1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,880 Speaker 1: Dear listener, This episode mentions an incident of sexual violence, 2 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:05,680 Speaker 1: and we wanted to let you know that. 3 00:00:05,640 --> 00:00:06,280 Speaker 2: Ahead of time. 4 00:00:08,200 --> 00:00:14,360 Speaker 3: Women tend to stay in small rooms that are rented, 5 00:00:14,840 --> 00:00:16,920 Speaker 3: you know, not so much in the shelters that they 6 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:21,640 Speaker 3: have the option. Women tend to try to get false 7 00:00:21,680 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 3: documentation that will help them get on buses or ride 8 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:30,760 Speaker 3: in cars, or go around checkpoints walking, that kind of thing, 9 00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:36,000 Speaker 3: but in different routes then men would traditionally take. You know, 10 00:00:36,040 --> 00:00:38,400 Speaker 3: the women who I've talked to over the years, they 11 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:43,800 Speaker 3: absolutely are thinking about how to protect their bodies, but 12 00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,479 Speaker 3: also how to use their bodies to move through extremely 13 00:00:48,120 --> 00:00:51,520 Speaker 3: difficult situations. 14 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:57,600 Speaker 1: From Fudu Media and PRX, It's Latino USA, I'm Maria 15 00:00:57,640 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: ino Josa Today migrates the stories of women's journeys to 16 00:01:03,760 --> 00:01:13,520 Speaker 1: the United States. In a new migration reality, women and 17 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:18,280 Speaker 1: children are requesting asylum in Mexico in higher rates than men. 18 00:01:19,000 --> 00:01:22,920 Speaker 1: But even as more and more women are crossing borders 19 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,959 Speaker 1: on long and dangerous journeys, many hoping ultimately to get 20 00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,640 Speaker 1: to the United States, you rarely hear about their stories 21 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,679 Speaker 1: and what it's like, specifically to migrate as undocumented. When 22 00:01:36,920 --> 00:01:40,920 Speaker 1: you're a woman for women, their body takes on a 23 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:45,520 Speaker 1: central role when they're in transit, regardless of their age. 24 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:48,840 Speaker 1: Some are forced to disguise their gender for their own protection, 25 00:01:49,400 --> 00:01:52,240 Speaker 1: Others end up using it as a form of survival, 26 00:01:52,760 --> 00:01:57,240 Speaker 1: and many are victimized because of their gender. Also, since 27 00:01:57,240 --> 00:02:00,440 Speaker 1: their mothers, many will end up carrying their children with them. 28 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:06,600 Speaker 1: Latino USA editor Marta Martinez and reporter Alexandra Sanchez Insunsa 29 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,679 Speaker 1: traveled to Chiapas in southern Mexico, and here is their 30 00:02:10,720 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: reporting about migrant women in different stages making their way north. 31 00:02:21,080 --> 00:02:27,600 Speaker 1: Part one, Girlhood, the Body as Disguise. Marta Martinez is 32 00:02:27,600 --> 00:02:28,679 Speaker 1: going to take it from here. 33 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:41,839 Speaker 2: It's midday in Palenke, Chiapas, and it's very hot. There's 34 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 2: a group of some eight boys sitting on the sidewalk, 35 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,160 Speaker 2: cramped under the shade of a small tree, just yards 36 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:50,399 Speaker 2: away from the migrant shelter where they spent the night. 37 00:02:52,520 --> 00:02:55,560 Speaker 2: A few days earlier. Last May, they had left on Luras, 38 00:02:55,639 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 2: their home country, crossing first into Guatemala and then into 39 00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:03,359 Speaker 2: southern Mexico. They walked more than one hundred miles through 40 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,560 Speaker 2: the humid, mountainous jungle to get to the city of Palinke, 41 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:10,799 Speaker 2: mostly known for its Mayan ruins, but also especially to 42 00:03:10,960 --> 00:03:14,320 Speaker 2: migrants as one of the few cities along Mexico's southern 43 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:20,440 Speaker 2: border with shelter facilities. The boys are between fifteen and 44 00:03:20,480 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 2: twenty one years old. They all have the same destination goal. 45 00:03:24,160 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 2: One of them even wears its stamped on his converse sneakers, 46 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 2: the red, white and blue pattern of the US flag. 47 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,640 Speaker 2: One of the boys has a fresh haircut, the bottom 48 00:03:34,639 --> 00:03:37,480 Speaker 2: half of the skull shaved, the top half tied in 49 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:40,320 Speaker 2: a high bun. It takes a while to realize that 50 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:45,760 Speaker 2: he is actually a girl. Her name is Amaya. Amaya 51 00:03:45,800 --> 00:03:48,680 Speaker 2: recently turned fifteen, but she didn't celebrate with a big 52 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 2: party like girls in Latin America usually do when they 53 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:54,680 Speaker 2: turn this age. Less than a month after her birthday, 54 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 2: she packed her things in a backpack and left her 55 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:00,680 Speaker 2: parents home in a rush, joining a couple of friends 56 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:04,560 Speaker 2: and two distant cousins. She left with five thousand lampidas 57 00:04:04,800 --> 00:04:08,080 Speaker 2: some two hundred dollars, but when we talked, she already 58 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:17,120 Speaker 2: had no money left. QueQue Purkay. 59 00:04:18,760 --> 00:04:25,120 Speaker 4: But no Yeah, different, Mamilia. 60 00:04:26,360 --> 00:04:28,960 Speaker 2: Her dream is making it to the United States, where 61 00:04:29,120 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 2: she believes she'll be able to work and earn more 62 00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:35,600 Speaker 2: money than she could ever do in Honduras. In her 63 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:39,359 Speaker 2: hometown of Santa Barbara, there are no jobs. There's nothing, 64 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:48,040 Speaker 2: Amaya says, ANDAs is the most unequal country in the Americas. 65 00:04:48,480 --> 00:04:51,360 Speaker 2: Sixty percent of the population is poor, and for over 66 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 2: a decade the country has held one of the highest 67 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:57,960 Speaker 2: murder rates in the world, especially against women, and one 68 00:04:57,960 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 2: in six girls has experienced sexual violence. Its population is 69 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:07,080 Speaker 2: also very young. Almost half of all Hondurans are younger 70 00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:10,800 Speaker 2: than twenty, but the increasing violence by organized crime, the 71 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:15,480 Speaker 2: unsustainable extortion and recruitment by street gangs, high unemployment, and 72 00:05:15,560 --> 00:05:20,280 Speaker 2: inflation are leaving young endurance without opportunities in their home country. 73 00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 2: If all that wasn't enough to push thousands of Hondurances 74 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,760 Speaker 2: to migrate every year. In twenty twenty, the COVID nineteen 75 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:33,120 Speaker 2: pandemic and two devastating back to back hurricanes sung Conduras 76 00:05:33,240 --> 00:05:36,960 Speaker 2: even deeper, driving even more people like Amaya to leave. 77 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:40,880 Speaker 2: In the first seven months of twenty twenty, nine hundred 78 00:05:40,920 --> 00:05:45,119 Speaker 2: and four unaccompanied minors requested asylum in Mexico, almost double 79 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:48,600 Speaker 2: the number for all of twenty twenty. The vast majority 80 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:52,560 Speaker 2: were hondurant children. Amaya had her hair cut for free 81 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:54,880 Speaker 2: at the migrant shelter in Balinki the day before we 82 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 2: met her. 83 00:05:55,760 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 4: Purgegisistere Verlooya Laventan. That's okay, I didn't know this thing. 84 00:06:05,720 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 2: The short hair is an advantage, Amaya says, because she 85 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,400 Speaker 2: doesn't stand out on the road. She wears a gray hat, 86 00:06:11,600 --> 00:06:14,920 Speaker 2: leaving only the shaven half of her head exposed. Her 87 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 2: black T shirt is actually more revealing. It has a 88 00:06:17,839 --> 00:06:20,960 Speaker 2: mini mouse bow printed on her chest and the pink 89 00:06:21,000 --> 00:06:24,440 Speaker 2: brass trap picks out from her T shirt neck. On 90 00:06:24,520 --> 00:06:27,640 Speaker 2: the migrant road, being a young woman is an added risk, 91 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:50,120 Speaker 2: and Amaya knows it. Amaya knows that men pray on 92 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:52,560 Speaker 2: girls like her and that she must stay alert at 93 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,719 Speaker 2: all times. She feels safe with this group of boys, 94 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,200 Speaker 2: though she says she trusts they won't abandon her. When 95 00:06:59,200 --> 00:07:01,680 Speaker 2: do you walk together, she always walks in the middle 96 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,960 Speaker 2: on their long tracks. Across southern Mexico, migrants try to 97 00:07:06,000 --> 00:07:09,840 Speaker 2: walk in big groups to avoid getting mugged, kidnapped, or worse. 98 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 2: Women and girls are also overwhelmingly exposed to sexual abuse 99 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:18,200 Speaker 2: and targeted by traffickers. It's hard to find reliable data 100 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:21,440 Speaker 2: on sexual violence against migrant women because they don't usually 101 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 2: talk about it and they're often too scared to file 102 00:07:24,200 --> 00:07:29,160 Speaker 2: police reports. According to Mexico's National Health Institute, almost half 103 00:07:29,240 --> 00:07:32,600 Speaker 2: of women migrating through the country have been sexually abused 104 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:36,720 Speaker 2: or have exchanged sex for food, shelter, and anything else 105 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 2: that would help them along their journey. It's even harder 106 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:43,760 Speaker 2: to find data on human and sex trafficking, one of 107 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:47,520 Speaker 2: the most obscure criminal networks in Mexico and in many 108 00:07:47,560 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 2: other countries. One of the few reports available is the 109 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:55,320 Speaker 2: US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report, which shows that 110 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:59,080 Speaker 2: in twenty twenty, almost eighty percent of six hundred and 111 00:07:59,160 --> 00:08:03,640 Speaker 2: seventy three VIC identified in Mexico where women and girls. 112 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:17,800 Speaker 2: The figure barely scratches the surface. Advocates say when Amaya 113 00:08:17,920 --> 00:08:21,440 Speaker 2: left Onduda's she had already dropped out of school. She 114 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 2: says that it took her half an hour to get there, 115 00:08:23,760 --> 00:08:26,560 Speaker 2: and she didn't like her classes very much either. She 116 00:08:26,680 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 2: enjoyed babysitting, though, especially taking care of her niece, who 117 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 2: still calls her mom. 118 00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:37,319 Speaker 4: A mermanaa is Mama, I want. 119 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:40,560 Speaker 2: Dabia, Amaya says, she'd like to have children one day, 120 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:43,640 Speaker 2: but not until she's twenty five, because it's a lot 121 00:08:43,640 --> 00:08:44,480 Speaker 2: of hard work. 122 00:08:44,480 --> 00:08:48,560 Speaker 4: That laventi sinko Yeah, Mayor de la momento no. 123 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 5: Care. 124 00:08:51,760 --> 00:08:54,880 Speaker 2: In Honduras, one in four girls has been pregnant at 125 00:08:54,960 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 2: least once before turning nineteen. The morning after, we meet 126 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:12,520 Speaker 2: a Maya and her group at four thirty in the morning. 127 00:09:13,080 --> 00:09:18,640 Speaker 2: One of the years better enough. It's still pitch dark upside, 128 00:09:18,679 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 2: but they want to get going before the sun is 129 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,720 Speaker 2: too harsh. Their goal for the day is getting to 130 00:09:23,760 --> 00:09:27,040 Speaker 2: Salto Yagua, which is thirty five miles away, because that's 131 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:32,120 Speaker 2: where the next migrant shelter is. They sip some black 132 00:09:32,160 --> 00:09:35,400 Speaker 2: coffee in plastic cups and smoke cigarettes. The group has 133 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,439 Speaker 2: shrunk a bit. Some didn't want to wait and decided 134 00:09:38,480 --> 00:09:41,920 Speaker 2: to leave the evening before. There are now six boys 135 00:09:41,960 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 2: Plasa Maya. Their ultimate goal is to jump on Lavestia 136 00:09:47,320 --> 00:09:51,440 Speaker 2: or the Beast, the train heading to northern Mexico. Part 137 00:09:51,440 --> 00:09:54,280 Speaker 2: of the train route in Chiapa's has been discontinued to 138 00:09:54,360 --> 00:09:58,400 Speaker 2: give way to eltren Maya, a big federal infrastructure project, 139 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:01,320 Speaker 2: so now migrants have to walk. An addition of two 140 00:10:01,400 --> 00:10:04,320 Speaker 2: hundred and twenty miles to the first train station in 141 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:10,520 Speaker 2: Quat sa Qualicos. The group walks following the train tracks, 142 00:10:10,600 --> 00:10:13,640 Speaker 2: increasingly covered by weeds and stones due to the lack 143 00:10:13,640 --> 00:10:17,400 Speaker 2: of use. Several of them, including a Maaya, whole thick 144 00:10:17,400 --> 00:10:21,040 Speaker 2: woodsticks the size of baseball bats to protect themselves in 145 00:10:21,080 --> 00:10:29,280 Speaker 2: case they're attacked. And that sound in the background those 146 00:10:29,320 --> 00:10:37,000 Speaker 2: are the hauling monkeys hiding in the luscious trees. You 147 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 2: rarely see women walking on the train tracks by themselves, 148 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:43,720 Speaker 2: let alone teenage girls like Amaya, and when they do, 149 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:57,680 Speaker 2: they hide their gender. We meet the group again in 150 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:04,240 Speaker 2: Salta Iyahwa the day after their fourteen our track. There 151 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,720 Speaker 2: are now only four boys plus a Maya. Two of 152 00:11:07,760 --> 00:11:10,960 Speaker 2: them decided to continue on their own no breaks, but 153 00:11:11,000 --> 00:11:13,719 Speaker 2: Amaya isn't feeling well. She needs to rest a bit. 154 00:11:14,160 --> 00:11:16,920 Speaker 2: She looks exhausted and her feet are very swollen. 155 00:11:20,280 --> 00:11:21,520 Speaker 6: Am I. 156 00:11:23,600 --> 00:11:26,839 Speaker 4: You know? 157 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:29,440 Speaker 2: Amaya says that for a moment she thought she wouldn't 158 00:11:29,440 --> 00:11:31,839 Speaker 2: be able to make it. Her friend had to drag her. 159 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:35,040 Speaker 2: She got some burned, her head hurt. She tells us 160 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,280 Speaker 2: that she needs a favor, but she's ashamed to tell 161 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:37,920 Speaker 2: us what it is. 162 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:54,280 Speaker 7: Amaya has just gotten her period and asks if we 163 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 7: could help her get contraceptive bills to make her period stop. 164 00:11:57,720 --> 00:12:00,320 Speaker 2: A similar hike. A weighted them the next day and 165 00:12:00,360 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 2: she couldn't walk like this anymore. We tell her that 166 00:12:03,200 --> 00:12:06,240 Speaker 2: pills won't really stop her period right away, but what 167 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:20,760 Speaker 2: about tampons. Amaya has never used a tampon at the shelters. 168 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:23,559 Speaker 2: They only have sanitary towels, and Amaya says they're very 169 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:25,199 Speaker 2: uncomfortable in this hot weather. 170 00:12:34,400 --> 00:12:39,720 Speaker 3: As people grow, especially in adolescents, women are so so vulnerable. 171 00:12:42,040 --> 00:12:45,120 Speaker 2: This is Gretchen Kuhner, director of the Institute for Women 172 00:12:45,160 --> 00:12:46,840 Speaker 2: in Migration based in Mexico. 173 00:12:47,160 --> 00:12:51,480 Speaker 3: We've seen all different kinds of violence, you know, starting 174 00:12:51,480 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 3: with extortion, which is just the highest, and then women 175 00:12:54,800 --> 00:12:59,640 Speaker 3: also have the extra vulnerability of sexual violence. 176 00:13:00,240 --> 00:13:03,560 Speaker 2: Many times though women don't realize when they're victims of 177 00:13:03,600 --> 00:13:04,440 Speaker 2: sexual violence. 178 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:10,200 Speaker 3: Some women are so accustomed to being touched. Other women 179 00:13:10,679 --> 00:13:14,560 Speaker 3: will say, well, the truck driver gave me a ride 180 00:13:14,880 --> 00:13:20,480 Speaker 3: from Tabacula to Saltillo, and so of course in exchange 181 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:22,840 Speaker 3: for that, I had to sleep with him. But that's 182 00:13:22,880 --> 00:13:25,600 Speaker 3: not sexual event, that's sexual violence. 183 00:13:25,880 --> 00:13:30,040 Speaker 2: A recent change in Mexico's immigration law has directly impacted 184 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,920 Speaker 2: girls and boys traveling alone. Since January of this year, 185 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:38,200 Speaker 2: minors cannot be held in immigration detention centers Now they 186 00:13:38,280 --> 00:13:42,559 Speaker 2: must remain under the supervision of Mexico's Child Protective Services 187 00:13:42,920 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 2: known as DIF. Child rights activists have been pushing for 188 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:50,280 Speaker 2: this for over a decade, but its implementation has not 189 00:13:50,360 --> 00:13:53,119 Speaker 2: resulted in the kind of change advocates expected. 190 00:13:53,559 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 3: What we have is a situation in which there's especially 191 00:13:56,320 --> 00:14:00,640 Speaker 3: in Chiapas, you know, whether there's just the largest flows, 192 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,440 Speaker 3: a lot of confusion about who should be doing what, 193 00:14:04,280 --> 00:14:05,920 Speaker 3: insufficient resources. 194 00:14:06,559 --> 00:14:10,520 Speaker 2: Because child protective Services are overwhelmed, they send many of 195 00:14:10,559 --> 00:14:14,840 Speaker 2: these children to private shelters for immigrants, which are also overgarded, 196 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:18,199 Speaker 2: and we're living conditions might not be up to standards, 197 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:22,360 Speaker 2: especially for an accompanied children. During our reporting in Chapas, 198 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:25,800 Speaker 2: two shelter coordinators said that they had stopped accepting an 199 00:14:25,800 --> 00:14:29,640 Speaker 2: accompanied minors from THEEF because they were quote too hard 200 00:14:29,640 --> 00:14:33,640 Speaker 2: to deal with. Many have suffered violence or sexual abuse. 201 00:14:34,120 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 2: They can be aggressive or unruly due to that violence 202 00:14:37,920 --> 00:14:42,160 Speaker 2: and need special attention, the coordinators say, and the shelters 203 00:14:42,200 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 2: don't have enough resources nor trained staff to help them. 204 00:14:45,880 --> 00:14:49,400 Speaker 3: Some of them they receive a cursory interview, and then 205 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 3: they're turned back over to the National Immigration Institute and 206 00:14:52,880 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 3: they returned to their countries of origin. The word I 207 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,920 Speaker 3: think that everyone understands would be deportation. But I also 208 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 3: have the sense that, especially with unaccompanied children, that some 209 00:15:04,280 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 3: of them are being released because if they can't be 210 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:12,000 Speaker 3: an immigration to tension there's no capacity to go through 211 00:15:12,040 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 3: the correct system, then they're being released. 212 00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,720 Speaker 2: Still, Gretchen things keeping miners out of the tension centers 213 00:15:21,120 --> 00:15:22,040 Speaker 2: was the right thing to do. 214 00:15:22,680 --> 00:15:25,240 Speaker 3: So we have the right framework now, but we don't 215 00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:30,640 Speaker 3: have the right resources. And there's also the larger issue, 216 00:15:30,720 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 3: which is that we have to think regionally. A lot 217 00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:38,480 Speaker 3: of parents and family members of children in our region 218 00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,480 Speaker 3: are in the United States, and if it's in their 219 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 3: best interest to be reunited with those family members, we 220 00:15:45,800 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 3: need to accept that as a region, because there's regional 221 00:15:49,680 --> 00:15:52,920 Speaker 3: responsibility for the reason that we're in the situation in 222 00:15:52,960 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 3: the first place. 223 00:16:01,160 --> 00:16:05,720 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, the rise of migrant child trafficking, 224 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:09,440 Speaker 1: and then a group of women and the choices they 225 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:12,320 Speaker 1: make when their body is the only currency they have 226 00:16:12,800 --> 00:16:59,040 Speaker 1: to pay for the journey north. Stay with us, Hey, 227 00:16:59,280 --> 00:17:03,120 Speaker 1: We're back and before the break, we met Amaya. She's 228 00:17:03,160 --> 00:17:06,800 Speaker 1: a teenage girl from Hodudas, migrating on her own and 229 00:17:06,880 --> 00:17:11,200 Speaker 1: hiding her gender for protection. We continue the journey across 230 00:17:11,320 --> 00:17:15,119 Speaker 1: southern Mexico now to learn about the experiences of migrant women. 231 00:17:15,840 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: Now in the city of Tapachula. Editor Marta Martinez picks 232 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:21,440 Speaker 1: up the story from here. 233 00:17:22,520 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 2: At Jesus Elwen Pastor Shelter in Tapachula, the city with 234 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,160 Speaker 2: the highest number of migrants and asylum seekers, we meet 235 00:17:30,200 --> 00:17:33,480 Speaker 2: another fifteen year old girl from Hondudas who is also 236 00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:38,240 Speaker 2: on her own. We're gonna call her Christina Aga. Sanchez, 237 00:17:38,280 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 2: The coordinator of the shelter, says that a coyote had 238 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:43,720 Speaker 2: charged the girl two thousand dollars to get to the 239 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,600 Speaker 2: United States, where she has a brother she's trying to 240 00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:50,320 Speaker 2: reunite with, but the coyote tried to sell her and 241 00:17:50,359 --> 00:17:54,840 Speaker 2: then abandoned her in Whatatemala. The coordinator says, Christina is 242 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,600 Speaker 2: shy and afraid of talking well. 243 00:17:58,480 --> 00:18:00,879 Speaker 8: No I familia man and intensive portion. 244 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,840 Speaker 2: Her parents abandoned her when she was a child. She 245 00:18:03,880 --> 00:18:07,720 Speaker 2: says she grew up with her grandmother. More recently, a 246 00:18:07,760 --> 00:18:09,120 Speaker 2: criminal gang started. 247 00:18:08,840 --> 00:18:24,119 Speaker 8: Harassing her and terns fear in terns and matan in Ternsiera. 248 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:27,439 Speaker 2: The gang members tried to rape her, Christina says, and 249 00:18:27,480 --> 00:18:29,760 Speaker 2: they threatened to kill her if she didn't leave the country. 250 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:36,720 Speaker 8: The next day, Alista and Maleta tredia caminando Ilo and. 251 00:18:38,400 --> 00:18:43,200 Speaker 2: In Eso, she packed her things and left. She walked 252 00:18:43,200 --> 00:18:46,359 Speaker 2: and hitch hiked for three days. During those three days, 253 00:18:46,480 --> 00:18:48,320 Speaker 2: Christina says she didn't sleep. 254 00:18:49,160 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 8: Pros ombre internsive. 255 00:19:00,080 --> 00:19:02,600 Speaker 2: Christina says she didn't sleep because she had heard that 256 00:19:02,680 --> 00:19:05,960 Speaker 2: men could attack her. Alga says the number of teenagers 257 00:19:06,080 --> 00:19:08,720 Speaker 2: arriving at the shelter has grown in twenty twenty one, 258 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:17,960 Speaker 2: and so has seenage traffickinglescente. 259 00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:22,040 Speaker 9: Yesta or este hell momentous. 260 00:19:22,560 --> 00:19:25,199 Speaker 2: She's been doing this job for over thirty years, and 261 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,639 Speaker 2: she says it's never been this dangerous for migrant teenagers 262 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,679 Speaker 2: and children before. The shelter rarely commits taking in an 263 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,560 Speaker 2: accompanied teenagers because they can guarantee their. 264 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 9: Safety page persi lot tratas percielinas ago the best Parato mafioso. 265 00:19:51,359 --> 00:19:55,200 Speaker 2: Traffickers are waiting for them. They go after them. Olga says, 266 00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,440 Speaker 2: when traffickers see migrants, they see money. 267 00:19:59,160 --> 00:20:10,119 Speaker 1: Science, Part two, Adulthood the body as currency. 268 00:20:18,320 --> 00:20:24,960 Speaker 2: The main square in Tapatula is always busy. Many of 269 00:20:25,000 --> 00:20:28,359 Speaker 2: the people sitting on the benches, selling food or cleaning 270 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:31,879 Speaker 2: the sidewalk are migrants from Central America and the Caribbean, 271 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,240 Speaker 2: but also from farther away, including African countries and India. 272 00:20:37,600 --> 00:20:40,600 Speaker 2: Tapatula is also a big bottleneck for people who cross 273 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:43,680 Speaker 2: into Mexico through its southern border, often on their way 274 00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,639 Speaker 2: to the US, which is still more than eleven hundred 275 00:20:46,680 --> 00:20:51,040 Speaker 2: miles away. The majority of migrants asking for asylum in 276 00:20:51,080 --> 00:20:53,960 Speaker 2: Mexico do it in this city, but the number of 277 00:20:54,000 --> 00:20:57,320 Speaker 2: requests has grown so much in recent years that the 278 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:00,159 Speaker 2: process can take up to a year. That's why so 279 00:21:00,200 --> 00:21:03,240 Speaker 2: many of them get stuck here too. In the first 280 00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:06,760 Speaker 2: half of twenty twenty one, Mexico received nearly fifty two 281 00:21:06,840 --> 00:21:10,520 Speaker 2: thousand asylum requests, and more than thirty five thousand of 282 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:15,080 Speaker 2: those were filed in Tapachula. The numbers are already twenty 283 00:21:15,080 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 2: five percent higher than those of all of twenty twenty. 284 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:22,520 Speaker 2: The country with most applicants is on Duras with forty 285 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:28,359 Speaker 2: four percent, followed by Haiti, Cuba, El Saladore, and Venezuela. 286 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:32,600 Speaker 2: But Chiappas, where Tapatula is located, is also the poorest 287 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:37,240 Speaker 2: state in Mexico, so job opportunities are really scars for 288 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,119 Speaker 2: migrants who are waiting for their humanitarian business or simply 289 00:21:41,160 --> 00:21:44,040 Speaker 2: making a stop to earn some money after having spent 290 00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:47,880 Speaker 2: everything they brought, or being extorted by the local police 291 00:21:47,920 --> 00:21:53,359 Speaker 2: in Guatemala before they crossed into Mexico. For some migrant women, 292 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:57,440 Speaker 2: their body becomes currency. Some choose to look for clients 293 00:21:57,440 --> 00:22:00,879 Speaker 2: on their own, often not the main square. Many others 294 00:22:00,960 --> 00:22:03,840 Speaker 2: are forced into it, but it's hard to know exactly 295 00:22:03,920 --> 00:22:07,679 Speaker 2: how many. Here's Gretton Kohner from the Institute for Women 296 00:22:07,720 --> 00:22:08,280 Speaker 2: in Migration. 297 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:14,480 Speaker 3: Again, we've seen all different kinds of trafficking along the 298 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:21,800 Speaker 3: migration route in Mexico. So little is known about the 299 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:27,720 Speaker 3: different types of criminal structures that exist that force women 300 00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:32,200 Speaker 3: into trafficking situations. Who might begin in a situation in 301 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:35,359 Speaker 3: which they're leaving their country, maybe they're traveling with a smuggler, 302 00:22:36,040 --> 00:22:40,240 Speaker 3: and then from the smuggling situation they're trafficked. Then it 303 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 3: could be in Tapachula, you know, or other towns along 304 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,920 Speaker 3: the southern border of Mexico. We've also had a couple 305 00:22:49,920 --> 00:22:53,760 Speaker 3: of cases of women who are kept in safe houses 306 00:22:54,520 --> 00:22:56,600 Speaker 3: so they're not allowed to leave, so they're in a 307 00:22:56,640 --> 00:23:01,359 Speaker 3: trafficking situation, but their job is either tex trafficking, you know, 308 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:06,800 Speaker 3: for the smugglers themselves, or it could even be you're 309 00:23:06,840 --> 00:23:09,600 Speaker 3: not allowed to leave and you have to help us 310 00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:16,080 Speaker 3: cook or clean or other kinds of domestic work that 311 00:23:16,240 --> 00:23:18,800 Speaker 3: is needed in any kind of a situation, even if 312 00:23:18,800 --> 00:23:20,200 Speaker 3: it's a criminal encampment. 313 00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:24,080 Speaker 2: But for migrant women, there are also situations where the 314 00:23:24,119 --> 00:23:27,080 Speaker 2: way they use their bodies as a currency is blurrier 315 00:23:27,680 --> 00:23:32,879 Speaker 2: Taskuanita's is one of those places. It's early on a 316 00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,040 Speaker 2: Wednesday afternoon and the waiters are setting up for the evening. 317 00:23:36,080 --> 00:23:39,440 Speaker 2: At this bar in the north of Tapatula. Some four 318 00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:42,720 Speaker 2: girls in tight pans and lay stops or mini dresses 319 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:46,880 Speaker 2: start coming in. They wear heavy makeup despite the unbearable 320 00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:50,840 Speaker 2: humid heat. They sit around one of the wooden tables 321 00:23:51,400 --> 00:23:53,639 Speaker 2: and for the most part they look at their phones. 322 00:23:54,480 --> 00:23:56,920 Speaker 2: A woman in a breezy white dress and curly hair 323 00:23:57,080 --> 00:23:59,760 Speaker 2: is behind the corner. Her fingers are full of rings 324 00:23:59,800 --> 00:24:02,800 Speaker 2: and her nails are long and manicured. Her name is 325 00:24:02,840 --> 00:24:05,960 Speaker 2: Floor and she's the owner of the bar. She explains 326 00:24:05,960 --> 00:24:07,320 Speaker 2: how Lasitas works. 327 00:24:08,320 --> 00:24:09,000 Speaker 3: He yes. 328 00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 10: Yes wulfstan jes aial. 329 00:24:20,560 --> 00:24:20,800 Speaker 3: Is the. 330 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:32,640 Speaker 10: Refrispo Nao Huo yes Eccellina. 331 00:24:37,280 --> 00:24:40,800 Speaker 2: According to Dona Floor, she pays the women who work 332 00:24:40,880 --> 00:24:44,200 Speaker 2: for her a basic daily salary of two hundred vessels 333 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,880 Speaker 2: some ten u s dollars for eight hours of work, 334 00:24:48,920 --> 00:24:56,360 Speaker 2: but they make most of their money off taps clients. Basically, 335 00:24:56,560 --> 00:24:59,680 Speaker 2: men can buy the women drinks, but only if the 336 00:24:59,720 --> 00:25:04,560 Speaker 2: women want to. Donia Floor says, the women's drinks are 337 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:08,159 Speaker 2: much more expensive than the regular ones. Each costs one 338 00:25:08,240 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 2: hundred and eighty five pisos, so a little over nine dollars, 339 00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:14,960 Speaker 2: almost as much as what Donia Floor pays them for 340 00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,919 Speaker 2: a day of work. The women get to keep one 341 00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,920 Speaker 2: hundred and sixty five pisos or a little over eight 342 00:25:21,040 --> 00:25:24,960 Speaker 2: dollars from every drink Donia Floor takes the rest. Most 343 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,640 Speaker 2: of her profits really come from the drink's clients order 344 00:25:27,760 --> 00:25:32,560 Speaker 2: for themselves. Both Donia Floor and the women told us 345 00:25:32,720 --> 00:25:35,399 Speaker 2: that only if they choose to. In exchange for the 346 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:38,160 Speaker 2: drinks men buy for them, they spend some time chatting 347 00:25:38,240 --> 00:25:41,680 Speaker 2: with them, having a love. Sometimes the women also dance 348 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:45,040 Speaker 2: with them or they let them touch their bodies at 349 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:47,359 Speaker 2: any time. The women can leave the table if they 350 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:51,040 Speaker 2: feel uncomfortable. Both Donia Floor and the women say the 351 00:25:51,119 --> 00:25:54,320 Speaker 2: waters at Las Cuganitas are all men and they also 352 00:25:54,440 --> 00:25:57,720 Speaker 2: keep an eye on the women who work there. Whether 353 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 2: or not women have sex with clients that up to them, 354 00:26:00,960 --> 00:26:03,760 Speaker 2: Donia Floor says, and they cannot leave the bar during 355 00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:07,720 Speaker 2: their working hours. There are some ten women currently working 356 00:26:07,720 --> 00:26:11,160 Speaker 2: at Lascuanitas, but despite the name, only two of them 357 00:26:11,480 --> 00:26:15,520 Speaker 2: are actually from Cuba. Most of them are from Central America. 358 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:29,159 Speaker 10: Yes DNN, the Sentra America, Algunasavena, Salida Delante, Luca Boro 359 00:26:30,480 --> 00:26:33,720 Speaker 10: Borguea with the ISSIL. 360 00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:36,560 Speaker 2: Many of the women have children who depend on them. 361 00:26:36,640 --> 00:26:39,359 Speaker 2: Donia Flor says, that's why they have to do whatever 362 00:26:39,480 --> 00:26:41,280 Speaker 2: job they can or decide to do. 363 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:52,440 Speaker 10: The sitons. 364 00:26:53,080 --> 00:26:56,399 Speaker 2: Two girls started working at Laskuanitas just five days earlier. 365 00:26:56,760 --> 00:26:59,320 Speaker 2: One of them is Cati. She's from Honduras and she 366 00:26:59,440 --> 00:27:02,439 Speaker 2: wears a new lay stop that matches her high heeled shoes. 367 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:07,080 Speaker 2: Her nails match her clothes too, an intricate design in gold, 368 00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:10,760 Speaker 2: orange and brown tones. She has been living in Tapatula 369 00:27:10,880 --> 00:27:13,240 Speaker 2: for over a year and a half. Her dream, though, 370 00:27:13,480 --> 00:27:16,399 Speaker 2: is making it to the US. Katy says, this is 371 00:27:16,480 --> 00:27:18,879 Speaker 2: the first time she's doing this kind of work and 372 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:19,800 Speaker 2: she doesn't like it. 373 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:24,040 Speaker 6: No MBN. 374 00:27:34,040 --> 00:27:36,120 Speaker 2: Katy says she's doing it because she has to take 375 00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:38,879 Speaker 2: care of her six year old daughter, pay rent, and 376 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,080 Speaker 2: send money back to Onduda's. Her older child, an eight 377 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:44,720 Speaker 2: year old boy, is still there living with her mother. 378 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,400 Speaker 2: Life in the Guti Galpa, the capital of Honduras, became 379 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,480 Speaker 2: unsustainable for Katy when a gang began forcing her to 380 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:52,680 Speaker 2: pay an extortion. 381 00:27:52,440 --> 00:27:54,159 Speaker 6: Fee you kenna. 382 00:27:58,359 --> 00:28:00,800 Speaker 2: They asked for one hundred dollars a month, an amount 383 00:28:00,880 --> 00:28:04,320 Speaker 2: she couldn't make by selling tortillas. Her life was in danger, 384 00:28:04,560 --> 00:28:06,320 Speaker 2: so she left the country with a friend. 385 00:28:11,160 --> 00:28:14,399 Speaker 6: To this You're not support African come as a ballet. 386 00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:17,800 Speaker 2: But shortly after Kati went back to Onas to pick 387 00:28:17,880 --> 00:28:20,440 Speaker 2: up her daughter. The girl missed her too much and 388 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:23,040 Speaker 2: would cry all the time. It was the first time 389 00:28:23,080 --> 00:28:26,880 Speaker 2: they had ever been apart. Before Laskuanitas, Katy was working 390 00:28:26,960 --> 00:28:29,680 Speaker 2: at a burger joint in Tapachula for eight hundred pizols 391 00:28:29,680 --> 00:28:33,240 Speaker 2: per week about forty dollars. Sometimes it wasn't enough to 392 00:28:33,280 --> 00:28:37,120 Speaker 2: feed her daughter, let alone send money back to Onduda's were. 393 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:52,040 Speaker 11: Not s Yeah, mom etrayo, keep h heavy fishing and 394 00:28:52,160 --> 00:28:53,280 Speaker 11: wait the fishing. 395 00:28:53,680 --> 00:28:56,040 Speaker 2: At the bar. Kati can make more money in one 396 00:28:56,160 --> 00:28:58,600 Speaker 2: night than what she did at the restaurant in one week, 397 00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,760 Speaker 2: and she says, treat her better too if she has 398 00:29:01,800 --> 00:29:02,520 Speaker 2: an emergency. 399 00:29:02,880 --> 00:29:13,400 Speaker 11: They're flexible, super different the males Gumerenza. 400 00:29:15,200 --> 00:29:17,720 Speaker 2: You know, it's not been easy for Kati to get 401 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:19,760 Speaker 2: used to this kind of work and to make sure 402 00:29:19,840 --> 00:29:20,880 Speaker 2: that men respect her. 403 00:29:29,120 --> 00:29:29,320 Speaker 3: Ah. 404 00:29:33,280 --> 00:29:36,320 Speaker 2: She hasn't told anyone about her new job, not even 405 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,880 Speaker 2: her daughter, who thinks Katy works selling tacos. 406 00:29:39,480 --> 00:29:49,160 Speaker 6: Yeah alcohol, mommy, and. 407 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:56,840 Speaker 2: Well she works. The woman who first offered Kati shelter 408 00:29:56,920 --> 00:30:00,840 Speaker 2: in Tapachula takes care of her daughter. She's an angel, Katy. 409 00:30:00,640 --> 00:30:20,920 Speaker 11: Says, okay on a personality and sitting. 410 00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,440 Speaker 2: On the table with the other women. There's also Carrida, 411 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:22,840 Speaker 2: one of the only two Cubans around. She's twenty four, 412 00:30:23,120 --> 00:30:26,440 Speaker 2: restless and has appears in the crosses her tongue horizontally. 413 00:30:27,080 --> 00:30:30,240 Speaker 2: She hasn't told anyone about her new job either. Karida 414 00:30:30,320 --> 00:30:32,560 Speaker 2: has only been in Tapatula for a couple of weeks. 415 00:30:32,920 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 2: She applied for some jobs, but they asked for an 416 00:30:35,040 --> 00:30:39,120 Speaker 2: identification document. She didn't have a friend who had worked 417 00:30:39,160 --> 00:30:42,000 Speaker 2: at Las Cuanitas told her that they were looking for women. 418 00:30:42,840 --> 00:30:45,600 Speaker 2: In Cuba, Caridad worked at a day care center, making 419 00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:48,920 Speaker 2: sixteen dollars a month. She left for Brazil with her 420 00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,440 Speaker 2: cousin looking for a better job, but her goal was 421 00:30:52,520 --> 00:30:54,240 Speaker 2: always the United States. 422 00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,560 Speaker 6: If the compsta my family. 423 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:05,160 Speaker 2: In late March, Karida and her cousin left Brazil and 424 00:31:05,280 --> 00:31:08,560 Speaker 2: ventured into a dangerous journey that took them through nine 425 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:13,040 Speaker 2: or ten countries. Karidad has lost count The worst part 426 00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 2: was crossing the Darien Jungle, a wild territory between Colombia 427 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 2: and Panama that is considered among the most dangerous migrant 428 00:31:20,280 --> 00:31:22,840 Speaker 2: roots in the world, not only because of the rough 429 00:31:22,920 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 2: mountains and wildlife, but also because of the presence of 430 00:31:26,080 --> 00:31:30,600 Speaker 2: criminal gangs. Karidad accidentally lost track of her cousin the 431 00:31:30,720 --> 00:31:33,560 Speaker 2: day they entered the jungle, and then the group she 432 00:31:33,680 --> 00:31:36,480 Speaker 2: was walking with got stopped by a band of armed men. 433 00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 6: Esaus. 434 00:31:53,440 --> 00:31:56,120 Speaker 2: The men took their backpacks and then they selected three 435 00:31:56,200 --> 00:31:59,480 Speaker 2: women from the group. One of them was Karidad. Another 436 00:31:59,560 --> 00:32:01,720 Speaker 2: one was a thirteen year old from Haiti. 437 00:32:09,960 --> 00:32:12,000 Speaker 12: Yeah, but. 438 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 2: Said she was lucky that she was raped by only 439 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,280 Speaker 2: one man. The thirteen year old Haitian girl was attacked 440 00:32:22,280 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 2: by several inn and eventually Kara reunited with her cousin 441 00:32:45,040 --> 00:32:46,880 Speaker 2: in the jungle and they worked for four and a 442 00:32:46,920 --> 00:32:51,080 Speaker 2: half days borrowing food from others. The Hitian girl never 443 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:53,720 Speaker 2: made it out of the jungle. She drowned when the 444 00:32:53,760 --> 00:32:58,240 Speaker 2: group crossed the river. The first time that Kara mentioned 445 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:00,640 Speaker 2: she had been raped in her conversation, and she did 446 00:33:00,680 --> 00:33:03,480 Speaker 2: it casually, as if it were just one more thing 447 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:06,160 Speaker 2: that she went through in this extreme journey she was 448 00:33:06,240 --> 00:33:09,800 Speaker 2: still on. It felt like her mind was in survival mode, 449 00:33:10,040 --> 00:33:12,960 Speaker 2: like she hadn't really processed everything she had been through. 450 00:33:13,760 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 2: She seemed to be just as sad about having lost 451 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,400 Speaker 2: her phone while crossing the jungle as having been raped. 452 00:33:29,920 --> 00:33:32,680 Speaker 2: She knows her life is what matters most, and she 453 00:33:32,800 --> 00:33:40,120 Speaker 2: thinks God that she's still here. Sometimes Kadia shares some 454 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:42,760 Speaker 2: of her journey with the clients at the bar. It 455 00:33:43,000 --> 00:33:46,520 Speaker 2: entertained them. She says, dealing with men when they are 456 00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:50,920 Speaker 2: drunk gets more difficult. Sometimes they get annoying, or they 457 00:33:51,000 --> 00:34:02,720 Speaker 2: might want to spend the night with her. When that happens, 458 00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:06,880 Speaker 2: Kadida tries to move the conversation into another direction. She 459 00:34:07,000 --> 00:34:09,279 Speaker 2: believes there are women who have it harder than her 460 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:13,120 Speaker 2: while migrating, mothers who make their journey with their little children. 461 00:34:13,840 --> 00:34:24,840 Speaker 2: She doesn't have any yet and decided, look, you know, 462 00:34:30,160 --> 00:34:32,680 Speaker 2: her focus is getting to the United States to work 463 00:34:33,200 --> 00:34:35,279 Speaker 2: so that she can make sure her grandparents and her 464 00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:41,200 Speaker 2: mother are taken care of. Only then she'll feel ready 465 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:46,120 Speaker 2: to start her own family. She says, motherhood can wait. 466 00:34:50,760 --> 00:34:54,880 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, we head to Denosike in 467 00:34:55,000 --> 00:34:58,320 Speaker 1: the neighboring state of Dabasco and meet a group of 468 00:34:58,480 --> 00:35:01,600 Speaker 1: single moms taking the risk sisky choice of migrating with 469 00:35:01,719 --> 00:35:06,680 Speaker 1: their children. It's a dangerous decision, but is there another option? 470 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:08,279 Speaker 1: Stay with us not? 471 00:35:08,760 --> 00:35:08,960 Speaker 3: Yes? 472 00:35:53,239 --> 00:35:56,640 Speaker 1: Hey, we're back. Before the break, we met Kati and 473 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:01,200 Speaker 1: Kharidad in Tapachula to migrant women who are using their 474 00:36:01,239 --> 00:36:05,200 Speaker 1: bodies to finance their journey north. We're going to move 475 00:36:05,280 --> 00:36:10,000 Speaker 1: on now to the busy migrant routes along the Usumacinta River, 476 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:18,399 Speaker 1: which forms the natural border between Mexico and Guatemala. Part three, 477 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:26,479 Speaker 1: Motherhood The body as a forever bond. Here's Marta Martinez again. 478 00:36:32,880 --> 00:36:36,879 Speaker 2: When media attention grew exponentially, around migrant caravans crossing into 479 00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 2: Mexico and towards the United States. In late twenty seventeen, 480 00:36:41,080 --> 00:36:45,359 Speaker 2: Tapatula became the face of Mexico's southern border, a face 481 00:36:45,400 --> 00:36:51,800 Speaker 2: that became increasingly aggressive. Starting in twenty nineteen, military presence 482 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:56,160 Speaker 2: increased in the Tapatula area. Former President Donald Trump brokeered 483 00:36:56,200 --> 00:36:59,480 Speaker 2: a deal with Mexican President and Jasminuel Lepez Obrador to 484 00:36:59,600 --> 00:37:02,520 Speaker 2: them migrants from coming to the United States by stopping 485 00:37:02,560 --> 00:37:06,600 Speaker 2: them early, even before they made it into Mexico. But 486 00:37:06,760 --> 00:37:09,600 Speaker 2: the move didn't stop migrants, it just led them into 487 00:37:09,640 --> 00:37:13,600 Speaker 2: tougher routes across the mountains and the jungle. Two of 488 00:37:13,680 --> 00:37:16,360 Speaker 2: the most used routes right now are on opposite sides 489 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:19,840 Speaker 2: of the Usumacinta River, which serves as a natural border 490 00:37:19,920 --> 00:37:26,600 Speaker 2: between Mexico and Guatemala. Centuries ago, the Yusumacinta River was 491 00:37:26,719 --> 00:37:30,359 Speaker 2: an important trade route for the Mayan civilization back when 492 00:37:30,440 --> 00:37:34,080 Speaker 2: rivers were the main way to travel across the jungle. Today, 493 00:37:34,160 --> 00:37:37,600 Speaker 2: the Usumacinta River is still busy, but for different reasons. 494 00:37:38,360 --> 00:37:41,160 Speaker 2: At Frontira Corossal, on the Mexican side of the border, 495 00:37:41,680 --> 00:37:44,560 Speaker 2: tourists used to take colorful boats to visit the Mayan 496 00:37:44,680 --> 00:37:48,200 Speaker 2: ruins of Yaksilan, but the pandemic brought tourism to a 497 00:37:48,320 --> 00:37:53,600 Speaker 2: sudden and unexpected halt. Now those same boats are busy 498 00:37:53,680 --> 00:37:56,480 Speaker 2: transporting migrants from the Watemalan side of the river to 499 00:37:56,560 --> 00:38:00,120 Speaker 2: the Mexican one, and business is booming. We spoke to 500 00:38:00,239 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 2: one of the lanchitto's, the men who drive those small boats. 501 00:38:06,920 --> 00:38:08,960 Speaker 6: A mill as. 502 00:38:10,280 --> 00:38:10,440 Speaker 9: Yeah. 503 00:38:11,440 --> 00:38:14,280 Speaker 2: The boatman says there are more than one thousand migrants 504 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:18,239 Speaker 2: crossing each day, day and night, and many of them 505 00:38:18,440 --> 00:38:23,120 Speaker 2: crossed with the help of coyetos or coyotes. At around 506 00:38:23,200 --> 00:38:25,400 Speaker 2: eight pm in the evening, when it looked like the 507 00:38:25,520 --> 00:38:28,239 Speaker 2: river would turn quiet as the sky went dark, a 508 00:38:28,320 --> 00:38:32,560 Speaker 2: boat arrived on the Mexican docks. A group of some 509 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:36,680 Speaker 2: twenty migrants descended. There were several women in the group 510 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:41,080 Speaker 2: and at least three little children. A red car awaited them. 511 00:38:42,080 --> 00:38:45,000 Speaker 2: They seemed to be traveling with a coyote. There was 512 00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:51,520 Speaker 2: no police or military presence around. People pay as much 513 00:38:51,560 --> 00:38:55,279 Speaker 2: as fourteen thousand dollars per person, sometimes even more since 514 00:38:55,320 --> 00:38:58,280 Speaker 2: the pandemic to travel with a coyote to the United 515 00:38:58,280 --> 00:39:02,399 Speaker 2: States without any guarantee that they'll safely make it into 516 00:39:02,480 --> 00:39:07,120 Speaker 2: the country. Women tend to travel more with coyotes, experts say, 517 00:39:07,680 --> 00:39:11,680 Speaker 2: or at least in groups. Guadalas heads the migrant program 518 00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:15,160 Speaker 2: at Medicos E l Mundo and Angio and Tapachula. She 519 00:39:15,239 --> 00:39:18,560 Speaker 2: says that before twenty eighteen, my Christian in Central America 520 00:39:18,719 --> 00:39:22,080 Speaker 2: was understood as a purely male phenomenon, but then women 521 00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,440 Speaker 2: started taking the road more. For example, there were a 522 00:39:25,480 --> 00:39:28,160 Speaker 2: lot of women in the caravans that became more popular 523 00:39:28,239 --> 00:39:31,400 Speaker 2: in twenty eighteen. Wadalupees is a connection there. 524 00:39:31,800 --> 00:39:43,960 Speaker 13: Oh yeah, no migran sols. Yes, migrs n simprevido collectives 525 00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:49,719 Speaker 13: and simpre or back on la familia or bags or 526 00:39:50,040 --> 00:39:50,600 Speaker 13: back on la. 527 00:39:52,120 --> 00:39:56,040 Speaker 2: Pero nozle. There have always been women collectives. What a 528 00:39:56,080 --> 00:39:59,920 Speaker 2: Lupez says, women tend to get together when they migrate. 529 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:02,879 Speaker 2: They go with family or with friends, but they don't 530 00:40:02,920 --> 00:40:07,480 Speaker 2: go alone. Guadalupez is migration as an empowering action, sort 531 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:08,719 Speaker 2: of an act of rebellion. 532 00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:19,680 Speaker 13: Migrat isna formad, resistancis forma quiro no kiro stavida is jokrooke, magorato, 533 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:23,880 Speaker 13: reveldia is migra. It's not as darglas conditions Estado to 534 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 13: Pais is the Cloorno. 535 00:40:32,440 --> 00:40:35,720 Speaker 2: On the other side of the Usumacinta River. There's Lasitendaidos, 536 00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:40,080 Speaker 2: the biggest migrant shelter in southern Mexico. They serve over 537 00:40:40,200 --> 00:40:43,920 Speaker 2: thirteen thousand people every year. It's in a relatively small 538 00:40:43,960 --> 00:40:48,160 Speaker 2: city called Tenoske in the nearby state of Tabasco, not Chiapas, 539 00:40:48,239 --> 00:40:51,120 Speaker 2: where we met Amaya and the women of Las Cuganitas. 540 00:40:53,040 --> 00:40:56,160 Speaker 2: When we visited Las Tendaidos, the shelter was closed due 541 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:59,800 Speaker 2: to a coronavirus outbreak. Over one hundred migrants from the 542 00:40:59,880 --> 00:41:03,040 Speaker 2: round in the sprawling grass bigger than a soccer field. 543 00:41:04,120 --> 00:41:07,240 Speaker 2: They had turned the concrete grandstand into an improvised encampment 544 00:41:07,560 --> 00:41:11,000 Speaker 2: where they slept under blue plastic tars and blankets or 545 00:41:11,080 --> 00:41:15,160 Speaker 2: in hammocks. The night before, a storm soaked them and 546 00:41:15,239 --> 00:41:22,040 Speaker 2: people were hanging their clothes to dry. There were lots 547 00:41:22,080 --> 00:41:25,759 Speaker 2: of children running around playing soccer, and wherever there are 548 00:41:25,840 --> 00:41:29,760 Speaker 2: migrant children, there are a lot of mothers, often single mothers. 549 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:33,000 Speaker 2: We sat down on the grass with three single mothers 550 00:41:33,160 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 2: as the son started to fade away. They had all 551 00:41:36,040 --> 00:41:39,160 Speaker 2: requested asylum in Mexico and were waiting for the decision. 552 00:41:40,360 --> 00:41:43,279 Speaker 2: One of them is mcdalena. She's twenty one years old 553 00:41:43,400 --> 00:41:46,160 Speaker 2: and she's from a rural area in eastern Guatemala called 554 00:41:46,320 --> 00:41:49,879 Speaker 2: Los A matte Isabel. As we speak, she holds her daughter, 555 00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:51,240 Speaker 2: Juliana in her arms. 556 00:41:52,440 --> 00:41:59,880 Speaker 12: It's the jomavin ne Boque, Mexikovi, Mariosuana and Mitchampeau Metnysua. 557 00:42:11,360 --> 00:42:14,239 Speaker 2: When Magdalena starts talking about her ex husband and how 558 00:42:14,320 --> 00:42:16,879 Speaker 2: he used to hit her, her daughter can stand seeing 559 00:42:16,920 --> 00:42:26,200 Speaker 2: her mother cry, and she begins to cry too. Magdalena's 560 00:42:26,239 --> 00:42:28,680 Speaker 2: father died when she was eight years old and attend 561 00:42:28,760 --> 00:42:31,640 Speaker 2: she started working to help her mother and five siblings. 562 00:42:31,840 --> 00:42:42,200 Speaker 2: Are Mama. He can her relationship with her ex husband 563 00:42:42,360 --> 00:42:45,520 Speaker 2: was violent from early on. Magdalena wanted to leave him, 564 00:42:45,719 --> 00:42:48,359 Speaker 2: but then she got pregnant at just seventeen years old. 565 00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:51,600 Speaker 2: He wouldn't let her go anywhere, not even to church. 566 00:42:52,160 --> 00:42:55,000 Speaker 2: He was weary of every man and even suspected that 567 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:58,400 Speaker 2: she was having an affair with the priests. He isolated 568 00:42:58,480 --> 00:42:59,520 Speaker 2: her from the world. 569 00:43:00,080 --> 00:43:13,040 Speaker 12: That pienainkomunits he would be amasa meghamurama. 570 00:43:15,719 --> 00:43:17,760 Speaker 2: If she left the house to buy food, she couldn't 571 00:43:17,800 --> 00:43:20,319 Speaker 2: take more than five minutes if she got home later 572 00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,160 Speaker 2: than that. Her husband hid her until her skin was 573 00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:26,440 Speaker 2: all bruised. She couldn't communicate with her mother because he 574 00:43:26,520 --> 00:43:29,799 Speaker 2: didn't let her have a phone. One time, her mother 575 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:31,960 Speaker 2: saw her with her face bruised and told her to 576 00:43:32,080 --> 00:43:35,160 Speaker 2: report him to the police, but Magdalena was too scared. 577 00:43:35,400 --> 00:43:37,799 Speaker 2: He had threatened multiple times to cut her head off 578 00:43:37,840 --> 00:43:39,520 Speaker 2: with a machete if she spoke out. 579 00:43:40,880 --> 00:43:48,120 Speaker 12: Pol Juna Santoke. 580 00:43:48,480 --> 00:43:50,000 Speaker 5: Carezl. 581 00:43:50,560 --> 00:43:53,640 Speaker 2: Eventually, Magdalena was able to escape and she spent some 582 00:43:53,719 --> 00:43:56,239 Speaker 2: time living with her mother, but he found her and 583 00:43:56,400 --> 00:43:59,200 Speaker 2: asked her to come back, swearing he would stop hitting her. 584 00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:01,440 Speaker 2: But it was and the first time she had heard that. 585 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:04,600 Speaker 2: She decided to leave the country with her daughter, looking 586 00:44:04,680 --> 00:44:07,000 Speaker 2: for safety and a better future for Juliana. 587 00:44:07,800 --> 00:44:23,840 Speaker 5: By Masada Mizuka Atlante. 588 00:44:24,680 --> 00:44:27,960 Speaker 2: Magdalena fled Guatemala with two of her sisters, her daughter, 589 00:44:28,120 --> 00:44:31,040 Speaker 2: and her nephew with only one extra set of clothes 590 00:44:31,880 --> 00:44:34,439 Speaker 2: on the road. They were lucky, she says, They found 591 00:44:34,480 --> 00:44:37,279 Speaker 2: people who gave them food. Now they work for a 592 00:44:37,360 --> 00:44:40,200 Speaker 2: man who has a farm. They take care of his garden, 593 00:44:40,440 --> 00:44:43,680 Speaker 2: clean his house, work the fields. With the money they 594 00:44:43,760 --> 00:44:46,080 Speaker 2: get from their daily work, they're able to buy some 595 00:44:46,200 --> 00:44:49,680 Speaker 2: nachos from the food carts by the shelter. Sometimes they 596 00:44:49,719 --> 00:44:52,439 Speaker 2: don't have enough, but it's still better than having stayed 597 00:44:52,440 --> 00:44:54,279 Speaker 2: in Guatemala with her ex husband. 598 00:44:55,200 --> 00:44:59,680 Speaker 5: Felice Miscino Maura Yosta. 599 00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:03,920 Speaker 2: Here in Tenoske, Magdalena is happy. She feels safer. She 600 00:45:04,040 --> 00:45:06,399 Speaker 2: says they're going to stay in Tenosiki for a while. 601 00:45:07,000 --> 00:45:08,880 Speaker 2: She wants to go to the US in the future 602 00:45:09,200 --> 00:45:11,720 Speaker 2: if possible, but she wants to do it safely. 603 00:45:19,080 --> 00:45:37,280 Speaker 12: Primeroo cas A Castralla speramiliar chatooses pariodinga. 604 00:45:38,400 --> 00:45:41,640 Speaker 2: Magdalena says she's heard that it's more dangerous farther north, 605 00:45:41,840 --> 00:45:44,239 Speaker 2: that they take the children away. They rape and kill 606 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:47,040 Speaker 2: the mothers and the girls. Magdalena says it's best to 607 00:45:47,080 --> 00:45:50,600 Speaker 2: be patient, get their documents and then head to the US. 608 00:45:51,400 --> 00:45:55,080 Speaker 2: Kidnappings and disappearances of migrants in Mexico have been on 609 00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:58,840 Speaker 2: the rise in recent years, and they've also become more violent. 610 00:45:59,480 --> 00:46:03,080 Speaker 2: According to the country's National Human Rights Commission, fifty four 611 00:46:03,160 --> 00:46:07,000 Speaker 2: migrants are kidnapped every day on average in Mexico. In 612 00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:10,040 Speaker 2: the case of women, they're often targeted by kidnappers and 613 00:46:10,160 --> 00:46:12,760 Speaker 2: sexually abused and sometimes trafficked. 614 00:46:19,080 --> 00:46:24,240 Speaker 3: Since about twenty sixteen, there's been much more family units, 615 00:46:24,480 --> 00:46:27,160 Speaker 3: and a lot of the family units are headed by 616 00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,040 Speaker 3: women who are heads of households and they're on their 617 00:46:30,080 --> 00:46:32,600 Speaker 3: own with their small, you know, their young children. 618 00:46:33,200 --> 00:46:36,040 Speaker 2: This is Gretchen Kunner again from the Institute for Women 619 00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:36,640 Speaker 2: in Migration. 620 00:46:37,320 --> 00:46:41,920 Speaker 3: I mean, can you imagine traveling on your own without 621 00:46:42,200 --> 00:46:46,000 Speaker 3: funds in a place that you don't know that's scary 622 00:46:46,360 --> 00:46:49,880 Speaker 3: with your little children. I mean, I think it leaves 623 00:46:50,080 --> 00:46:55,359 Speaker 3: a psychological wound on every single person, as well as 624 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:56,040 Speaker 3: the children. 625 00:46:56,680 --> 00:47:00,640 Speaker 2: These single mothers often carry several children from differ and fathers. 626 00:47:01,040 --> 00:47:03,680 Speaker 2: They're the only ones forever in charge of the care 627 00:47:03,719 --> 00:47:05,000 Speaker 2: and well being of their kids. 628 00:47:05,440 --> 00:47:08,520 Speaker 3: Even if you leave your children behind with a family member, 629 00:47:08,760 --> 00:47:13,680 Speaker 3: you know, that's still something that's stigmatized. So women are 630 00:47:13,840 --> 00:47:18,439 Speaker 3: expected to be the caretakers of their children, and that's 631 00:47:18,480 --> 00:47:22,040 Speaker 3: why they're moving together, because that's the expectation and it's 632 00:47:22,200 --> 00:47:27,200 Speaker 3: their societal responsibility to do so, and there's no extra 633 00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:30,880 Speaker 3: support from their government to have any other options except 634 00:47:30,960 --> 00:47:31,440 Speaker 3: to do that. 635 00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:34,719 Speaker 2: For these mothers, taking their children with them when they 636 00:47:34,840 --> 00:47:38,120 Speaker 2: migrate entails risks, but so does leaving their kids in 637 00:47:38,200 --> 00:47:42,160 Speaker 2: their home country, and either way they feel deeply guilty 638 00:47:42,200 --> 00:47:43,440 Speaker 2: about the decisions they make. 639 00:47:43,880 --> 00:47:48,319 Speaker 3: Women are really stigmatized. It's just amazing. You know, how 640 00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:52,759 Speaker 3: could you take your children without any money? Well, how 641 00:47:53,040 --> 00:47:56,080 Speaker 3: could you not take your children if you're in a 642 00:47:56,160 --> 00:47:59,399 Speaker 3: dangerous situation and you need to leave. So I think 643 00:47:59,440 --> 00:48:03,600 Speaker 3: that as a society were stigmatizing women and children and 644 00:48:03,719 --> 00:48:06,360 Speaker 3: were not asking the right questions or were not providing 645 00:48:06,400 --> 00:48:07,480 Speaker 3: the right resources. 646 00:48:17,640 --> 00:48:21,239 Speaker 2: At the migrant shelter, we also meet Irma. It's not 647 00:48:21,360 --> 00:48:24,440 Speaker 2: the first time Irma sits on the lawn of Lasiten Taidos. 648 00:48:25,040 --> 00:48:28,120 Speaker 2: It's her second time living on Duras, but this time 649 00:48:28,360 --> 00:48:32,160 Speaker 2: she's on her own with her two children. Densike doesn't 650 00:48:32,200 --> 00:48:35,680 Speaker 2: bring back good memories. The first time she emigrated, she 651 00:48:35,760 --> 00:48:38,239 Speaker 2: did it with Arnold, her husband and father of her 652 00:48:38,320 --> 00:48:42,320 Speaker 2: youngest child. They applied for asylum, and while they waited 653 00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,680 Speaker 2: for a decision, Arnold started working at a local supermarket. 654 00:48:46,600 --> 00:48:49,640 Speaker 2: One day after his shift, Arnold, Irma and her thirteen 655 00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:52,840 Speaker 2: year old ran into some young drunk men on the street. 656 00:48:53,560 --> 00:48:55,440 Speaker 2: They got into a fight and one of the men 657 00:48:55,520 --> 00:48:56,080 Speaker 2: had a knife. 658 00:48:58,520 --> 00:49:03,320 Speaker 14: Yeah, I fukes. 659 00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:07,120 Speaker 2: They killed Arnold. Irma tried to start from scratch once 660 00:49:07,160 --> 00:49:08,040 Speaker 2: again in her home. 661 00:49:07,960 --> 00:49:11,680 Speaker 6: Country, Africa. 662 00:49:15,200 --> 00:49:17,160 Speaker 14: Savas. 663 00:49:22,239 --> 00:49:24,759 Speaker 2: She looked for jobs at several factories, but the pay 664 00:49:24,880 --> 00:49:28,040 Speaker 2: was never enough. She felt her only option was to 665 00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:30,680 Speaker 2: leave again. She had to do it for her children 666 00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:33,600 Speaker 2: and for herself too. She didn't want to get stuck 667 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:34,760 Speaker 2: thinking about her late. 668 00:49:34,760 --> 00:49:51,680 Speaker 14: Husbando Pensando kel Fine now fortes the gay gang in 669 00:49:51,880 --> 00:49:52,800 Speaker 14: Talb depression. 670 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:57,000 Speaker 2: Irma and her children took the same route they had 671 00:49:57,040 --> 00:50:01,560 Speaker 2: taken the previous time. Everything reminded them of Arnauld, but 672 00:50:01,680 --> 00:50:06,160 Speaker 2: this time it was harder. Irma felt defenseless. 673 00:50:06,360 --> 00:50:21,319 Speaker 14: Made fisil marcomos como de San Parano, passe rodeo la 674 00:50:21,440 --> 00:50:30,480 Speaker 14: Montana amerance to henglasi ng solidos ycomenio solos. 675 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:34,839 Speaker 2: Irma sez they were lucky that migration authorities didn't detain them. 676 00:50:35,719 --> 00:50:38,000 Speaker 2: They circled mountains in the middle of the night to 677 00:50:38,080 --> 00:50:41,960 Speaker 2: avoid checkpoints. They slept on the floor until they made 678 00:50:42,000 --> 00:50:45,640 Speaker 2: it to Tenessiki again. Her oldest son is not doing 679 00:50:45,719 --> 00:50:49,359 Speaker 2: well psychologically. He blames himself for not having done more 680 00:50:49,480 --> 00:50:53,360 Speaker 2: to save Arnauld. But at the shelter there are psychologists 681 00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:56,000 Speaker 2: Irma sees, and she's trying to get him. 682 00:50:55,880 --> 00:51:10,360 Speaker 14: Helpell gl mira Quel Diasao, Guana Solo Sestan, Kayle no 683 00:51:11,680 --> 00:51:14,200 Speaker 14: El Lebyan this Imolavastante. 684 00:51:14,600 --> 00:51:17,640 Speaker 2: None of the single mothers we spoke to Intenosike knew 685 00:51:17,760 --> 00:51:20,000 Speaker 2: how long it would take to hear back from COMAR, 686 00:51:20,280 --> 00:51:24,600 Speaker 2: the Mexican Refugee Commission about their cases, but something else 687 00:51:24,840 --> 00:51:27,680 Speaker 2: was clearer to them. As soon as they got their papers, 688 00:51:27,960 --> 00:51:37,400 Speaker 2: they would continue their journey north. Most of the women 689 00:51:37,520 --> 00:51:40,359 Speaker 2: we spoke to during our reporting believe that migrating when 690 00:51:40,360 --> 00:51:42,879 Speaker 2: you're a woman is harder than when you're a man. 691 00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:47,840 Speaker 2: Some said it's carrier because they feel unprotected. Others agreed 692 00:51:47,920 --> 00:51:51,440 Speaker 2: that they face more risks like sexual violence or trafficking. 693 00:51:52,280 --> 00:51:55,080 Speaker 2: Many said their children were their biggest worry, but also 694 00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:58,000 Speaker 2: their biggest incentive to live in search for a better 695 00:51:58,120 --> 00:52:03,880 Speaker 2: future for their families. Women are migrating in new ways, 696 00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:08,960 Speaker 2: in groups, jumping on buses instead of trains, avoiding shelters 697 00:52:09,120 --> 00:52:12,879 Speaker 2: and massive places, ways that we still know or hear 698 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:18,800 Speaker 2: little about. In August, Cariat, the Cuban migrant who was 699 00:52:18,840 --> 00:52:21,560 Speaker 2: working at Las cuan Nita's bar, after traveling through nine 700 00:52:21,719 --> 00:52:25,080 Speaker 2: or ten countries, finally made it to the United States, 701 00:52:25,280 --> 00:52:28,920 Speaker 2: where she plans to start all over again. Many more 702 00:52:28,960 --> 00:52:30,279 Speaker 2: women are on their way. 703 00:52:49,120 --> 00:52:52,880 Speaker 1: This episode was produced by Martin Martinez and Alexandra Sanchez 704 00:52:52,960 --> 00:52:56,279 Speaker 1: in SUNSA, who was edited by Andrea Lopez Gruzado and 705 00:52:56,400 --> 00:52:59,759 Speaker 1: mixed by Julia Caruso. The reporting for this story was 706 00:52:59,800 --> 00:53:03,959 Speaker 1: a orded by the International Women's Media Foundations Reproductive Health 707 00:53:04,200 --> 00:53:08,640 Speaker 1: Rights and Justice in the America's Initiative. The Latino USA 708 00:53:08,760 --> 00:53:15,440 Speaker 1: team includes Mike Sargent, Julieta Martinelli, Victoriestrea, Patricia Sulbaran, Gini Montalo, 709 00:53:15,600 --> 00:53:20,239 Speaker 1: Alejandra salasad Reinaldo, Leans Junior, and Julia Rocha, with help 710 00:53:20,280 --> 00:53:24,000 Speaker 1: from Raoul Perez. Our editorial director is Julio Ricardo Barela. 711 00:53:24,320 --> 00:53:28,719 Speaker 1: Our supervising senior engineer is Stephanie Lebou. Additional engineering by 712 00:53:28,800 --> 00:53:31,680 Speaker 1: Lea Sha Dameran with help from gabriel A Byez. Our 713 00:53:31,760 --> 00:53:35,040 Speaker 1: digital editor is res Luna. Our New York Women's Foundation 714 00:53:35,280 --> 00:53:38,880 Speaker 1: Ignite fellow is Mari es Kinka. Our theme music was 715 00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,480 Speaker 1: composed by Zanghe Rubinos. If you like the music you 716 00:53:41,600 --> 00:53:44,160 Speaker 1: heard on this episode, stop by Latino Usa dot org 717 00:53:44,600 --> 00:53:47,600 Speaker 1: and check out our weekly Spotify playlist. I'm your host 718 00:53:47,640 --> 00:53:50,719 Speaker 1: and executive producer Marino Rosa. Join us again on our 719 00:53:50,800 --> 00:53:53,320 Speaker 1: next episode, and in the meantime, look for us on 720 00:53:53,480 --> 00:53:56,799 Speaker 1: all of your social media. I'll see you there, Jao. 721 00:54:01,719 --> 00:54:05,520 Speaker 3: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Heising 722 00:54:05,600 --> 00:54:12,080 Speaker 3: Simons Foundation Unlocking knowledge, opportunity, and possibilities more at hsfoundation 723 00:54:12,320 --> 00:54:12,839 Speaker 3: dot org. 724 00:54:13,400 --> 00:54:17,840 Speaker 14: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and funding for Latino USA is 725 00:54:17,920 --> 00:54:20,880 Speaker 14: Coverage of a culture of health is made possible in 726 00:54:20,960 --> 00:54:23,720 Speaker 14: part by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.