Soldiers and kings : survival and hope in the world of human smuggling

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Title:

Author:

De León, Jason, 1977- author.

ISBN:

9780593298589

Personal Author:

De León, Jason, 1977- author.

Physical Description:

367 pages, 20 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, map ; 24 cm

General Note:

Place of publication from publisher's website.

Source of cataloging data: WCP

Abstract:

"An intimate and one-of-a-kind look at the world of human smuggling in Latin America, by a MacArthur "genius" grant winner and anthropologist. Political instability, poverty, climate change, and the insatiable appetite for cheap labor all fuel clandestine movement across borders. As those borders harden, the demand for smugglers who aid migrants across them increases every year. Yet media and politicians have always characterized smugglers-or coyotes, or guides, as they are often known by the migrants who hire their services-using tired tropes and stereotypes, as boogie men and violent warlords. In an effort to better understand this essential yet extralegal billion dollar global industry, internationally recognized anthropologist and expert Jason De León embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Mexico over the course of seven years. The result of this unprecedented access is SOLDIERS AND KINGS: the first ever in-depth, character-driven look at human smuggling. It is a heart-wrenching and intimate narrative that revolves around the life and death of one coyote, Chino, who falls in love and tries to leave smuggling behind. In a powerful, original voice, De León expertly chronicles the lives of low-level foot soldiers breaking into the smuggling game, and morally conflicted gang leaders who oversee rag-tag crews of guides and informants along the migrant trail. SOLDIERS AND KINGS is not only a ground-breaking up-close glimpse of a difficult-to-access world, it is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Honor y patria -- In the house of Pakal -- Charismatic and reckless -- La Reina del sur -- Foot soldiers -- Papo and Alma -- Duke of Earl -- Kingston -- Genesis -- Acocalipsis -- Dinero, dinero -- Robin hood -- Resurrection -- Escape -- Things fall apart -- Liberty without tricks or false promises -- Suerte -- Xibalba -- "We aren't playing" -- Temptation -- The future belongs to those who dream -- The soldier who would be king.

Subject Term:

Human smuggling -- Latin America -- History.

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Library	Material Type	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
Searching... Sugar Grove - Todd Library	Book	HQ281 .D45 2024	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

Political instability, poverty, climate change, and the insatiable appetite for cheap labour all fuel clandestine movement across borders. As those borders harden, the demand for smugglers who aid migrants across them increases every year. Yet the real lives and work of smugglers - or coyotes, or guides, as they are often known by the migrants who hire their services - are only ever reported on from a distance, using tired tropes and stereotypes, often depicted as boogie men and violent warlords. In an effort to better understand this essential yet extralegal billion dollar global industry, internationally recognised anthropologist and expert Jason De Leon embedded with a group of smugglers moving migrants across Mexico over the course of seven years. The result of this unique and extraordinary access is SOLDIERS AND KINGS: the first ever in-depth, character-driven look at human smuggling. It is a heart-wrenching and intimate narrative that revolves around the life and death of one coyote who falls in love and tries to leave smuggling behind. In a powerful, original voice, De Leon expertly chronicles the lives of low-level foot soldiers breaking into the smuggling game, and morally conflicted gang leaders who oversee rag-tag crews of guides and informants along the migrant trail. SOLDIERS AND KINGS is not only a ground-breaking up-close glimpse of a difficult-to-access world, it is a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction.

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

A harrowing account of the work of human smugglers in bringing aspirational immigrants to America's southern border. Anthropology professor De León writes of the men--almost always men--who work as smugglers bringing undocumented immigrants from Central America through Mexico to the U.S. There's a world of difference between smugglers and traffickers, and while they're commonly called coyotes, polleros, and the like, at least one of his subjects prefers to call himself a guía, a guide, "a designation with potentially less negative semantic baggage and one that directly reflects the work." Traveling to Honduras and throughout Mexico over seven years, De León encountered numerous such guides, who have a difficult job requiring a split-second decision on whether to trust someone, especially someone like him who was asking invasive questions. Notes one police officer whose job it is to keep coyotes and would-be immigrants from their homeland, "Many migrants that I've interviewed have also told me they would prefer to die en el camino than stay home and wait to die from gang violence or hunger." Both outcomes are entirely possible in lands riven by internecine gang wars and poverty, as in the case of Honduras, being second only to Haiti as the poorest nation in Latin America. Importantly, De León writes, both outcomes are also the product of late capitalism, as is the very movement of masses of people to places of greater economic opportunity, less violence, and better environmental conditions. Many of the author's informants die along the way, as do some of their charges, and many others seek to change their lives and do something else. To his credit, so does De León in dispirited moments when he laments "peddling stories of other people's misery." An exemplary ethnography of central importance to any discussion of immigration policy or reform. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

The men, women, and children who arrive at the border crossing to the U.S., whether coming as families or alone, are united by purpose: to seek refuge from the dangers and poverty of their homelands and make a better life. Illegal immigration has remained a contentious and hot-button topic as the number of people attempting to cross the country's southern borders continues to increase. The role of coyotes, people who ferry migrants through unforgiving areas for a fee, is often misunderstood. While many coyotes are connected to an underworld organization, others do the work in order to fund their own treks northward to peace and prosperity. These guides assume that each voyage comes with danger and could be their last. Anthropologist and MacArthur fellow De Leon (The Land of Open Graves, 2015) offers a staggering view of the people who help move asylum seekers. His conversations with participants in a vast migration put human faces to a shadowy concept, and his story is illuminating and often heartrending in its telling.

Introduction	1
1 Honor y Patria	17
I Soldiers
2 In the House of Pakal	41
3 Charismatic and Reckless	58
4 La Reina del Sur	80
5 Foot Soldiers	95
6 Papo and Alma	110
II Kings of Pain
7 Duke of Earl	131
8 Kingston	151
9 Genesis	172
10 Apocalipsis	186
11 Dinero, Dinero	193
12 Robin Hood	206
III Exodus
13 Resurrection	221
14 Escape	228
15 Things Fall Apart	237
16 Liberty without Tricks or False Promises	250
17 Suerte	257
18 Xibalba	267
19 "We Aren't Playing"	280
20 Temptation	290
21 The Future Belongs to Those Who Dream	300
22 The Soldier Who Would Be King	311
23 Epilogue	326
Acknowledgments	331
Appendix: Soundtrack	339
Notes	345
Index	355

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Reviews (2)

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

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