The "End" of PAPA
This is the front page of the last available PAPA Noticiero in the Nettie Lee Benson Latin American Collection. PAPA Noticiero No. 22 was published in June of 2001 and has changed in some subtle ways from the previous issues. The articles are more varied and on display; the photograph accompanies the text on the side instead of dominating the focus of the front page like in PAPA Noticiero No. 15. Even the writers of the articles are identified with an accompanying phrase describing their relationship to PAPA. This is a diverse, nuanced, and informative collection of efforts from the PAPA staff.
Once again, the eyes are drawn to the logo; like many of the issues throughout PAPA’s publications, it has changed dramatically. Gone are the figures sitting against the title and huddled for warmth— instead, there is a picture of a small bird flying downward with a flower held in its beak. The words “News from the Political Asylum Project of Austin” encircle the drawing. It is, simply put, a message of hope. Yet again, the focus is once again upon the audience. After 12 years of publication and changes in delivery, in format, in the physical medium itself, the focus has not changed. It has deepened to reflect the need to inform their community of specific legal information, of success stories, of important political situations, but still remains community-focused.
Looking back to the issue published in 1989, the differences are stark and numerous. The Political Asylum Project of Austin has, ultimately, never wavered in its goal. It has instead adapted and evolved to better serve the community it hoped to empower.
One person’s efforts deserve to be highlighted across these items. From the very beginning of PAPA’s Noticieros publications, “Nidia” or “Nidia Salamanca” has always been a contributing individual. In fact, in the fourteenth issue of the publication, Nidia Salamanca is praised for receiving the Human Rights Defender Award from the Human Rights Documentation Exchange. They are also quoted in a 1997 article from The Austin Chronicle titled, “America the Brutal: Missed Information.” It is clear that Nidia Salamanca was deeply passionate about supporting immigrants, specifically refugees and asylum seekers, in Austin Texas. They played a crucial role from the very founding of the Political Asylum Project of Austin and in operating as the point-of-contact in creating a welcoming, engaging, inviting space for the process of refugee home-building to begin. Nidia Salamanca’s efforts were not in vain and their efforts deserve recognition for the vast impact it had upon the asylum-seeker and refugee population across Texas to this day.
The Political Asylum Project of Austin has no further publications of Noticieros after the twenty-second issue in 2001— but just because it ended in name does not mean the cause has ended. PAPA evolved into the nonprofit American Gateways which offers pro-bono and reduced cost legal services to Austin’s migrant community as a whole. Looking across the various publications, it’s clear that PAPA’s beginning certainly went through formative times of development which impacted the direction of their organization. However, their focus never strayed from the community they dedicated their services to. PAPA’s role in allowing refugees and asylum-seekers the opportunity to establish a new home in the United States cannot be understated. Nor can the power the organization wielded through its storytelling capabilities be forgotten. As historian Felipe Fernández-Armesto remarks, Hispanic migrants played such a central role in the formation of America; the possibility of a pluralistic future with multiple migrant cultures has no threat to its future. In fact, it will only add to our ever-growing narrative of how we view and understand our “home.”