Guatemala: I come while others go

Given my late arrival to Guatemala (almost no busses leave past 5pm let along at night), I am stuck in Mesilla (the Guatemalan border town) for the night. Returning from dinner to the hotel I spot 5 youngsters on a bench in the lobby. Right away something abut their appearance did not seem right to me. I don’t know whether it was their fidgety nervous behaviour, their young age or the fact that this is a border town, but I decided to approach them to satisfy my curiosity. At first the conversation is awkward and drags along but at last they gain some confidence in me and share their story. As expected, these boys (maybe 18-20 years old) have come from various parts of Guatemala looking for passage (illegally of course) the land of milk and honey (a.k.a. the USA). They each paid 5000 USD for an all inclusive trip through Mexico to the USA (or so they hope). This is their last night in their homeland which explains the nervousness. As I depart, I wish them good luck and hope that their journey will indeed end in the USA.

Later that night I strike a conversation with the friendly hotel manager who sees people like these passing through daily, all with they same destination, the same dream. But for many of them the Promised Land will only remain a dream because their journey is a perilous one. The fist obstacle is the choice of coyote (nickname for the person guiding these people across). It appears that honest coyotes are the minority and frequently the coyote steals all the money without proving any services, gets them into Mexico and then disappears or abandoning their victims in the U.S. – Mexican desert. Even if they are lucky enough to find an honest coyote, the journey is still far from easy. Getting into Mexico can usually be arranged by a 200 USD bribe but the Guatemalan accent is distinct so the transit through Mexico perilous. The most difficult step of course is the U.S. border and crossing it frequently involves many hours of walking through the desert (without water). Once in the U.S. these people face a life in hiding and are unable to communicate in the official language. Some can seek refuge with a family member already in the U.S. but the majority will find themselves alone and helpless forced to work extremely hard in an effort the repay their border crossing debt, sustain themselves and send money back home.