All the Forces Against Them

         By the time he has reached the United States, a migrant undoubtedly will have come into contact with numerous groups that directly affect his wellbeing. In just the first half of the novel, the reader has already been introduced to several organizations and individuals that have impacted Enrique and other migrants alike. The police force, gangs, civilians, Grupo Beta, madrinas, and lastly other migrants all act as either supportive or obstructive forces that influence those who are headed north. One of these groups in particular, the residents of various towns along the route, is especially intriguing to me because of the completely differing welcomes Enrique receives on two distinct occasions.

         The first of these is a salvation for a battered Enrique after he is badly mangled by a fall from the train. In addition to the generosity he is shown by women in the town, the mayor in Las Anonas also arranges for Enrique to be taken for medical care nearby. Contrastingly, during a later attempt to make his way north, Enrique makes it across the southern border of Mexico where he then reaches the city of Chiapas. The town has a reputation for being unwelcoming, but Nazario explains that the migrants bring disease, prostitution, and crime upon the civilians. Furthermore, stories of migrants killing families who took them in made the fear of migrants even more prominent for the residents. Situations like that of Chiapas could be the driving force behind madrinas, civilians who work with authorities against the migrants, often torturing, raping, and robbing them.

          Besides the locals that migrants encounter, they also have to navigate their way through run-ins with the other opposing groups. With almost every force pushing against them, the young migrants look to each other for support. Even still, madrinas pose as traveling migrants to catch others unexpectedly. Thus, the journey that these adolescents set out on is one that presses them to become strong individuals who have to look inward for determination to keep traveling north. In the end, however, the success rate of migrants actually reaching their intended destination is relatively low, and those who do make it have likely suffered an incomprehensible amount of pain and torture along the way. Even knowing this, children continue to leave their homes and set out on this near suicidal journey to reach the states. Do you think if migrants had the chance to change their mind and not set out on the journey in the first place, would the majority take it?