Yo Soy Aventurero
or, adventurers
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| Josh, Nic and I on top of Mount Shavano, Colorado |
My friend, Erick from Salvador asked if I was an adventurer. I thought for a moment...I have tagged the summits of a fair number of 14ers and a few 13ers in Colorado; I have been on a fair number of back country camping trips; I have rock climbed; I have rappelled; I have been free-diving in the Caribbean; I have been white water rafting; I have ridden (stupidly) an inner-tube down the swollen Animas River in Silverton, CO; and have been on many adventures.
"Si, Erick, soy un aventurero!"
The more I thought about it the more I realized that most of my adventures were very predictable, with safety assured. Except for some of the mountain trips, the (stupid) inner-tube trip down the Animas, and the free-diving in the Caribbean, all of my adventures were more like theme park rides - very little risk and a brief adrenaline rush.
Then I thought about 17 year old Erick's trip from El Salvador to the Emergency Shelter in Harlingen, Texas...
| mountains of Guatemala |
There are two ways to travel to the United States: by coyote, or on your own if you know the path. It takes between two to three weeks either way--hopping a train through Mexico and then walking through the desert without sleep and avoiding border guards for two - seven days until one reaches a safe house.
Coyotes are guides who are paid to take groups of people from Central/Latin America to the United States. The current going rate for a coyote is $7000/person from El Salvador to Mexico, and between $7000-$8000 from Mexico to a major city in the United States. When considering these numbers, please remember that those who work on the coffee fincas in El Salvador are paid $50 every two weeks during the coffee picking season. For the rest of the year, they are often out of work and must support their families of between 4-6 people with that money which they make over these few months in the year. Thus, the payment of $15,000 for the chance alone to get to the United States is an incredible amount. This $15,000 does not in any way guarantee travel to the US--it only guarantees three chances to attempt to make the journey with a coyote. As one man said though, by the time one makes it to the third chance, s/he is either in prison or dead.
The danger of traveling with a coyote cannot be underestimated. One must remember that because this is inherently an illegal venture, there is nothing to which the coyotes can be held accountable for the wellbeing of the people in their group, other than their reputation. They typically transport drugs, and they hold absolute power over their group without necessarily having a reason to ensure that they all make it to the United States alive. Women in these groups are often raped, young children die, and people who just were not well prepared for the journey are often left in the desert. This inequality of power means that those immigrants who collect $15,000 from their family and friends to make the journey and pin all of their hope on this one person are an incredibly vulnerable population with almost no way to hold the coyote accountable. The journey is even more dangerous for women.
Whether traveling with or without a coyote, one must avoid the Mexican police, the drug cartels, and navigate the desert. Since crossing the border is quite difficult, immigrants often walk across the desert for several days straight until they reach a major city where they can usually obtain assistance.
No ropes, no belay, no life-vests, no experienced AND trustworthy guides, no water, no food, no credit cards, little money, and immeasurable amounts of courage...
"Erick, usted es verdadero aventurero..."
