Enrique was five when his mother left Honduras for the U.S., seeking a better life and money for her and her kids. Dad was long gone. Enrique got shuttled between relatives for years until he decided to try to get to the States and find his mom.
There are thousands of Enrique’s. The L.A. Times is running a six part series on Enrique and what he, and others go through to get here. It is meticulously documented and gut-wrenching.
Getting through Mexico is hugely dangerous. Bandit gangs patrol the trains the immigrants ride through Mexico, beating, raping and stealing from whoever they can. Many are maimed or killed jumping on trains. Police beat and rob them too. They come with nothing but maybe a toothbrush, and they keep trying. It’s not unusual to find ten year olds riding the trains, on a search for their mother…
This is superb journalism.. and this Anglo continues to learn that the Latino immigrant I see on the street may well have a horrendous migration tale to tell.
And in today’s issue of the Times, after this story, is one on how Southern Californians, many of them middle-class, are spending large bucks on lavish, posh weddings – like $40,000 for a wedding at Disneyland with visit by Mickey Mouse extra. Talk about ironic juxtaposition.