Media, Central American Refugees, and the U.S. Border Crisis by Robin Andersen Adrian Bergmann

Author:Robin Andersen, Adrian Bergmann [Robin Andersen, Adrian Bergmann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780429574405
Google: E15mzgEACAAJ
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 45135613
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2019-06-13T00:00:00+00:00

The Migrants

In Honduras, these words from TV reporter, Olin Castro, in San Pedro Sula were published in TIME magazine at the end of October 2018, “This is the worst moment ever for my country.”55 Unlike other migrations that have left from Mexico, the 2018 caravan started in Honduras itself, organized by activist on social media. It gained momentum and numbers from TV reports that caught the attention of Hondurans who were at a “breaking point.” In a long piece, mostly about their hardships along the journey—and quotes from Trump, followed by the words of migrants responding to the President—the article takes two paragraphs to explain their reasons for leaving. It states that Honduras has suffered “chronically high levels of violence for several years as street gangs and drug cartels fight for territory.” The report includes stories of individuals under attack, whose family member have been brutally murdered. A 20-year-old named Nelson Uribe told TIME, “I was hiding in my house, terrified to go out. The caravan gave me a chance to leave.”56

Economic reasons are also given, with a witness testimonial who cited poverty and hunger, “especially following recent price hikes. ‘We just can’t afford to live. It was a question of leaving or slowly starving to death,’ said Orisa Fernandez, 40.”57 These are compelling narratives, but they tell only a fraction of the story. They fail to include the reasons for the economic decline in Honduras, and how corruption and exploitation have pushed the country into brutality and violence.

In her book, The Long Honduran Night, Professor Dana Frank explains the emergence of gangs in recent years in Honduras, and makes the connections between the coup, government corruption, and out migration.58 Such connections are rarely made in mainstream press reports, a point that Frank also notes.

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