BajaNews
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Longer stays make saying goodbye hard for Mexican migrants heading north
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20060523-0043-mexi...
By Olga R. Rodriguez
May 23, 2006
TIJUANA, Mexico ? Before Israel Morales boarded a plane from Mexico City to Tijuana, his mother slipped a tiny plastic bag containing a coin, lentils
and an image of Christ into his pocket, so he wouldn't be without money, food or faith.
Then his 10-year-old son wrapped his arms around him and wouldn't let go.
?The hardest part is leaving your family behind, hearing your child cry as you walk away, even if you're leaving so he can have a better life,? said
Morales, a truck driver who was planning to jump the metal fence dividing Mexico and the United States.
?For children this is hard to understand.?
Migration to the United States has long been a fact of life for many Mexicans. In some villages, mariachi music and feasts are customary sendoffs for
those heading north. But tighter border security is now keeping many migrants away from their homes for longer stretches, making their last moments in
Mexico more somber occasions.
Many spend time with loved ones, reassuring their children that better days will come. Others go to churches and shrines, praying for a safe journey.
Then there are the young boys who parade through town saying goodbye to neighbors they might not see again for years.
Eduardo Orozco went to Tijuana's cathedral to ask for divine protection.
?I asked God to take care of me and to protect me from snake bites,? Orozco said, his backpack stuffed with water, canned tuna, crackers and
chocolate. ?I asked him to help me because this time I'll have to make it.?
Orozco, a 30-year-old construction worker, was preparing for his third attempt to sneak into the United States through a hilly section of California.
He said a Los Angeles contractor had promised him a job paying $300 a week, twice what he earned in Guadalajara.
With about half of Mexico's 107 million people living in poverty, the promise of better paying jobs has lured millions of migrants north ? so many
that about 10 percent of Mexico's population now lives in the United States.
Earlier this month, President Bush unveiled a plan to bolster security along the border by sending 6,000 National Guard troops to patrol the area.
Congress is also debating the most far-reaching immigration bill in two decades. It would strengthen border enforcement, create a guest worker program
and eventually offer the possibility of citizenship to many of the millions of men and women already in the country illegally.
Because of these measures, many migrants are making fewer passages back and forth between the United States and Mexico. When they do undertake the
sometimes dangerous journey, some count on divine protection, stopping at churches, makeshift altars and the tombs of saints on the way. The Roman
Catholic Church offers a half-dozen patron saints for travelers, but many Mexican migrants turn to someone not recognized by the church: ?Juan
Soldado,? or Soldier John.
Soldado was a soldier who was falsely accused of the rape and murder of a girl and executed by a Mexican firing squad in February 1938. He is
worshipped as a man wronged by those in power.
Migrants have filled the wall of a small chapel built around his tomb in Tijuana with flowers, locks of hair, marble plaques and handwritten notes
thanking him.
In one note written in pencil and taped to a wall, a woman credits him for helping her get to the United States: ?I thank you Juan Soldado for the
miracle of having crossed safely with my children to Los Angeles and for now having my papers and being able to come see you.?
Another man left a copy of his tourist visa, which he credited Soldado with helping him get. One woman offered a foot-long braid, nailed to the wall
with a note thanking him for helping her brother obtain his freedom after being accused of smuggling migrants.
Migrants make the trip knowing that death ? or even a new life in the United States ? may keep them from returning. That was on Morales' mind as he
left his son behind: ?I wanted to leave him with good memories because you never know when or if you'll come back.?
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Paula
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| Quote: | | Orozco, a 30-year-old construction worker, was preparing for his third attempt to sneak into the United States through a hilly section of California.
He said a Los Angeles contractor had promised him a job paying $300 a week, twice what he earned in Guadalajara. |
How does a contractor get off paying ANYONE $300.00 per week for construction????
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bancoduo
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Mexican FOLKLORE is colorful, mystical and fatalistic, very entertaining stuff. 
[Edited on 5-24-2006 by bancoduo]
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