Thinking Laura Poitras

Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras is suing the departments of justice and homeland security, as well as the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for years of “Kafkaesque harrassment” at US border patrol. She said, “I am also filing this suit in support of the countless other less high-profile people who have also been subjected to years of Kafkaesque harassment at the borders.”

Many years ago when I was traveling for Magnum, I was pulled aside by US Customs as I queued the line to re-enter the States. An officer asked for my computer and took it into another room. Ten minutes later a man returned with the laptop in hand and the battery which no longer fit its designated slot.

“It’s broken. Sorry.” he offered blandly.

Three or four years later, I undertook the task of removing my hard drive from my Macbook Pro–now binderclipped to keep the battery in place. As I reached step 12 or so in the instructions I froze in disbelief. It was evident that an internal screw was missing from the battery bay of my computer, a screw which only could have been accessed by taking the machine apart. It simply could not have dislodged on its own. My deduction, of course, that this was related to whatever had happened in Customs years before. Had my machine been tampered with? How or why could this happen? I remembered the guards as opaque and unfriendly, refusing to acknowledge my questions. I could not say for sure.

What I do know is the mystifying experience one encounters at border patrol invoke fear and a sense of powerlessness, and thus, silence. True to form, it’s incredibly brave of Poitras to take this on. We’ll see what happens.