Francesco Anselmi

Borderlands

work in progress
In the history of the human species one of the key factors in determining the evolution of peoples has been the presence of geographical barriers between populations. Mountains, oceans and deserts limited the sharing of knowledge and technology, slowing the progress of certain areas of the world over others. That same history saw men seeking solutions to overcome those natural barriers and at the same time building artificial ones: walls to defend ourselves from whom we identify as enemy, from whom might weaken us and undermine our identity. After thousands of years, these two thrusts -of research for progress and conservation- they are unchanged. Under a wall at the center of political debate, who they are, what they live and what they choose the true protagonists of a no men's land.

In the history of the human species one of the key factors in determining the evolution of peoples has been the presence of geographical barriers between populations. Mountains, oceans and deserts limited the sharing of knowledge and technology, slowing the progress of certain areas of the world over others. That same history saw men seeking solutions to overcome those natural barriers and at the same time building artificial ones: walls to defend ourselves from whom we identify as enemy, from whom might weaken us and undermine our identity. After thousands of years, these two thrusts -of research for progress and conservation- they are unchanged. Under a wall at the center of political debate, who they are, what they live and what they choose the true protagonists of a no men’s land.

Awards:
2019 – Visa d’Or Pour la Presse Quotidienne recipient
2019 – Oskar Barnack Award finalist

Luis Meija, 22 years old, with his wife Lizeth and their daughter Amberly, 3, in their house at colonia La PenÃÉita. Colonies are extremely poor communities of migrants, born along the border between Texas and Mexico where most people are illegally in the US. La Joya, Texas. April, 2017.
15th birghday at Colonia La Penita. Colonias are extremely poor communities of Mexican migrants which are born along the border between Texas and Mexico. In these communities the majority of people entered the US illegally and is still without regular papers. La Joya, Texas. April 2017.
Family of migrants along the Rio Grande delta where Mexican families go to meet their relatives on the Mexican bank of the river. Brownsville, TX,
A mexican girl along the wall dividing the beaches of Tijuana and San Diego. CA. April 2017.
The wall dividing the US and Mexico near Nogales. Arizona. May, 2017.
Felipe and Maria with their son David at Colonia La Penita. Felipe and Maria illegally entered the United States. David, 2 years old, is a US citizen. La Joya, Texas. April, 2017.
A girl poses showing off a swastika tattooed on her chest at the national meeting between the US National Socialist Party and the Ku Klux Klan in Pikeville, Kentucky, where I travelled following the NSM delegation from Arizona. Border related issues are currently on top of the nationalists movements agenda. April, 2017.
Harry Hughes, leader of the National Socialist party and founder of the US Border Guard, a paramilitary militia group that patrols the border between Arizona and Mexico. Their aim is to stop the traffick of drugs and human beings. Maricopa, AZ. April 2017.
An aero-balloon remotly controlled by the Federal Border Patrol to intercept the traffick of drugs and human beings along the border between Mexico and Texas. Equipped with infrared cameras these devices can see at a distance of up to 200 kilometers. Roma, Texas. April, 2017.
Barriere posizionate lungo una strada sterrata utilizzata dai cartelli per trafficare sostanze stupefacenti ed esseri umani, Maricopa, Arizona.
15th birghday at Colonia La Penita. Colonias are extremely poor communities of Mexican migrants which are born along the border between Texas and Mexico. In these communities the majority of people entered the US illegally and is still without regular papers. La Joya, Texas. April 2017.
Mexican couple during the spring break holidays at a motel. South Padre Island, TX. April, 2017.
Melody, 15 years old, in the San Ysidro's motel where she lives with her mother Teodora and her brothers. Teodora ran away because of domestic violence. San Diego, California. April, 2017.
Larry Masseys, 69 years old, behind the safe where he keeps the most precious items of his armory. Brownsville, TX. April, 2017.
A policeman during a Ku Klux Klan and National Socialist Movement meeting in Pikeville, Kentucky, where I ended up by following the Arizona NSM delegation. Pikeville, Kentuky, April 2017.
Youth on their BMXs at the bus station. Brownsville, TX. April, 2017.
Jay and Santos, Los Ebanos, Texas. October 2019.
Gabriel, 24 years old, with his aunt Marilena, 42 years old. I encountered Gabriel and Marilena while driving on a smuggling road between the US border with Mexico and the town of Arivaca, Arizona. Gabriel and Marilena were severely dehidrated and couldnt move anymore after walking several hours in the desert. They claimed to be part of a group of 8 people that was abandoned by a smuggler in the Sonoran desert. Arivaca, Arizona. May 2017.,
Activists during a demonstration against the constructionn of a new section of border fence in the Sonoran Desert. Lukeville, Arizona. November 2019.
Tim Foley, also known as "The nailer", checking the surroundings of his house during a portrait session. Foley is the founder and leader of the Arizona Border Recon civil militia, aiming to fight cartel's activity in the area south of Tucson and Phoenix. Arivaca, Arizona. December 2019.
Leilani, 9yrs old, in the barns ran by her mother. La Joya, Texas. October 2019.
La Joya Coyotes. La Joya, Texas. October 2019.
La Joya Coyotes. La Joya, Texas. October 2019.
La Joya Coyotes. La Joya, Texas. October 2019.
Workers resting at the end of the shift at the barn. La Joya, Texas. October 2019
Activists during a demonstration against the constructionn of a new section of border fence in the Sonoran Desert. Lukeville, Arizona. November 2019.
Environmental activists from Tucson demonstrating against the damages that the consruction of a new section of wall will cause to the local fauna. Lukeville, Arizona. November 2019.
Santos, 23, soldier of the gang marasalvatrucha 13, posing in he house of a fellow gangmember. Mara13 is currently the point of reference of Mexican cartels for the distribution of drugs in the States. Santos has been recently released after two years spent in prison for a crime he did not commit. As a matter of fact, it is practice for youth to turn themselves instead of a more important member of the gang. El Paso, Texas. May, 2017.
Motel. Tucson. December 2019
Participants to a rodeo for the 10th anniversary of the Ak-Chin native reservation kneel down as the American himn plays. Maricopa, Arizona.
Biosphere 2 is an American Earth system science research facility located in Oracle, Arizona. Biosphere 2 was originally meant to demonstrate the viability of closed ecological systems to support and maintain human life in outer space. It was designed to explore the web of interactions within life systems in a structure with different areas based on various biological biomes. Oracle, AZ. November 2017.
Holiday Inn view on Gallo's Construction. Casa Grande, Arizona, April 2017.
Families along the Rio Grande's delta where Mexican families go to meet their relatives on the US bank of the river. Playa Baghdad. Brownsville, TX. April 2017.
15th birghday at Colonia La Penita. Colonias are extremely poor communities of Mexican migrants which are born along the border between Texas and Mexico. In these communities the majority of people entered the US illegally and is still without regular papers. La Joya, Texas. April 2017.
Mexican families during spring break holidays at a motel in South Padre Island, TX.
Pablo and Josè smoking crack in Balboa Park. Pablo says he managed to cross the border several months after the rest of his family and once he was in the US he realized his family began a new life without him. San Diego, California, November 2017.
Glenn Spencer, 81, setting up one of his drones. Mr Spencer's property confines with the Mexican border and his land is often crossed by smugglers. He is developing a technology based on underground sensors capable to send a signal to drones that automatically take off and fly on location to identify the trespassers. Mr Spencer technology is apparently beeing considered by the Trump's administration as one of the possible solution to border related issues. Sierra Vista, Arizona, November 2017.
A family at a Native celebrations rodeo in Maricopa, Arizona. December 2017.
Charlie, Slab City, California, USA.
John, member of the Warrior Society Gang, while driving his car in the Tohono O'Odham Native reservation. The warrior society is a Native American gang that protects the interests of the struggling native communities around the United States. The Tohono O'Odham reservation is located in the Sonoran desert, along the border with Mexico and has been accused of cooperating in human and drug smuggling. with the Mexican cartels. The growing tension between federal authorities and the Native community brought to the creation of two permanent checkpoints to access and exit the natives lands.
Families waiting for the Christmas parade on the main street of the Ak Chin Native reservation. Maricopa, Arizona. December 2017.
Rodeo. Maricopa, Arizona. December 2017.
Haitian asylum seekers in a shelter run by a Methodist church (Christ United Methodist) in San Diego, California. This shelter, part of a network of religious and secular associations, houses 70 asylum seekers from central America, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Russia or Venezuela, while they wait for their cases to be processed in immigration courts. It used to be a two months process in avarage. Now, because of the backlog in courts, asylum seekers wait an avarage of two years. San Diego, USA.
A Central American family running in US territory few seconds after illegally crossing the border at a gate accidentally left open by construction workers. Tijuana/San Diego border. Mexico. December 2018.

L'Espresso, August 2017
L'Espresso, August 2017
L'Espresso, August 2017
L'Espresso, August 2017
L'Espresso, August 2017
L'Espresso, August 2017
NEON, February 2018
NEON, February 2018
NEON, February 2018
NEON, February 2018
Le Courrier International, September 2018
Le Courrier International, September 2018
Liberation, January 2019
Liberation, January 2019
Liberation, January 2019
Liberation, January 2019
Liberation, January 2019
Liberation, January 2019
Society, February 2019
Society, February 2019
Society, February 2019
Society, February 2019
Society, February 2019