Radio Zapatista
Migrant caravan on the move through Pijijiapan and Tonalá, Chiapas
It is early morning. It is not yet 2 a.m. and an almost full moon illuminates the streets of Mapastepec. The small city is sleeping, but in the central plaza, on the patio of the church and in the surrounding streets, some groups are already awakening, and they begin to organize their few belongings. An hour later, there is a feverish activity and many have already started their journey. They organize into groups of 10, 20, or 30 people. The small children are carried in the arms of their mothers or fathers, but the majority, despite their sleepiness and exhaustion, walk by themselves.
When they get to the highway, they turn in direction of Pijijiapan, with the hope that someone will stop and give them a ride. Many vehicles do, particularly after 6 a.m. when the trucks and minibuses begin to circulate. They progress a few kilometers and when they approach an immigration, police, or army checkpoint, the drivers stop and the migrants get off. Many drivers fear having problems with the authorities. The migrants cross the checkpoints by foot without problems—in fact, at many checkpoints, such as military ones, there is no personnel—and then the migrants wait for another driver to pick them up further ahead.
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(Español) Caravana de migrantes llega a Mapastepec, Chiapas
“Que este sacrificio le sea agradable a nuestro Señor Dios padre todopoderoso”, se escuchaba la voz del sacerdote por los altavoces, y era imposible no preguntarse de qué forma este sacrificio podría parecerle agradable a nadie.
Estábamos en el gran patio frente a la iglesia en el centro de la pequeña ciudad de Mapastepec, uno de los espacios donde miles de migrantes centroamericanos se amontonaban, acostados en el suelo, después de haber caminado todo el día desde Huixtla, en el estado de Chiapas.
Los niños (los muchos, muchísimos niños) estaban agotados. Entre ellos llamaba la atención una pequeñita niña, de quizás algunos meses de edad, durmiendo profundamente al lado de su madre, una mujer de edad indefinida con la cabeza recostada en su mochila, la mirada perdida y una expresión que demuestra un doloroso desasosiego.
