Central American Mothers Begin Search for Missing Children in Mexico

A caravan of mothers of disappeared Central Americans has begun its 10th annual Mexican tour this week, in search of their missing loved ones.

The group entered Mexico at the crossing point El Ceibo near Tenosique, Tabasco, led by migrant and human rights defender, Father Tomas Gonzalez of the migrant shelter La 72 Hogar Refugio para Personas Migrantes (72 Home Refuge for Migrants). The Mesoamerican Migrant Movement, led by Marta Sanchez Soler, is also coordinating the group.

The caravan dubbed the Bridge of Hope and made up of 43 mothers will travel hundreds of kilometers by bus through 10 Mexican states in their search.

The group also demands that Mexican authorities do more to guarantee the safety and protection of the estimated 323,000 Central American migrants that cross into Mexico each year.

“Non official data reveals that between 70,000 and 150,000 Central Americans have disappeared,” says the Mesoamerican Migrant Movement in a press release.

No official government account actually exists. There is no official database with the specific purpose of searching and documenting the disappeared. This is one of the reasons why the families of the disappeared and solidarity activists declare that the authorities have no will or intention to protect migrants.

Due to increasing organized crime violence, poor economies and systemic corruption, thousands of Central American migrants travel northward each year, with many falling victim to violence, extortion, kidnapping, and even murder by organized crime groups or corrupt security forces in Mexico.

In the past 10 years, the caravan has reunited 200 migrants with their families. The caravan this year is expected to finish its route on December 7.