Angel (hijo adoptivo de la fundadora)
Final Station Mexico: The Jesús el Buen Pastor Shelter is located in Tapachula, a city in the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the border with Guatemala. This shelter provides a caring, healthy living and recuperation space for migrants who have had severe accidents and for people are ill. Most of the people in the shelter are migrants from Central America heading towards the United States who have lost an arm or a leg in cargo train accidents during their journey.
Migration: In the Central American nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua, poverty and unemployment, violence and desperation dominate. At the same time, in the United States, there is a permanent demand for a cheap labor. This imbalance draws many people from Central America northward in search of jobs and opportunity. The grand majority of these migrants do not have the resources or do not meet the eligibility requirements to enter the countries of Mexico and the United States legally. As a result, many of these migrants end up crossing the territory of Mexico and the northern border with the U.S. “illegally” (without the proper documentation). Due to their unauthorized status, these migrants are forced to travel on clandestine ways, which increases their vulnerability and exposition to many dangers.
"The train of Death": In Mexico migrants use the cargo train system to travel northward. They opt for the train over buses in order to avoid the control posts on the highways that have been installed by the Mexican government in cooperation with the United States. Unfortunately, the voyage above the train cars is dangerous. Migrants accidentally fall of the cars or are thrown off by robbers and gang members. Those who survive often lose entire limbs. An accident occurs nearly every week.
Gain insights into the reality of migrants’ experiences by watching the documentary “Assaulted Dream” by Uli Stelzner. Read the amazing book "Enrique´s Journey" about a boy who leaves Honduras to reunite with his mother in the USA, by Sonia Nazario.
