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NEWS
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 16, 2009
Jon Goering/KANSAN
Right: a small angel statue, part of a shrine made of objects found on the trail, prays at the No More Deaths campite. No More Deaths keeps a running tally of confirmed deaths in the desert, which is now in the 180s for this fiscal year, but estimates suggest that only approximately one out of 10 bodies is found and counted because of the size of the region. "You grieve for the dying," said John Heid, a regular volunteer for No More Deaths. "And then you fight like hell for the living."
N O MÁS
Jon Gnerino/KANSAN
Juan, center, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, rests with the other members of his group in a first aid tent at a No More Deaths campsite. The group was found lost, with very little food and no drinkable water, near one of the numerous migrant trails that wind through the desert. Migrants making the crossing often have insufficient equipment and are unable to carry enough water to make it all the way through the desert, which causes many to die of exposure.
The sun sets on southern Arizona's mountainous desert terrain that separates the U.S. from Mexico, through which an estimated 400,000 to 600,000 migrants pass during the busiest months of February by the Border Patrol and deported.
Jon Goering/KANSAN
BY JON JOERING jGoering@kansan.com
Six KU students decided to drive down to southern Arizona this spring break to do volunteer work for a local humanitarian aid organization, No More Deaths. The non-profit organization works to prevent the deaths of migrants crossing the U.S./Mexico border through the heavily traveled Tucson corridor by leaving food and water on the trails. They also provide medical aid to anyone in need. The program for the students was organized through Alternative Spring Breaks at the University.
Juan, a hopeful migrant, said he and his group thought they knew where
Tucson was, but they didn't. They had been hiking in the desert for four days, the last two of which they spent separated from their group, lost and with very little food and no drinkable water. They ate just one meal a day in the morning: three tortillas and a small amount of beans. They drank cattle water for the last few days, even though they knew it was bad for them. "We had no choice," Juan said. "We were thirsty."
They hadn't seen anybody during all four days of hiking. They thought about just turning themselves in and facing the consequences, rather than risking death from exposure in the desert; a reality many seem to acknowledge as a possible ending when crossing.
(Right) Brenna Daldorph, Lawrence junior, listens to Lester during a visit to Le Comodoro in Nogales, Sonora. Maldorph left his wife and four young children in the U.S. to visit his dying father in Mexico. He also left his apple-pick job. Maldorph said he showed her a paycheck and he was getting paid almost nothing for his work. During his trip through the desert to get back to his family, he was deserted by the guide he had hired with $1,200 to lead him through the desert. He wandered for five days, eventually reaching a road where he tried to hitchhike. Eventually he was picked up by the Border Patrol and deported back to Mexico, away from his wife and kids.
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