AMERICA/HONDURAS - The drama of thousands of Honduran minors unaccompanied who attempt to achieve "the American dream"

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

El Corinth (Agenzia Fides) - It is a scene that repeats itself every day: an indefinite number of Honduran children unaccompanied, male and female, try to emigrate to the United States, passing through Guatemala and Mexico. "It is a situation that has not been evaluated in the right perspective, and in the meantime, Honduras, on the border with Guatemala, particularly in the area of El Corinto, the scenes are poignant" reports the weekly Catholic Fides of Honduras in its service on this issue, sent to Fides Agency.
"The figures of the Migration Institute of Mexico, show that from January to August 2012 2,424 unaccompanied children arrived in this country, who have been returned to their countries of origin, with an increase of 51% compared to the same period in 2011. Of the repatriated children this year, 1,012 were from Guatemala, 875 from Honduras and 496 from El Salvador." Minors who arrived in Mexico with the hope of reaching the United States to escape the gangs or violence in their country of origin, come mostly from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, which until now are the nations with the highest number of children "emigrated" in 2012.
The weekly Fides has deepened this dramatic situation, publishing witnesses from parents that go to the border to rescue their child who returns, pastoral workers describing unimaginable situations, of volunteers of the Honduran Institute for Children and the Family (IHNFA) that work together with the Ministry of Human Mobility of the Catholic Church of Honduras in this area.
The Director of Casa Alianza, Manuel Capellín, said that at least 10 per cent of emigrants try to reach the coveted "American Dream" consists of Honduran children, but four out of ten of them are sent home every day from Mexico. "These children are potential victims of everything that has to do with the human trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and adoption without controls, not to mention other crimes," stressed Capellín. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 18/09/2012)


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