DOra Rodríguez, from migrant to humanitarian leader who leaves water in the desert
Tucson (USA)).- More than four decades ago, the Salvadoran Dora Rodríguez nearly died of thirst when she crossed the Arizona desert and is now the first immigrant woman in charge of Compassionate Borders, an organization that leaves water in this vast border area with Mexico to save the lives of migrants who face the inclement weather.
“The purpose of saving lives by putting water in the desert is something that is very close to my heart,” Rodríguez told EFE.
“Imagine that a migrant is on his last legs in the middle of the desert and suddenly finds himself with one of our little blue flags that mark the place where there is water, for me it is a life saved,” he adds.
Compassionate Borders was established 23 years ago in the face of the drastic increase in undocumented deaths in the desert due to the “funnel” effect that reinforces surveillance on the California-Texas border.
Since then they have established water stations at “red” points, where authorities and forensics have recorded the highest number of deaths.
So far the group has fifty water stations that are identified with a blue flag that flies on a structure about 30 feet high (about 9 meters).
SOR EXPERIENCE
The desperation of dehydration is something that Rodríguez experienced in 1980 when, at the age of 19, he nearly died on his third attempt to cross the desert.
“It was a horrible experience, 13 of the 26 people who came in the group died, including a pregnant woman,” recalled the activist who at the time sought refuge in the United States to escape the civil war in her country.
“The first night we ran out of water, we only brought a gallon of water each, no one told us how long or how hard the road would be. There were even women who wore heels, because they ‘wanted to look pretty’ for their husbands,” she recalls.
On the fourth day of the trail, in June, when temperatures easily exceed 100 degrees Fahrenheit (about 38 degrees Celsius), several began to die of thirst, one of the coyotes having abandoned them, and another in its heat-induced madness began to rape women.
“I remember that I crawled under a palo verde (typical desert tree), my body was full of thorns, scrapes, I heard moans, some prayed asking not to die and suddenly I lost consciousness,” Rodríguez relates.
The survivors were rescued by Border Patrol agents, who told them another half hour and they would have died.
She says that this experience motivates her to direct Compassionate Borders and distribute water in various containers to avoid more deaths like those of her dearest friends.
“Every time I go back to the desert to add water, I have mixed feelings, it’s very hard, remembering them, but also hoping that our work will save some life,” he says.
VANDALISM AGAINST THE IMMIGRANT
The 62-year-old immigrant regrets that many migrants continue to die, driven by necessity and the absence of a system that allows them to enter the US legally.
According to the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office, nearly 3,000 undocumented migrants have died at the Arizona border between 2007 and last March.
As the new president of Compassionate Borders, Rodríguez is looking to establish another water station in the Yuma border region, where the crossing of migrants has increased in recent months.
He also manages a dialogue with the leaders of the Tohono O’odham Indian reservation to place water inside the reservation, but so far without success.
He also faces the hatred of immigrants that in his opinion increased during the presidency of Donald Trump (2017-2021).
“When we go out to put water or walk roads in the desert, we often find armed groups, civilian militias that follow us with their cars, or that later shout insults and tell us that we are helping the cartels,” he says.
He says that its containers are damaged with knives or used for target shooting, spilling the vital liquid.
“We have placed images of the Virgin of Guadalupe trying to prevent this vandalism, but unfortunately it continues, we have even found bullets next to the containers,” he says.
He regrets that they even found a container of water contaminated with gasoline.
He fears that with the end of Title 42 of expedited expulsion of immigrants at the border, crossings will increase.
“This added to the fact that the Government of President Joe Biden is closing the border to various groups of immigrants, will cause more people to try to cross irregularly through the most remote places, putting their lives at risk,” he concludes. EFE
ml/ims
(