On the Move by Garip Filiz;

Author:Garip, Filiz; [Garip, Filiz;]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780691161068
Publisher: PrincetonUP
Published: 2016-07-15T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

Conditional Theories and Diverse Policies

FIGURE 6.1. Three migrants walking toward the border in Tijuana

PHOTO BY Patricia Martín

DIEGO

One Friday morning in November 2006, Diego received a phone call from his mother. Her friend, Carlos, had a job opportunity in Fort Worth, Texas and would be taking a group of migrants there in a few days. Diego needed to act quickly. He talked to his wife, Cristina. Reluctant at first, Cristina gave in when Diego brought up their three children. Not only did Diego’s salary barely cover their subsistence, but the family home was in desperate need of repair and required an additional bedroom for the kids.

Diego quit his job that day and took out a loan to pay Carlos, who—as a family friend—would charge him only US$900, a bargain compared to the regular coyote (smuggler) fees of US$1,500 or more. On Sunday, Diego was on a bus to Piedras Negras, a border town on the Rio Grande River and across from Eagle Pass, Texas, his backpack filled with canned foods, cookies, and bottled water.

On Monday morning, Diego, Carlos, and six other migrants started walking toward the Rio Grande. In three hours, they were on an inflatable raft, crossing the river, for an additional 500 pesos (about US$45 in 2006) per head. The cost worried Diego. He had only 2,000 pesos with him and he had already spent one-fourth of them.

Once on land, Carlos instructed the group to walk, never telling them how long the journey would be. “We are almost there,” he replied whenever someone dared to ask. They walked for five days, resting only intermittently. By Friday, they were running out of food and water. Splitting the last box of cookies among eight people, they continued to walk, their feet covered in blisters.

That night, the group found themselves in the middle of a large field. “We have crossed,” Carlos announced, pointing to the bright lights of a town visible in the distance. But Diego noticed another set of lights—those from a Border Patrol watchtower—shining on them. The group quickly hid behind the bushes. Once the lights moved on, Carlos instructed them to run toward a house where they would take shelter. The landlady there charged Diego 600 pesos for the night, putting him up with all the other migrants in a tiny bedroom and offering no food. At the very least, Diego thought, he had made it to Texas.

The next morning, a driver came in a van to take the group to Fort Worth. They had barely spent five minutes on the road when the Border Patrol started chasing them. Pulling over to the emergency lane on the highway, the driver told everyone to run, a feat for a group that had been walking for five days straight. Diego ran as fast as he could, but he twisted his ankle while jumping a fence. Though in pain, Diego continued to flee. When he finally stopped, there was nobody left around him. Lost in the fields and starving, Diego started heading back to the highway.

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