'No More Deaths' Volunteers Help Immigrants Survive Treacherous Desert Journey to US Deutsche Welle
go to original November 3, 2014

Aid organizations like "No More Deaths/No Mas Muertes" are fighting the southern US to prevent the many deaths that occur in the border region. About 150 volunteers run the donation-funded group. Thus far, they have installed more than 80 water stations along the Mexican border.

For years US President Barack Obama has promised an immigration policy reform. But nothing has happened, critics complain. As Mexicans continue to die on their journey across the desert, volunteers are trying to help.

To immigrants from central and Latin America, the US seems like a paradise. In an attempt to flee poverty and crime, over a thousand illegal immigrants cross the US-Mexican border every day. But for many, the barren land in-between is their final destination. Those caught by US border police must immediately return to Mexico. For others, the outcome is worse. Last year, in southern Arizona alone, the non-governmental organization, "Missing Migrant Project" accounted 183 deaths, many of whom had died of thirst or starvation. A large number of bodies will be buried by the desert, never to be found again.



The organization "No More Deaths" has been fighting against the many fatalities in the border region for over 10 years. Funded by donations, some 150 volunteers have already built more than 80 water stations in Mexico and the US. Wilson, who works as a full-time bike mechanic in the nearby town of Tucson, is today on his way through a refugee route across the Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona. Bathed in sweat, the 26-year-old reaches the supply depot at the foot of a canyon. "The empty water canisters here show that someone needed our help," says Wilson, as he refills the four-liter tanks. Then with a thick felt-tip pen he writes, "AGUA PURA, por los viajeros" - fresh water for travelers. A shrine has been hewn into the rock by the efforts of illegal border crossers. Wooden crosses, rosaries and faded photos of those who didn't manage to make it to the US alive. "These people come over here to give their families back home a better life," says Wilson. "These are not social parasites, illegal aliens and drug smugglers."

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Because a large proportion of the border crossers barely speak English, the water stocks at the supply stations are provided with Spanish-language signs. "Agua pura por los viajeros" (Fresh water for the travelers) is written on the containers. Symbols such as hearts or crosses are universal.

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