The Border Project; 36; David Escamilla Interview

I'm sending this tape to California when we're through with it and so they have a record of it. Could you state your name, spell your last name and where you live and what you do here? My name is David Scamia, ESCAMI, double L .A. Can you live with where? I live here in Pasal, Socorro area. Can you do what? I'm a minister for the church. What's your church called? Church United for Christ. Can you put that on one person? Okay David, tell me something about Cottonwood, the colonial of Cottonwood. Cotton Valley? Cotton Valley.

Well, it's a pretty nice area, this Cotton Valley States. When we first looked at this colonia, we were talking back in 1990 when it first opened. We looked at it and we saw the contract and everything about the lots on this area and since we wanted to build a church around this area, we saw the way it wanted us to be. A real nice colonial neighborhood. So me and my wife were really interested about it and we prayed about it and look at it and we see that it was a nice area. The only problem that we had that we looked at it was just the water. They had all the utilities, lights and telephone but we have to put a septic tank so we figured well, that's no problem,

we can deal with it and when we first look into it to buy this place, they told us probably in a couple of years we should get the city water and it's already 1998. It's almost eight years past since we bought this lot and I think we're doing pretty good. We should be getting water probably pretty soon starting in June the 15th of this month. So we're getting pretty good. You're living in Dallas before moving down here and so living without water was quite a surprise. Can you just give me a sense of what it was like to suddenly find yourself in an entirely different relationship with

water? Well, since we first moved from Dallas, up here to El Paso and then we used to live in on the area where it was city water and it's over there by Saragosa Street and then the people that we start working with in the ministry, it was on this area where it's a pair of not loop and Richardson streets and around here. And we used to see the people or folks that they had to carry water to their houses and some they still didn't have no light. But they have just a telephone that was about it and no water and I told my wife I don't think we'd be able to do that since we were used to have water inside the house in Dallas and then moving up here so we think twice before we make this move. But looking

at the people, how the sacrifice they had to get the water and stuff like that, I told my wife, well I think we had a give her a try and then looking at this colonia, we figured well two years they'll pass by and we'll get a, it's pretty good. Now give me some examples of obstacles or difficulties about using the water out of the pump as opposed to out of the tap. Well the problem is because of the wells, you know, you can drink the water out of the well and then sometimes you get a lot of sand in the water, a lot of, sometimes even when you start running the water heater, you know, for a while

you can sense the smell, the smell is pretty strong, especially on the shower when you're taking a shower or, you know, using the hot water. So there's one of the things that we have problems on it, on the wells, you know, that they'll plug that up and you have to pull out the system and clean the filters or whatever and put it back in, you know, so far. But we're doing all right. What's the problem with the water? The water up here? That's the bottom. If you could say for me the problem, if you could give us a, let us, let viewers know where we are. So if you could say in the lower real rain south of El Paso, the water is, I mean, why are you having problems with the water? Well, the water up here, it's got a lot of minerals and a lot of salt on it. You know, since we've been living up here in El Paso only nine years, I had talked to people around that, had

lived on this area for maybe some of all his life. As a matter of fact, I was talking to one of the guys that used to live on this part of the area when they used to make a lot of farm land and stuff like that. And they used to have their own wells to water the fields. But they say that the water was so bad that after they irrigate the fields and stuff like that, that you could, when you passed through the road, you could see all the salt and water on the land. And then that's when they come out with this object, they start bringing in water from a new magical, from the elephant, the viewsome from far over there. That's where they bring all this water to irrigate the land, you know, for irrigation, for the plants and cotton, all this stuff. And that's why they had to stop the wells for irrigation their land. So now people

are also counting on that water from the elephant view? Really, I don't know. They're making a new plant system up here in El Paso. And the reason they were kind of holding us back in the water is because the last colony they put water up here, Siendas del Valle, they didn't had enough pressure on the water. So they were saying there's no use putting your water yet because we don't have the system to put pressure on the water. But right now they've been working on a big tank, pressure tank that it's up here on the low valley and that should give us pressure on water. So probably we're going to be doing pretty good. What kind of struggle has it been when, I mean, what has it been like that you move into a place, they say they're going to have your water in two years, ends up being eight years?

Well, it's been hard, you know, but I guess we all got into use of it, you know, hauling the water and bringing it in and having these kind of problems. Because in the first place we knew there was no water in these colonies. So it's a risk that we take, you know, in an effort because the reason that we're doing this is because a lot of these people are here, is because we're in low income that, you know, that we could afford, you know, a better place where the water is at, you know. So that's why we chose to be on this area. You're in the ministry. So can you, can you, did that have a part, is that partly why you got involved with the community group? And I guess I'm just looking for you to, you know, explain

to me, how was it that you came to be one of the community leaders or one of the people taking action to bring water in the community? Well, one of the things because we work in the ministry, me and my wife, and at first when we first moved to this colony up here, cotton valley states, we had another leader, her name was Manta. And then after the two years passed by, she kind of got a, because there was no hope, you know, that we were going to get water. We started making meetings going to, to the city, city hall, you know, and complain about it. And then finally one day she said, she moves back to, to El Paso district. So looking at this, so me and my wife started getting involved. And then one girl came and

talked to me, or Alki, comments, and she told me that she had a program about helps, step helps, you know, that we could, there was a project that we could work, you know, all the community worked together. And we all can put the pipes and everything, and we could get the water. And the reason we couldn't get the water yet, because there was not enough funds that we can get the water. So we figured, they figured out that if us, its household would put the time, you know, to work and dig the whole, dig trenches and put the pipe, that it would cut the, the low cost on the project. So we're looking at it that way that it's, that it's going to be good for us. Now what was it, we've just listened to a couple of people with some pretty tough stories about

living with the current circumstances. What's the mood in the community? I mean they're pretty, are there some skeptical? Are they very excited about the coming water? Well, some of them, they're excited. Some of them, they kind of, for a while, they kind of doubt, you know, that there was no way we were going to get the water. So me and my wife, we had to spend time, you know, going to their homes and talking to them or, you know, writing notes that we have to have a meeting, you know, get together the, the, here the colonia. So we can, you know, get the effort to get the water. And now since they've been seeing this last meeting that we had the last week, they were, we had 35, five representatives from each home that came at the first time we used to get just like probably 10 or 15, you know, together. Because

we've been working on this for about a year and a half, working on this project, trying to get the water in. Now, a lot of the, I can hear when you guys move around in the chairs and stuff. Just to be careful about that. Can you tell me, I guess there's a lot of folks in this, in the lower, in the lower valley, who have migrated from a lot of us or Mexico. Do you think that has something to do with why the city and the county have not brought water down here? No, I don't know really the, the, the situation, you know, about waters in a puzzle. You know, I, I believe that waters in a puzzle is different, different, you know, from a different direction. But, but I think it, we all would

get together probably would be easier, you know, to get water as we're getting water also. So, waters would, would be the same thing. Because, because of the, of the water, the bad water that we had around in, in this low valley in El Paso. Can you tell me some of the, I don't want to say the horror stories, but some of the problems you've had here, just in your house, for instance, re, having to re, putting new pipes, changed your fixtures, it's been kind of ongoing problems. Yes, the problems that I always had is, it's a main thing is water heaters. I had a, in these eight years that I've been living here, I had already replaced three water heaters. As, as you see the floor, how the, the, when the water tank busted, you know, it ran up the floor. And then the faucets, I had to change the faucets because they'll, they'll messed up because of the

minerals that the water had, salt that it had. And that's some of the problems that we had around here. And some of the plants you can hardly put water on it, the trees, they'll, they'll dry out or, you know, you can't put too much water on that. I want to trees because they'll dry them out. How do you feel about water now? I mean, did you, do you, you know, having come from the place, unlike a lot of people here who may have immigrated and never have had running water, not a lot, but at least some of the people, you did live in a community where you had running water. How, how, how do you feel about how precious a resource it is? Well, I, I, I feel glad about the water coming in, you know, because living in a, in a place where I always had to just open the faucet and drink water and whatever, you know, and wash dishes or use it in the house.

And now that we don't have that privilege of having good water. So it's, it's a privilege to have good water around here on this area. You know, I used to work on construction company and I used to, you know, in Dallas, get a new, new, new place, a new colonia. And the first thing we put was water lines or line before, even before they build the houses or somebody moves in. And then when I came up here and, and look at this, uh, uh, situation, how the people live, you know, I said, I can't believe this, you know. But then I, as, like I said, eight years passed by, I kind of got used to it. Yeah. So now that there had, we have been working on this project as leaders. We're, we're very, very happy, you know, and, and I hope all our neighbors around here were appreciate the

water, you know, because a lot of, a lot of people's after they have good water and stuff like that. They're kind of take advantage and just, you know, spill the water, you know, not taking care of the water, because we know that water is life, you know, for us, you know, to maintain our lines and, and our family. So we have to be real careful with a, with a water, because it costs money, you know, to even to recycle whatever, clean the water, have it good for us so we can drink it. Now there is such thing, a lot of people may not think there's good water and there's bad water. But in this case, you, you know firsthand what it is, a bad water. Oh, yeah. Can you give me some examples like, what, how would you just, what's bad water? Well, the bad water up here is, it's just, you can't drink it, it's, it's got a

taste on it, a smell. It's, you know, it's no way you can, you can drink the water, you know, we would be, we would be lucky, you know. You know, bless if we could make a well that we could drink it, you know, like back times, you know, where you can drill a hole or a well and you can drink as, you know, as the farmers, you know, used to drink water like that. But now these days it's, it's kind of hard to get good water, you know, I don't know what, what's the cost of it. Maybe it's because other things going on, septid tanks and stuff like that, it kind of, you know, pollutes the dirt, you know, the water. And that's why it's have to be, you know, taken into the, to be refiltred and stuff like that to get good water. So you, okay, okay.