ABSTRACT

Since the 1990s, thousands of Latin Americans have died or disappeared along the US-Mexico border, following the funneling of migration through remote desert regions. The families of missing migrants face long-term “ambiguous loss,” a lived experience in which a loved one is physically absent but psychologically present. Mexican relatives of the missing in Arizona and Sonora report that these losses produce deep emotional suffering along a timeline – worrying about the crossing, learning of the disappearance, beginning to search, and finally, coping with the long-term impacts of unknowing. Close relatives experience embodied health effects including headaches, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and chronic disease.

摘要

自 1990 年代以来，随着移民涌入偏远沙漠地区，数以千计的拉丁美洲人在美墨边境死亡或失踪。失踪移民的家人面临着长期的“模棱两可的损失”，这是一种亲人不在身边但在心理上的生活经历。在亚利桑那州和索诺拉州失踪的墨西哥亲属报告说，这些损失沿着时间线产生了深刻的情感痛苦——担心穿越、得知失踪、开始寻找，最后应对不知情的长期影响。近亲会经历具体的健康影响，包括头痛、失眠、焦虑、抑郁和慢性病。