Last month we met our new friend Noè at a migrant shelter in Acuña, Mexico. Noè is a 25 year-old Haitian who fled Haiti in May of 2021 because of political persecution and moved with his sister to Brazil. Largely due to new anti-immigrant policies of several South American countries, Noè and his sister were soon forced to leave Brazil and decided they would try to make their way to the U.S., where some relatives of theirs are residing. They liquidated and sold everything they owned, hoping that this trip would be worth it for them in the end.
Noè and his group of Haitian migrants kept close together as they traveled through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico (they also traveled through the “Darien gap,” perhaps the most dangerous jungle on earth connecting Panama and Colombia). One of the groups of Haitians that joined them along the way had sadly lost 8 people on the trek due to starvation and gang violence.
More than 4,000 miles and $8,000 dollars later, Noè and his sister arrived in Del Rio, Texas in late September with around 10,000 other migrants. After a brutally violent show of force from a handful of border patrol agents and dozens of deportation flights organized by the U.S. government, Noè and his sister crossed back over the Del Rio river into Acuña, Mexico for safety. There they have stayed as they await to hear if any foreign country will give them a chance at seeking asylum.
We met Noè in Acuña after all of this happened. We talked with him and he gave us permission to share his story. He and 500 other migrants were, and still are, staying in a makeshift migrant shelter there. There are 500 other stories just like Noè’s. 500 other tragedies and injustices experienced by men, women, and children at this shelter.
We don’t know how to solve macro issues like immigration reform, it’s beyond our scope as an organization. But, we know that we can help in the little places that we can. That’s why we’re going back to this migrant shelter next month; to listen to more stories from the voices of the voiceless, and to help the shelter care for these beautiful, wonderfully made people.
(side note: we absolutely understand the majority of border agents have their hands tied and are expected to enforce the current laws of their country. However, the tactics used in Del Rio by SOME of the border agents in September were reprehensible and illegal in light of international laws).
