Migrant Testimony
“My name is José Mauricio. I am from Salvadoran. Or “guanaco,” like they say. My adventure began Friday, July 18 in 2006. I left at 8 a.m. from El Salvador headed towards Guatemala. In my two pockets, I carried only 35 dollars. With that, I was only able to get to the border between Guatemala and Mexico.
Upon entering Mexico, I didn’t have a single peso (currency of Mexico). I went begging for food day after day, town after town that I passed through. And as always, I was blessed by God. Thanks to him, we weren’t assaulted nor poorly treated by other people or authorities. Nevertheless, many people are victims of those types of things.
On my journey, I got from Cuidad Hidalgo to Arriaga in 12 days. I walked the entire way along the train tracks. I only had with me a MUDADA of clothing, which I would stop to wash in a river ever two or three days. I slept in the streets in towns, many times in abandoned homes, until I reached the mountain.
That was the way I travelled, advancing day after day, and I got pretty worn out by the time I got to the start of the train line. Furthermore, I didn’t know what fate was awaiting me. I arrived July 29th with the hopes of taking the train that afternoon. However the train didn’t leave that day. It left the following day at 12 noon. And it only made it 25 or 30 kilometers before I had my accident. A sharp movement of the train made me fall.
I traveling at the edge of the surface in between two train cars. When I felt the jolt, I didn’t have time to grab on to anything and I fell in between the two STEEL tires. And the train crossed right on top of my thin body. I don’t even know how I got there.
