THE JOURNEY
RIDING THE RAILS
Quique and his friends now needed a train. At least
one a day goes north on the Chaipas/Myab line into
Mexico City from Tapachula. The engines are old
and slow which means the trains don't travel very
fast. But it's still the
most dangerous railway in the world.
Ed Palmer, an American runs
the railroad. He says that every time the train
leaves the station some 200 people - and as many
as 700 hundred - try to get on board.
Ed Palmer:
When the train leaves, it's a free for all. People
come running out of shadows. It looks simple but
it's extremely dangerous to jump on a train. And
as the train picks up speed, people get more frantic
because they want to get on the train. They come
running out of banana fields in the dark and trip
over the ties and railway materials. I
could not think of a more dangerous way to travel.
READ AN EDITED
INTERVIEW WITH
ED PALMER
People lose their
limbs - and their lives on a regular basis. In
the past 10 years the Good Shepherd shelter in
Tapachula has treated 5000 people who've been
crippled by trains.
A train took Matinez Hernandez'
legs and put him in a wheelchair for the rest of
his life. Instead of helping his family from the
U.S. - now they are supporting him.
Mother:
It's very difficult for a mother to see her son
in this condition. I have faith that he will be
able to get around the house. Maybe God will make
him walk again.
Accidents happen so often that
most of the time the railway's employees don't even
know about them. They have tried to wire box car
doors shut to discourage people from riding in them,
but the migrants hammer the doors open with rocks
once the workers have moved on to the next car.
Ed Palmer:
It rains and the rain makes things much more slippery
and extremely dangerous. And we have a lot of accidents.
It's always present in your mind when you see a
guy walking around here on crutches. But these guys
are chasing their dreams so they'll do anything
to reach it. The only thing you can do it try to
warn these people about the dangers of what they
are doing.
Eber tried to hop aboard a moving train a couple
of years ago in the rain. He slipped and was almost
pulled under. But it didn't stop him from trying
again.
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Based on past experience Quique
and his friends chose to ride on one of the open
hopper cars. The train will be stopped many times
on the road ahead as police look to round up migrants.
On top of the hopper car they had a good view and
a chance to escape when the cops finally arrived.
Inexperienced first-timers ride in the box cars
so they can stay nice and dry. But it's a lousy
hiding place, because the police always search box
cars first. Migrants found there are the first to
be jailed and put on a bus back home.
Often the kids come right back to try it again.
Some try a dozen times before they either give up
and go home or finally succeed in reaching the U.S.
The Mexican government used to turn a blind eye
the travellers knowing that the kids were just passing
through on their way to the U.S. But Washington
put pressure on Mexico to shut the pipeline down.
Sending a Central American home from Mexico costs
$22 instead of $1700 from the U.S.
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The Mexican police and army were
given a free hand to do whatever they had to. According
to hundreds of eye witness reports kids are routinely
beaten and robbed. Chacon saw soldiers enter the
train firing their AK 47's.
The raids are highly effective. According to the
Mexican army 90% of people riding the rails are
eventually caught and arrested.
When the train slowed down, Quique and his friends
hoped off into the confusion.
