reasons for them to do the work they do.
For this scholar, it is very important to distinguish between a guide and a trafficker. The former does so with the migrant’s consent, while the latter acts against their will.
“The guide simply exchanges services,” he says. “It’s a job of capitalism. Many ‘gringos’ criticize them, but the work of guides is very important in this migratory transit. Yes, there are episodes of violence, difficulties, but I tried to understand the others, those who simply seek to do their job, for a fee.”
For him, it is crucial to clarify that economic transactions and making huge sums of money are, in most cases, an illusion.
“In this chain, many might think there is a lot of money. But I met many guides who charged very little money, just enough to cover their needs,” he adds.
During the narration of the book, one sees stories of Honduran migrants and the different complicated situations they have experienced.
“They are not criminals, very few talk about their families, where they come from, their neighborhoods, their precarious economic situation, the gangs. When they begin their journey through Central America and Mexico, they adapt to different situations. Day-to-day life can be a different world at every moment,” he says.
Anthropological work requires a close and prolonged approach to the subjects of study. But for De León, this transformed into a familiarity that led him to portray this phenomenon.
“For me, they were like my buddies in high school. During the time I studied in Long Beach, there was a lot of gang activity, I was used to those spaces where everything could be in danger. At first, the migrants didn’t understand the work I was doing. When I explained to them that I wanted to talk to them, they looked at me strangely at first, then they asked me, ‘do you have money for beer and food?’ I said yes. ‘If so, we can chat with you, go get some beers and we’ll talk about whatever you want,’” he recalls.
“Look, I could also have a PhD in bullshiting. If before I spent hours talking over a beer with strangers, with them this task was easy for me,” he adds.
“Migration is a laboratory, everyone knows there is a system of poverty that drives them to migrate, they know about the violence in their countries, and the need for these migrant workers in the United States,” he emphasizes.
For Jason de León, the migratory phenomenon is very complex, not black and white, and cannot be solved solely by stopping transit to the United States.
“Migration is a laboratory, everyone knows there is a system of poverty that drives them to migrate, they know about the violence in their countries, and the need for these migrant workers in the United States,” he emphasizes.
For the guides, for that often invisible network of people working in that corridor throughout Central America and Mexico, detention systems and raids do not exist.
“They are very smart guys, the train tracks, the migratory corridors are like their school. Things change hour by hour and they have that capacity for adaptation, to find out about route changes, everything, for us many times it is incomprehensible to understand,” he says.
For a scholar with so much recognition, with two published books and numerous academic works, spending seven years in unpleasant conditions might seem crazy, but not for De Leon.
“I became interested in anthropology because we do it to have a different perspective on things. Many times, politicians don’t like our answers. We try to understand what’s happening, show it to people. In terms of migration, for me (Joe) Biden is the same as (Donald) Trump. They don’t understand or have solutions to what’s happening.”
De Leon has no regrets, on the contrary, he loves doing fieldwork, seeing their lives, connecting with them, understanding what for others is understandable.
“They are very smart guys, the train tracks, the migratory corridors are like their school. Things change hour by hour and they have that capacity for adaptation, to find out about route changes”
“I can’t say it’s all peaceful. There were many moments when I could have been in danger, but that trust I gained with them served me, they protected me. There were mornings when I woke up and asked myself, ‘and now? What injustice, what violence will I witness?’” he says.
“I feel like a lucky person, having the opportunity to get close to that world, to those human beings,” he shares.
I ask him, in this economic crisis we are going through, instead of having diplomats here and there trying to understand what’s going on, wouldn’t it be simpler to invite you to a meeting and listen to you?
He laughs.
“Perhaps, but as I said, they don’t like our answers, there are many interests at stake,” he concludes.
