Enrique was only 16 years old when he left the front porch of his house in Honduras to embark on a journey that would lead him thousands of miles away from home in search of his mother. She, like many women in her position, had made the difficult decision of leaving him behind in hopes that the United States would provide an opportunity to support her family back home.
After 12 years of estrangement, Enrique decided he would set out to find her, following a dangerous route of traveling atop freight trains. He is only one of thousands of youths who risk their lives to be with their families once again.
In the dim-lit room of Elkins, I sat listening to Sonia Nazario tell stories just like Enrique’s. As an experienced reporter and journalist, Nazario decided she would not only write about his story, but also live it. Nazario immersed herself with the migrants, traveling the same journey that Enrique had done only months before. In steady detail, she talked about the daunting and treacherous experiences she encountered along the way, crossing the Mexican and U.S. borders. As she spoke, pictures flashed upon the screen of kids as young as 7, their hair wildly flattening across their eyes as they learned to grip the bars at the top of a train car. As I listened to her words and let the images seep into my mind, I thought to myself, “How is it that so many do not know about this?”
The issue of illegal immigration has been tossed back and forth between politicians in debate for years. And while the debate continues to arise repeatedly, many fail to recognize stories like Enrique’s that continue to creep silently behind our conscious awareness. As Nazario described it, the disappearance of these migrants from their home countries a “Modern Day Exodus.” Citizens from Central America and Mexico have been fleeing their country due to the scarce jobs and resources necessary to live.
Nazario recounted that oftentimes mothers are left to raise their children alone, with little money for food and clothing. Faced with the dire circumstances of survival, mothers may make the difficult sacrifice of leaving their children behind in order to come to the United States to seek better opportunities. The fastest and most dangerous way to make the journey is to ride the freight trains through the central regions of Mexico, often leading to mutilation or death. The trip also carries a high rate of theft and violence from local gangs and corrupt police forces. Migrants fight against overwhelming exhaustion as they cling to the tops of the train beds for days at a time, dehydrated and starving in severe 100-degree heat. At times, survival seems nearly impossible.
During her lecture, Nazario suggested ways she believes the United States can positively make a difference. First, we can implement more incentives and better opportunities within migrants’ home countries. Microloans that help to start small businesses, free trade across borders and better education facilities are simple ideas that, if enacted properly, can make a huge difference. Although they are not immediate answers to the struggles that these countries currently face, they do open the door to possible change in places such as Honduras or Mexico.
Nazario’s lecture opened my eyes to a greater story that I had been missing. One from the perspective of a young migrant who sacrificed everything to come to the United States. It is public awareness about such issues that aid in the understanding of immigration and the effects it has on people on both sides of the border. I urge students to learn more about this issue through resources like Nazario’s work and be inspired to make a change for lasting positive progress.
