Sticking with each other will see us through
An immigration agent positioned in the first post the migrant passed, was seen taking a drag when she sighted the first caravan approaching. As she beheld the group, they grew bigger with each passing second, heading toward the checkpoint.
They occupied the two-lane highway. Marching their feet on the hard ground a step at a time. When the immigration officer found out she was about to contend with a thousand number of Central Americans she covered her uniform with her white and orange shawl and walked away to a nearby restaurant.
The agent reported that she was going to the restaurant to purchase and down a relaxing Coke.
The movement
It has been about five days since the movement was initiated. It has seen hundreds of people from Central America migrating to the United States. These people comprise of both men, women, and children.
Most of these people are from the cities in Honduras, and one thing they have in common is their boldness and determination to migrate north. These days have witnessed them pass through immigration checkpoints, police, and military bases as they match desperately toward the United States.
Though at times, their onward movement becomes chaotic, they have maintained their goal of getting to their destination. And while they have been threading on Mexico’s ground without authorization, no authority desire to make a move to halt them.
How the move became possible
The huge Caravan coming to the North wouldn’t have been this big or possible if it weren’t for the volunteer group known as the People Without Borders, or the Pueblos Sin Fronteras.
This group is in charge of the Caravan and the safety of the migrants. It is their goal to offer migrants a safe passage into the US. This means passing through the authorities positioned at strategic points on the way to the world largest economy. But that is not all it means: the road to the USA from Mexico is plagued with cartels and gangs. The volunteer group intends to provide safety from such set of people.
When contacted, Rodrigo said that the mere size of their caravan was enough to give the immigration authorities and those life threats out there a reason to think before attacking.
In the morning, before they left the area called Tapachula, the part-leader of the movement called out to the people and said, they could get through this goal together as long as they looked after each other.
Tapachula is located at the Mexican border alongside Guatemala. The journey from Tapachula to America is close to one month by walking, and that is what the Central American Caravan hopes to achieve.
Sentiments of the group for the American authorities
When several members of the movement were reached to find out their opinion regarding the authorities in the United States border, their opinions varied. Some individuals were looking forward to gaining the favor of the immigration agents in the country; they seek to gain asylum. Others were hoping when they got there that the officers won’t be around to stop them.
While those of these two sentiments make up the larger majority, there was a large number of people who hoped that this movement would be a big challenge for the Trump administration and his new policies regarding immigration. They expect that through this movement, the government will have a reconsideration of their stand toward migrants. And they being the first organized caravan with this number of people, they believed they stand a chance of getting something good from the USA.
More intel gathered from the movement
The organizers of the movement, People Without Borders were taken aback by the number of people that came out from various cities and states who came to join them in their movement up north.
According to their records, just on the first day, they initiated the movement, they had about 200 individuals join them. And ever since then the number has been increasing. This reality has not only surprised them but also the people in the various places they ended up spending the night in and areas they pass through.
Based on our findings, many of these travelers were from Honduras and were in search of an opportunity to work and escape poverty. There were those who were on the run for the cause of political unrest in their region and increasing violence due to the swearing in of Juan Orlando Hernandez as the President of Honduras.
Regularly, the group was heard chanting “we are not immigrants,” “we are international workers,” “Out with J OH,” and “people that are united can never get defeated.”