Blurred Borders - International Community Foundation

Because the region’s binational issues are intertwined, there is a critical need to have state and
local governments and the non-governmental sector from both sides of the border working
together. If the San Diego-Tijuana region is to be successful in strengthening its social capital,
there are several critical ingredients:
Prejudices and Perceptions Must be Overcome:
As important as trans-border issues have become in the San Diego-Tijuana border region,
prejudices and false perceptions of the border continue to impose barriers that divide our
communities and make binational collaboration more difficult, as evidenced by the recent
KPBS/Competitive Edge Research survey (see Chapter 1 and Appendix A). More often that
not, there is a tendency among San Diegans to focus only on the problems of the border such
as drug trafficking, illegal migration, public safety concerns of traveling in the region, and transboundary
health and environmental issues as opposed to the positive strides that are being
made by our two communities. On one hand, because of the perceived “fear factor,” the
majority of San Diegans rarely go across the border to Mexico. On the other hand, since 9/11
a growing number of Tijuanenses are increasingly viewing their proximity to San Diego with
apprehension over excessive border delays. If progress is to be made, such prejudices and
perceptions must be overcome.
Beyond the San Diego-Tijuana region, there is an erroneous perception in our respective
capitals (Washington, D.C. and Mexico City), and among some major funders, that our border
region is somewhat unique and privileged given its lower unemployment and incidence of
poverty relative to other border sister cities along the U.S.-Mexico border. While it is true
that in general terms the indices of unemployment and poverty are much higher in Texas
border counties, what is often overlooked are the growing pockets of urban poverty across San
Diego County in mostly Mexican migrant communities, as well as the prevalence of squatter
communities in Eastern and Southern Tijuana, again, attributed to migration from regions of
extreme poverty in Central and Southern Mexico.
Cross-Cultural Human Connectors Become More Vital:
To overcome existing divisions cultural and language barriers must be overcome. Here,
bilingual, bicultural individuals serving as cross-cultural connectors are becoming vital. Yet,
today the number of cross-cultural “connectors” in positions of civic leadership in the San
Diego-Tijuana region remains limited. An investment needs to be made to promote emerging
new leaders that understand the uniqueness of the binational region and that can think across
cultures and political boundaries.
While there are several important business, academic, governmental, and non-profit
organizations in San Diego County that serve as cultural interpreters, the demands for
culturally competent services in the areas of health, human services, education and the
environment is growing exponentially. The fact remains that today across San Diego County
linguistically and culturally competent social service providers remain in short supply.
Heightened security concerns on the border make the need for these cultural interpreters even
more pertinent.
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