Enrique's Journey
The journey to reunite mother and son
About Enrique
For many children in Mexico and Central America the loss of there mothers causes them to to also leave there home in search of them. Some children leave with just the basic information they know about their mothers, for example their phone number, what they smell like, what they look like, and their memories of them.
The journey north is extremely dangerous. Children as young as six travel to the U.S. They ride on tops of freight trains and sleep in abandoned house or behind a hidden bush. Street bandits, gangsters, and corrupt police officers attack and rob migrants. Some get tossed from the trains or beaten on the streets.
Enrique decides to take this risk. On March 2, 2000 Enrique steps off the same porch his mother did eleven years before.
The Odyssey
Making it to the United States is much harder said than done. The trip can be over 5,000 miles. Few people try to take the journey by foot. The trains are extremely dangerous and sometimes gangsters and bandits ride on top of trains to rob. Thousands of migrants are killed and even more are caught and deported. Migrants save as much money as possible to get to America, but most are robbed during their journey. Crossing the Rio Grande is the hardest part of the trip. One mistake here and you are sent back to were you started. Some migrants try many times to cross the border. Most people hire smugglers to take the across the border but, them smuggles leave at the first sign of trouble.