In defense of geography

You can imagine our surprise and indignation when we heard the phrase “Amalia Compound” used by the news media in reference to the location of the Muslim family of five adults and 11 starving children from Georgia that were found by the Taos County Sheriff in August near our valley.

The compound is not in Amalia and is not a “rural subdivision” of Amalia as reported in an online article from CNN. The location of the compound is an area that is located about four to five miles north of Amalia in an area known as Costilla Meadows. Costilla Meadows got its name from the company that sold 35-acre lots, often sight unseen, to people from all over the world during the 1970s and 1980s. People bought the land years ago because it was cheap, but many have never occupied it.

In reporting that the family from Georgia was living in an “Amalia Compound” and not clarifying that the area where they were living was not related to the beautiful, historic village of Amalia, the news media has done our village a grave disservice. The news media has brought global politics to our area by using the phrase “Amalia Compound” in a negative light with this misrepresentation.

We don’t know who coined the phrase “Amalia Compound,” but we want this error to be corrected immediately. To correct this error that has sullied the reputation of our valley, we want the to write an article setting the record straight by correctly naming the location of the compound as Costilla Meadows, to stop using the phrase “Amalia Compound,” and to apologize to the people of Amalia for this error.

Additionally, the Taos County Sheriff’s Department also needs to apologize for misrepresenting the location. As leader of our local law enforcement, the sheriff should have known that the compound was located in Costilla Meadows and not in Amalia and given this information to the news media.

For those of us whose ancestors settled Amalia several generations ago and for those who have more recently chosen to move here, Amalia is a beautiful place that we proudly call home.