Migrant Trail Walk Reports Back
An annual event to witness the immense number of deaths produced by U.S. immigration policy
Our friend Ken Jones walked the migrant trail earlier this year with Desert Witness, and then reconvened walker/organizers Kat Rodriquez, Lulu Matute, and Christian Aleman to report back with him.
Examining the context of how migrants end up crossing the U.S.-Mexico border through the desert is a history and economics lesson in itself. Here’s a copy of the slide Lulu used for that part of the presentation:
These humanitarian witnesses report that they are changed by making the walk each year. As I listened to them speak, it was clear the changes are positive.
They urge all to consider joining or supporting the walk next spring. For more information, visit the Migrant Trail Walk website here.
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I listened to the Migrant Trail Walk Report-Back. So moving. So inspiring. These people make me aspire to become ever more of a true, righteous human being.
In 1971 while a student at the University of Arizona in Tucson, I went on a field trip into the area along the border east of Yuma. It was necessary to get permission to enter. The desolation is profound. Vegetation is minimal and we camped at the only well drinking sulfurous water pumped with a windmill. There is absolutely no shade from the sun. At night it was so quiet I could hear the blood pumping in my ears. Our 4wd vehicle, a rarity back then, suffered a flat tire and our 2wd van got stuck in a sand wash on the way back from driving 50 miles to get the 4wd tire repaired. Two people had to walk with the tire suspended between them on a pole for miles to get back to camp.
I cannot imagine trekking entirely on foot through the area. We were well equipped and motorized yet were challenged to get out of there. It is said one needs a quart of water per hour under the merciless sun. A gallon of water weighs 8 pounds giving four hours of travel. Imagine what would motivate people to risk their lives this way.
I strongly recommend the movie El Norte (1983) for those who fail to understand the situation of desperate migrants heading from a place where they have little to nothing for a place where we have everything and do not want to share it, enforcing it with ICE thugs.