Wednesday, 14 August 2019

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

The conditions in the communities from which refugees are pouring out of so rapidly are life threatening to all those who reside there. These migrants are extremely desperate to escape the imminent danger they are exposed to; from drug cartels, to economic and political oppression, and numerous other life-threatening emergencies. These people do not want to leave their homes. They are forced out, fleeing for their lives to obtain asylum in our country where these refugees believe they will be safe. Before reaching our country, they go through hell in attempt to make a safer life for themselves and their families.

Today, we hiked through one of the migrant trails in the desert and left behind water at marked spots for these people to have access to while crossing our border. Although we only hiked about 3 miles total, it was absolutely unfathomable to imagine the toll that hiking through those conditions for 3 full days would have on the human body. The heat was almost unbearable. The sun scalded down relentlessly and there was barely any shade. Despite the fact that we only walked about 3 miles, every one of us was exhausted by the end. The desert is full of bees and bugs (2 of us were stung), cacti, rough terrain, and a scorching sun that was “hotter than hell.”

As we drove away, I began to visualize the struggle of the migrants and asylum seekers hiking for 3 days along this desolate desert trail. These people have among them young children, pregnant women, and infants. How desperate they must be to go through this torture to flee their home countries is inconceivable. Driving along the dirt roads through this desert, we saw multiple crosses. These crosses show where a migrant’s body has been found. We drove miles and passed numerous crosses. These people are risking their lives just for a strand of hope that they will have safety and security in our country. The lengths they will go in order to reach a place in which them and their families will be able to survive without constant threat of death is extreme, as it should be. Seeing the difficulty that these migrants endure in coming to our country displays the desperate plea for help and asylum. Seeing this makes me realize that these asylum seekers deserve significantly more respect than we give them. They have given everything to reach safety and desperately desire a new life for themselves and their family, which does not revolve around danger and death at every turn.

I wish that all people will be able to see that asylum seekers are not just leaving for a better life or because they want to. They flee their home countries to save theirs and their families lives, and we must respect their cry for help. We must respect these people and welcome them to our country. They have endured unfathomable levels of pain and hardship to reach our country and we must welcome them in as our own. We ask that you please take into account all that these people go through and begin to realize how much they need our help.