AZMEX I3 16-7-19

AZMEX I3 16 JUL 2019


NOTE: Bringing ebola with them?

African migrants seek to reach the US through Mexico
Details Published on Tuesday, July 16, 2019,
Written by Associated Press

http://www.eldiariodesonora.com.mx/notas.php?nota=132366

Portland (ME?)

Hundreds of Africans who escape violence and poverty have decided to avoid Europe
and try a new, longer, equally dangerous route: to reach the United States through South America and Mexico.

When an armed conflict broke out in their village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Blaise Matshieba Nduluyele decided to escape to the butcher shop.
Hundreds of people, including some relatives, were killed.

His family, however, continued to rub shoulders with death along a tour of South America to the United States.
They slept on roads or in the jungle. They got sick and almost starved. They found corpses on the road.

"I thought we would not survive. It was really scary, "says Nduluyele,
who is in a Maine shelter today with his wife and three children.

Hundreds of Africans who escape the violence and poverty in their countries have decided to avoid Europe
and try a longer, equally dangerous road to the United States through South America.

They opt for this route after seeing that Africans are being rejected in their march towards Europe,
drowning in the Mediterranean or confronting racism.

"When we talk about democracy, we think about the United States.
I believe that in the United States I can express myself freely. I have security and protection.
That is the reason why we chose the United States, "he said.

Before the killing, Nduluyele, who is 34 years old, worked as a seller in a market.
He had to suspend studies in the field of medicine for lack of money.

Speaking in French, he said he had no choice but to leave Yumbi,
on the banks of the Congo River, 300 kilometers from the capital Kinshasa.

More than 500 people were killed during three days of fighting after the death of a tribal chief,
according to the United Nations.

"Suddenly a group with machetes and weapons appeared and they began to kill everyone.
You had to leave, "said Nduluyele.

The long road to the EU

Then began a long road to the United States. He was accompanied by his wife, 24 years old
and their children of six and three years, and an 11 month old baby.

They traveled first by plane, bus and boats.
When they ran out of money, they did it on foot.

The family flew from Angola to Ecuador.
There began a tortuous four-month journey through
Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico.

Hundreds of Africans opted for the same route, adding to the thousands of Central Americans
who also try to reach the United States.

Recently 500 Africans were found walking in different groups after crossing the Rio Grande
(Grande for Americans) and entering Texas.

The dangers of crossing are visible in a photo of a man and his daughter who drowned dragged by the waters.
The image generated a stir around the world.

Things got complicated for the Nduluyele family in the Darien Gap in Panama,
a jungle full of vipers, bandits and other dangers.
One of the children developed a high fever and began to vomit.
The whole group suffered from diarrhea. His wife found it difficult to care for her baby.
They ran out of food. They cooked leaves. They got lost.
A Congolese man died after being bitten by a viper.

Nduluyele tried to encourage his family, but he feared the worst.

"I asked myself if we would survive," he said.

The family was divided and a brother took one of the children of Nduluyele.
He and his wife followed with the other two children. In those ill-fated hours,
Nduluyele wondered if they had made the right decision to undertake this journey.

"I thought about death. I really did not think we would survive, "he said.

Another group left them food leftovers. They also shared some pasta and corn.
They managed to complete a risky crossing of a mountain.

In Costa Rica, the boys received medical assistance, said Nduluyele.
Then they resumed their march and the family suffered a combination of exhaustion
followed by days of boredom at the border crossings.

Somehow, they managed to get to Texas and ask for political asylum.

A bus transported asylum seekers to the processing center of the largest city in the state of Maine.

At one point almost 300 people were staying in a makeshift shelter on a basketball court.

More than $ 800,000 in donations were raised to help immigrants.
Residents organized a celebration on July 4, Independence Day, in a park with a lighthouse.

Africans know that they are not so well received in other communities.
And Nduluyele said he would never recommend to others to make the trip they made.

For now he is glad to be in a safe place, ready to present his case before the courts

End