A caravan of migrants going to the USA: the number, problems and plans of the participants

Doctors and volunteer nurses from the non-profit organization A Good Group of People Organization installed a medical truck near a church in Puebla, Mexico, which turned into a temporary shelter for several hundred migrants from Central America walking in the caravan to US borders.

Фото: Depositphotos

According to doctors, many participants of the campaign suffer from fever, chills and infections of the upper respiratory tract, writes USA Today.

These diseases spread easily because people travel together in tight train wagons and sleep in small rooms.

The caravan of migrants fleeing poverty and violence in Central America initially numbered about 1000 people, but since 6 in April, the number of its participants decreased to 600 people. They are heading for the US border to seek asylum in the country. Marsh attracted the attention of US President Donald Trump, who announced the deployment of troops on the US-Mexican border, which frightened many participants in the caravan, and they decided to seek refuge in Mexico.

Doctors also have to help many migrants who are injured along the way. The most serious was the injury of a young man who broke his leg, trying to jump on the train The beast in Mexico.

Many marchers suffer from stomach upsets, which doctors attribute to eating bad water and Mexican food, which contains much more spices than their usual foods.

Many migrants suffer from psychological problems associated with the constant fear in which they lived in their homeland, and stress due to the uncertain fate of the caravan at the US border.

Many left their home countries with children, because there they are in danger from gangs, and sometimes from the aggression of their own father.

Under pressure from the Mexican authorities, the caravan should end traffic next week in Mexico City, but many of its members hope to get to Tijuana on their own, and then perhaps try to move to the United States.

The Caravan of Migrants is an annual symbolic event held by the organization “People without Borders” (Pueblos sin fronteras) on the eve of Easter and aimed at raising awareness of the world community about the plight of migrants.

Usually this event never attracted much attention, because it did not collect a large number of participants, writes USA Today.

But this year is different. When the 25 March caravan departed from Tapachula through the whole of Mexico to the northern border of the country, instead of the usual 200-300 people, the group consisted of 1600 people. Travelers hold together partly to protect themselves from gang attacks, and also to be heard by politicians from different countries of the world.

The reason for such a large number of participants this year was the complication of the situation in Honduras, where the increased level of violence and the number of gangs led the country to become a world leader in the number of murders per capita. Therefore, many Hondurans decided to try their luck by joining the caravan.

The situation was aggravated by the political crisis caused by the presidential election in November. Many Hondurans believe that President Juan Orlando Hernandez rigged the election results, which led to several days of protests in the country, which ended in violent clashes with the authorities. This year the share of participants in the caravan from Honduras was 75-80%.

This size of the group took even the organizers by surprise and caused a more negative reaction from the United States than they expected, which resulted in the deployment of troops.

Now the organizers doubt that attracting as much attention as possible has played into the hands of migrants in the caravan who have left their homes and now do not know how their campaign will end.

At present, the organizers are thinking about whether to organize caravans in the future, due to fears that the US’s military response may increase anti-immigration groups in the United States and the world, and hatred of illegal immigrants will only increase.

Many in the caravan want to get to Tijuana and stay there, not trying to move to the United States. But it is becoming increasingly problematic. Under pressure from the United States, Mexico established additional checkpoints aimed at capturing and deportation of Central American migrants. And migrants who try to bypass checkpoints are often attacked by criminals, for whom illegal immigrants are easy victims for robberies or sexual crimes.

According to the Mexican authorities, 465 marchers were asked for transit visas from Mexico, and 230 received them, and 168 would likely receive some other visa to stay in Mexico.

Mexican officials said earlier that 400 people from the caravan would be sent back to their home countries. According to the organizers, this is what prompted other participants to separate from the general group.

Some participants were provided with documents entitling them to stay in Mexico for 20 days in order to transit on the way to the US border with the stated purpose of applying for asylum.

Other participants began the process of obtaining a humanitarian Mexican visa or obtaining asylum in Mexico, if their situation allowed it.

The caravan also positions itself as a demonstration and puts forward political demands: a call to end political corruption in their home countries and to stop US military assistance to Central America, since these weapons are used against civilians and get to the bandits.

Recall, having learned about the tough US response and plans to stop the movement of the caravan in Mexico City, many marchers separated from the general group and move to the American border on their own.

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