The Migrant Trail: We Walk for Life

Coalición de Derechos Humanos

The Migrant Trail: We Walk for Life

May 25-31, 2009

A 75 mile walk from Sásabe, Sonora, MX to Tucson, AZ

The precarious reality of our borderlands calls us to walk. We are a spiritually diverse, multi-cultural group who walk together on a journey of peace to remember people, friends and family who have died, others who have crossed, and people who continue to come. We bear witness to the tragedy of death and of the inhumanity in our midst. Lastly, we walk as a community, in defiance of the borders that attempt to divide us, committed to working together for the human dignity of all peoples.

For Immediate Release

June 4, 2010

Contact: Lynda Cruz: (520) 437-7551

* Interviews can be done in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Russian, Arabic, and Kiro (Sierra Leon) throughout the trail. We will not have access to internet so please call the cell phone listed above only.

Press Conference:

Migrant Trail Walk Arrives in Tucson

56 Local, National and International Participants Complete the Final Day of a 75-mile Journey Through the Sonoran Desert

Sunday, June 6, 2010; 11:30am

Kennedy Park, Ramada #3 Tucson, Arizona

Tucson - An international group participating in the seventh annual Migrant Trail Walk from Sásabe, Sonora to Tucson, Arizona will arrive on Sunday, June 6th. The 75-mile Walk will culminate in a press conference, followed by a community gathering at Kennedy Park in Tucson, Arizona. The Migrant Trail, a walk through the most traveled corridor on the Arizona-Sonora border, sponsored by a coalition of local and national organizations, bears witness to the thousands of women, men and children who have lost their lives in an attempt to provide a better future for themselves and their families.

Emma Ari Beltrán, a first time walker from Vancouver, Canada commented, "The Migrant Trail has reinforced my conviction that what is happening on the México-U.S. border is not a political issue, but a humanitarian crisis of extraordinary dimensions. Hundreds of people are dying every year in their attempt to find a decent job that will allow them to provide for their families."

For the seventh year, an diverse international group of friends and allies has gathered to walk the Migrant Trail though the Altar Valley in the Sonora Desert, along the most heavily traveled migration route where the vast majority of human remains are recovered.

Arizona has gained national and international attention recently for its anti-immigrant and xenophobic atmosphere that include an 800-agent ICE raid, the passage of SB 1070 (the "Papers, Please" legislation), and the passage of HB 2281, an anti-Ethnic Studies measure. As a result, massive mobilizations and resistance have taken place across the United States. The ongoing human rights crisis of deaths along the border is only another piece of the larger strategy to funnel vulnerable migrants into Arizona's deadly desert. Participants of the Migrant Trail walk not only to bear witness to the tragedy of death, but the intentional dehumanization and militarization of border communities.

"We call for an end to the brutal and irresponsible policies that cause the deaths of thousands of workers in our borderlands," says Tom Kowal of Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, a Colorado-based sponsor of the Walk. "We call for humane reform of U.S. immigration laws that re-unites families, and that recognizes the human dignity and the vital contributions of our immigrant brothers and sisters. This is the human rights challenge that faces our country today."

The Migrant Trail Walk will begin the final 6.7 miles of their journey at 9am at the BLM campsite on Ajo Way and San Joaquin Road. Participants will be welcomed home at Kennedy Park with speakers, music, food, and testimonies from participants and supporters. This event is free and open to the public.

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The Migrant Trail

c/o Arizona Border Rights Foundation

P.O. Box 1286

Tucson, AZ 85702

Tel: 520.770.1373

migrant_trail@yahoo.com

www.derechoshumanosaz.net