Central American Caravan, October 2018 –

There is strength in numbers. Numbers today gain mass media coverage, potential donations and international aid. Numbers pose a threat to individual attackers. Numbers don’t quiet easily. 7000+ Central American migrants don’t quiet easily. Continued poverty and strife in Honduras with no hope for substantial change spurred a leftist group to push the caravan strategy to a new extreme. Caravans are not new, but this 2018 iteration is unlike anything the U.S. has seen. What does mass international solidarity demanding democratic relief look like? In the thick of the xenophobic Drumpf presidency, it appears as Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama refugees seeking asylum, while accidentally exposing Latin American bigotry. To the surprise of Amerikkka as the Caravan passes through Mexico it reveals the deep rooted anti-immigrant anti-Central American  sentiments among people and government resulting in violent protests and state sanctioned non-action. With many now in Tijuana, and a beefed up Southern Border Wall, it is uncertain what the future holds.

Just before dawn, Catherine Carranza, center, from Honduras, waiting with her boyfriend, Aron Palma, for a bus traveling in Mexico from Pijijiapan to Tonalá. They are part of a caravan from Central America headed to the United States. Todd Heisler/The New York Times
This flier publicized the migrant caravan and was circulated widely on social media.

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