some non political info on the Beast and Southern Chiapas.

[bmh]

The train does not leave from Tapachula any longer. The bridge was destroyed during a hurricane a few years ago and the train is now leaving from Arriaga a couple of hours north of Tapachula.

The area is known as the Soconusco, it is a fertile agricultural area , very fat and hot and humid beyong belief. It is known as the antichamber to Hell because of its climate.

The Southern border is impossible to control as it is mostly jungle and the river is crossed back and forth as it is a free zone.

For exemple if you cross the river near Yaxchilan , you are supposed to check with immigration in Frontera Corazal to the customs. No one will ask you do do it.

Last time we crossed, I noticed all the coyotes waiting in the jumgle on the Mexican side.

We got stuck by the side of the river for a few hours as there was no transportation available and there were 30 to 40 members of the MS gang waiting for their coyote to cross them.

The crossing is not the issue as anyone with a boat will cross you , the getting out of Chiapas is.

As the border is not controllable there are many check points with army and immigration throughtout the Chiapas and many illegal immigrants are caught that way.

If you go to Arriaga you can see the tracts where the train sarts and there you see a crowd..Some people live in the old freight cars on the tracts some camp out around them. It is really pitiful.

In many of the surrounding towns you can see beggars without arms or legs who fell off and do not have the money to go home and are living in Mexico.

The whole scene is a vision from hell. You do not see the gangs or the immigration , police etc..robbing or kidnapping them but it apparently happens on a daily basis.

In other areas of the border the migrants who try to settle on land that is already occupied get killed by the local farmers who are mostly indigenous and are usually already fighting about land with their neighbors.

The southern border is a vision of hell in some places and saying Mexico is doing this or that reflects the total lack of understanding of the situation.

It is a human desastre no one wants to touch and the whole thing is heartbreaking and very frightning,

Some shelters are set up but cannot begin to scratch the surface.

Wether migrants, walk take a bus a car or the train the situation has to be extremely difficult to resolve . I do not think Mexico alone can do it just like the States cannot totally control its border alone. At least there it is a desert and you can see miles ahead, not so in Chiapas where it is jungle with a huge river and very often the same ethnic group living on both sides.

[Guest bennie2]

good read all true. the border on the U.S. side could be controlled but is not & will not be. the agents are told to let people in. that is the only detail that is off w/the comment. southern border of mexico has always been used as a transport point thru south america.

[Xena]

Thank you for your informative post, BMH. This truly is heartbreaking and a humanitarian crisis. It is complex with no easy solutions for anyone as your post clearly illustrates.

[Hud]

One would think ( because of the humanitarian issues) that Mexico would do something to help these people, but then that would become a drain on the Mexican government. They don't do very much to help their own poor, which appears to be typical of Latin American countries. The only hope I can see for these people, if they do not demand better from their own governments, is to go live in the US and Canada, both of which have monetary resources to help these people.

[Guest bennie2]

refugee status w/ benefits is being given. (this is for all including the M13 boys, if they havnt committed any crimes in the US in the past). the housing isnt bad so i have read, they are using empty resorts. whether they make it across is another story.

[RVGRINGO]

This morning‘s news discusses a $76.5 MDP proposal for DIF to provide more assistance to unaccompanied minors.

[rogerm]

As long as they are in Mexico it is a Mexican problem.

[Hud]

These "unaccompanied" MINORS are really something special. I can remember when my own children were aged 3 to 8. They would never have lived to walk 3000 miles without food and water and money and direction and avoiding Mexican and Guatemalan police, child traffickers, etc. These kids are "tough" and super intelligent. Impressive. Wonder how many others here had children as tough as these, able to make that trip unaccompanied and live to tell about why they did?

And, $8000 for a coyote? These kids are from families that can't feed and clothe all in the family, where do they get $8000? And, if a miracle happened and you found $8000, you would trust your little child with a coyote? Not any parents I know.

[Hud]

As long as they are in Mexico it is a Mexican problem.

Not if Mexico does nothing, no problem for them.

[Guest bennie2]

hud, some of the housing in the US is owned by the alec group. they are a huge investment corp, which owns everything from prisons to many unused resorts. they are helping fund the journey. as for now they have placed refugees in several resorts across the US. they also will be looking into hawaii, possibly the virgin islands. there is a new "industry" & job creation, as people will be hired to work in the settlement homes.