Facebook Instagram Twitter YouTube

“Mom, I’m too Tired to Walk”: Children of the Migrant Caravan

Over 1,000 children are part of the migrant exodus from Central America. What is their experience on the long and perilous journey?

Left Voice

November 16, 2018
Facebook Twitter Share

“I was just tired. Tired of waking up in the morning and my son saying ‘Mom, I’m hungry’ and having to count coins to get him a juice box. And at the same time, the big businessmen throw food away.”

This desperation and poverty drives countless families to leave Central America, bringing their children along with them. To them, 1,000+ miles of walking with children is less scary than the prospect of a life of poverty and violence in Central America. The US is direct implicated in this poverty and violence due to CAFTA, the war on drugs and a US backed coup in Honduras. Both the Democrats and Republicans are responsible for these policies.

Thousands of children have joined their parents in the long trek to the United States, traversing over 1,000 miles by foot and sometimes hitchhiking. According to organizers, some children are traveling alone in hopes of a better life in the U.S., while the majority are accompanied by relatives.

You may be interested in Democrats Were Not “the Lesser Evil” for the Migrant Caravan

What is new about this mirgant caravan is that they visibilized the long and treacherous journey that countless migrants have taken alone or in small groups.

child_1.jpg

On almost all days, there are 12 hours of travel. When no trucks stop to pick up the migrants, that means hours of walking in the rain or hot Mexican sun, sometimes in up to 104 degrees. Clean water isn’t always easy to come by, which means that the migrants either drink contaminated water or go without.

Hitchhiking is also a problem. People are crammed into dark trucks or crates, an easy way to spread diseases. Others climb atop trucks with nowhere to hold onto. Local media reports that two migrants have died from falling off of trucks.

Already 100 migrants have gone missing, likely kidnapped by drug cartels. The fear of children being kidnapped and sold into the sex trade is a very real fear; it is one of the reasons that people travel with the caravan. There is strength in numbers.

c65ac4af-bacc-4d02-a090-78e89aa113a9.jpg
2f931c02-9812-4f4e-86c0-defac10c4b74.jpg

At night, the temperatures cool, but then the problem is a lack of blankets. The migrants sleep on the floor of churches and auditoriums, but blankets are too heavy to carry and are in short supply. Moreover, there are usually no showers available, and sometimes migrants can’t even find a place to wash their hands.

Manuel Valenzuela, an El Paso pediatrician has been walking with the caravan, offering health services. However, a few children have had to be hospitalized. He says that the biggest problems for children are gastrointestinal problems which cause fever, diarrhea, and vomiting, as well as dehydration, which has led to fainting. Lastly, some of the children have bronchitis, making it difficult for them to breathe. These problems are also affecting many adults, but the children are the most susceptible.

Sometimes, Mexicans provide toys for the kids: stuffed animals, soccer balls, and coloring books. One child said, “I only have clothes. No toys because my dad said it would be too heavy to carry.”

child_6.jpg

Pamela Valle, a 28-year-old from El Progreso, Honduras said, “I don’t think you can prepare children psychologically, but we have to in some way make it like a game, like telling them it’s a vacation. It’s not right, but sometimes the situation obliges you.”

These children have indeed experienced a lot on the long walk. They were tear gassed at the Mexican border, and many crossed the border on small rafts or by swimming. They have walked hundreds of miles, as most are too heavy to be carried for the entire trip.

In Mexico City, community organizations and nonprofits came to read stories to the kids. Dozens of kids crowded around the storytellers. One of the stories was about bravery, as well as solidarity and compassion with others.

Daniela, a child of the caravan says, “I have three friends, and if they gave me a piece of chocolate, I would split it in three pieces and share it!”

child_8.jpg

After almost a week in Mexico City, asking for help from the Mexican government and the U.N., the migrants were denied buses and had to leave on foot. Many are hitchhiking, piling into overcrowded trucks.

Elena, a migrant from El Salvador said “I am representing many mothers. We come here with children. We told the U.N. that there are thousands of children. They didn’t listen to us. Our children come to us and say, ‘Mom, I can’t walk anymore.’ And the U.N. won’t help us because they don’t have a heart.”

child_2.jpg
child_7.jpg
child_9.jpg
child_4.jpg

Facebook Twitter Share

Left Voice

Militant journalism, revolutionary politics.

Latin America

A square in Argentina is full of protesters holding red banners

48 Years After the Military Coup, Tens of Thousands in Argentina Take to the Streets Against Denialism and the Far Right

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets across Argentina on March 24 to demand justice for the victims of the state and the military dictatorship of 1976. This year, the annual march had renewed significance, defying the far-right government’s denialism and attacks against the working class and poor.

Madeleine Freeman

March 25, 2024

Declaration: End Imperialist Intervention in Haiti, Solidarity with the Haitian People

The “Multinational Security Support Mission” announced by the United States marks a new imperialist-colonial intervention in Haiti by the United States, the UN, and their allies.

The Fight against Javier Milei Has Set The Stage For a Whole New Wave of Struggle

The defeat of the Omnibus Law is a key victory for the movement against Javier Milei’s austerity plan and attacks on democratic rights. It shows that the working class and oppressed have the power to fight against the advance of the Far Right in Argentina and across the world.

Tatiana Cozzarelli

February 9, 2024

Defying Repression: Socialist Electeds in Argentina Show Us What Revolutionary Parliamentarism Looks Like

Workers in Argentina are defying police repression and fighting back against the far-right government’s shock therapy. Trotskyist members of congress are not just protesting inside the chamber — they are on the front lines of the demonstrations, getting pepper sprayed and shot with rubber bullets.

Nathaniel Flakin

February 9, 2024

MOST RECENT

The Convulsive Interregnum of the International Situation

The capitalist world is in a "permacrisis" — a prolonged period of instability which may lead to catastrophic events. The ongoing struggles for hegemony could lead to open military conflicts.

Claudia Cinatti

March 22, 2024

Berlin’s Mayor Loves Antisemites

Kai Wegner denounces the “antisemitism” of left-wing Jews — while he embraces the most high-profile antisemitic conspiracy theorist in the world.

Nathaniel Flakin

March 22, 2024

What “The Daily” Gets Right and Wrong about Oregon’s Move to Recriminalize Drugs

A doctor at an overdose-prevention center responds to The Daily, a podcast produced by the New York Times, on the recriminalization of drugs in Oregon. What are the true causes of the addiction crisis, and how can we solve it?

Mike Pappas

March 22, 2024

Lord Balfour Was an Imperialist Warmonger 

We should give our full solidarity to the Palestine Action comrade who defaced a portrait of Arthur Balfour at Cambridge University. But the problem for everyone who opposes the genocide against Gaza is how to massify and politically equip the movement.

Daniel Nath

March 21, 2024