14 facts that help explain America's child-migrant crisis

Comment: What a mess. Since the US created many of the economic problems over decades of destabilization within these countries in the first place, it's little wonder that these children are ending up searching for the fantasy of the "American Dream." They represent the new wave of immigration from a background of grinding poverty, most of whom are not being deported back to their country of origin. While this is a no-win situation for the migrants and the fact that this experience is something no child should have to undergo, it will be a disaster for the US which is already at breaking point at so many levels. Any huge inflow of immigrants can only mean an exacerbation of socio-econmic woe for all, and precisely what some factions at the top of this Elite pyramid are looking to engineer.

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vox.com

The flow of unaccompanied immigrant children across the US-Mexico border — mostly from Central America — is continuing to gain attention as a humanitarian crisis.

So here are 14 things you need to know to get a handle on what is actually going on along the border right now; what process the US has in place to deal with unaccompanied kids and families; and what the government wants to do now.

(For more on this story, see Vox's cardstack and storystream on the crisis.)

1)  The child-migrant "surge" began in 2011, but hit a crisis point this year

Border Patrol agents began reporting an increase in the number of unaccompanied children from Central America in the fall of 2011. Because fiscal year 2012 started in October 2011, the government's official numbers show an increase starting then — but anecdotal reports demonstrate that the surge began early that fiscal year, i.e. in 2011.

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Chicago and Guatemala: Too Young to Die

Carlos Javier Ortiz

Pulitzer Centre on Crisis Reporting

During the 36 years of the Guatemalan Civil War, more than 200,000 people died before the government and leftist rebels made peace in 1996. Since then, Guatemala has been rocked by violent drug traffickers and street gangs. With almost 6,000 Guatemalans slain each year — nearly the same annual death toll of the civil war — the Guatemalan murder rate is one of the highest in the world. The repercussions of the war continue, particularly for Guatemala’s youth.

One of these young people is a 14-year-old boy named Michael René Coyoy Hernandez. Michael was shot six times by teenage perpetrators who drove by on a motorcycle and opened fire on him.

I first encountered Michael at the crime scene. He was covered with a white plastic garbage bag. His stiff hands looked like he was trying to shield his face from the gunshots. Although he was only 14, Michael already worked as a ticket taker on the red buses in Guatemala City. His family members eventually arrived at the crime scene to claim his body and watch over him as the detectives collected evidence. It struck me that although they were devastated by the loss, they were not surprised, as he had been threatened shortly before his death. In Guatemala, violence is so endemic, even children as young as 14 are targeted.

I have photographed many crimes against teenagers, and some fade away, while others have been etched in my memory. I will always remember Michael.

Pulitzer Center grantee Carlos Javier Ortiz has been documenting gun violence in Guatemala and Chicago for his project: “Too Young to Die.” View more slideshows and read more stories from Carlos here. 

Sinkholes

More and more of these sinkholes are appearing around the world.

Guardian

 

 

Guatemala City, Guatemala, 2010: A sinkhole covers a street

intersection after tropical storm Agatha hit the area

Beijing, China, 2010: Workers inspect a sinkhole

A man inspects a sinkhole formed in a house this week in the north of 

Guatemala City. When neighbours heard the loud boom overnight they 

thought a cooking gas canister had detonated