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Nightmare
Nightmare journey to reach the American dream
http://www.sundayherald.com/54962
From Nicola Fell in Mexico City
ALL along the route through Central America to the US are hostels run by the Catholic Church that provide food and shelter for those travelling illegally with only one goal in mind: making it to the land of their dreams.
Last year alone, 500 people died trying to enter the United States by this back door, yet thousands more of what have become known as Central America's "kamikazes of poverty" remain willing to take the risk.
In response, President George W Bush intends to construct more fences along the 2000-mile Mexican border and has asked Congress to approve a $11 billion increase in policing and monitoring of immigrants. But still they come.
At a hostel in Guatemala, on the border with Mexico, around 50 men and women are sprawled out on the floor, resting from what has already been a long journey. The hostel allows them three days to recuperate before they must leave. The silence is eerie as they plan the next stage of their route.
A slight girl, who looks 14 but tells me she is 16, is willing to talk as long as she doesn't have to give her name.
She tried to cross the small stretch of the Suchiate River into Mexico two days ago, but had second thoughts.
"When I came to the hostel, I heard four people had got killed at the river. I haven't heard anyone got killed since then, so I might try and cross over tomorrow," she tells me.
Last year alone, 70 people were killed by gangs, or "maras" as they are known. Their activities stretch all the way from El Salvador to the US, and people trying to reach the US illegally make perfect targets in the murky world of drug trafficking and immigrant smuggling.
"I had to bribe the police to let us keep going on the road," the Honduran girl tells me. "But it's when we get out of the bus, that's the problem. We have to go through the jungle and that's where the gangs wait for us. Sometimes they already know the time [when the immigrants are coming]. They kill us, hurt us or steal our money," she says.
It is estimated by the local non- governmental organisation Fraya Matias that more than 50% of those trying to cross borders en route to the United States illegally are women and minors.
"We women suffer a lot – we could get pregnant," says the Honduran girl. When I ask her if she means she could get raped, she replies matter-of-factly: "Well, we always do get raped, but as long as we stay alive, it doesn't matter what happens.
"All we want is to be in the US. It doesn't matter what the consequences are as long as we get there. We do whatever we can to send money to our family."
Only a 30-minute drive over the border from Guatemala into Mexico is another hostel. But this hostel is different. It's for those who failed to make their American dream a reality.
Juan Luis, from El Salvador, lies on his bed. His legs are now two stumps below his waist. He draws himself up to a sitting position and tells me his story.
"I was trying to get to the US, but I had an accident on the train. I fell off at two in the morning. I was weak. I hadn't eaten well for three days. I only remember the train was going and I fell asleep. I lost both my legs," recalls Luis.
"When I boarded that train I didn't realise the danger which could mark the rest of your life while you are still young. It's like roulette. You gamble. Sometimes you win and sometime you lose."
Back over the border in Guatemala, I tell the young Honduran woman about Juan Luis and the hostel just across the border, but she remains determined that at dawn she will go to the river and try her luck. She puts the chance of making it to the US at 50%, but the border police put it closer to 20%.
"We say to ourselves, to give us courage, we'll be OK, but we all know in our hearts there's going to be problems with the police and the gangs," she says. I tell her I wish her luck, and with a slight smile she says: "Well, that's what we all wish."
02 April 2006
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Birgit and Roger