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Posted on Thu, Jun. 22, 2006

Susan Sarandon: U.S. should help Mexico build schools, not wall


Associated Press

TIJUANA, Mexico - Actress Susan Sarandon, a longtime liberal political activist and outspoken opponent of the Iraq war, thinks the United States should help build schools in Mexico - not walls along the border.

Visiting a preschool in a slum bordering a vast, municipal garbage dump in Tijuana, Sarandon said education was the key to improving lives in Mexico. She criticized a U.S. congressional proposal to extend walls along the 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border.

The school was founded by New York educator David Lynch who came to Tijuana in 1980 as a volunteer teacher. He later built the school for the children of Mexicans who eke out a living gathering recyclable material from the dump.

Sarandon, who has starred in movies such as "Thelma & Louise" and "The Client," has been supporting the project for years.

"I'm very proud especially with the world careening out of control," she said. "People feel they have no control over their lives. I think this school is helping people to get control over their lives."