Who is Dayani Cristal? Page #3

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that there was no other way,

that he had to go.

Breakfast is ready!

Be quick!

We chose this spot so they can come

as soon as they get off the train...

which is extremely important.

First and foremost, this home

represents safety for them.

Good morning.

Remember to erase your number

when you're finished talking.

Yes, I will. Thank you, sir.

Otherwise, someone else will see it.

It's a constant flow of migrants

which no one can really stem.

The kidnappings can't stop it...

nor can state strategies...

however organized

and sophisticated they are.

Migrants are not a threat,

they are an opportunity.

They come with values

and great things to offer.

Poor people are the spiritual reserve

of the world.

Everyhing is going well, sister.

I'll come any way I can.

Some days I eat and some I don't.

I'll do everything I can

to come and see you.

Please tell my mom

in El Salvador to pray for me.

Okay then.

Tell her I'm fine and not to worry.

I'll call her if I need money.

This is one of over 50 shelters

on the railway lines through Mexico.

Like a kind of secret train station.

- This is very spicy.

- It's got a kick.

Look how much you put in.

A hot meal,

the chance to relax, to rest...

and reenergize

for what remains of the journey.

Hondurans, Guatemalans...

Nicaraguans,

Salvadorans, Mexicans.

Here we're all on the same team.

The other team.

Now you take the train

from here to go-

To Medias Aguas.

Medias Aguas to Veracruz.

It's a point which joins

the two train lines...

from Coatzacoalcos and Medias.

It's a hot spot for kidnappings

more than anything.

Do you know anyone

who's been through Arizona?

- Arizona?

- Through the desert.

I did.

You went through the desert?

I spent three nights in the cold.

It was freezing.

Then in the day it was very hot.

You do get sick.

I was unwell when I got there.

They caught me near Tucson.

Imagine you're walking at night.

If you rest for five minutes,

you'll freeze.

You have to just keep going

so you don't freeze.

If you stop for half an hour

it's very hard to get up again.

But are you not less likely

to get caught there?

No, it's the same.

The American dream

isn't worth that much...

to risk your life in the desert.

It's worse for those

who have never done it.

It's like flipping a coin -

one person's luck

isn't the same as the other's.

This year.

If you don't know about the shoes...

Thanks a lot.

Have they given you coffee?

That's good.

I have a prayer here,

I don't know if it appeals to you.

The Migrant's Prayer.

The journey towards you, Lord, is life.

To set off, is to die a little.

One has never arrived

until they are at peace with you.

Migrants are heroes.

They are like rays of light...

shining on the things we must change.

They are heroes who fight

not only for their families...

they are fighting to change the story

of the US and Mexico.

Migrant heroes.

In the end, they are considered illegal.

Criminal.

A few kilometers from the border

between Sonora and Arizona...

there is a town called Altar.

Altar...

where you make a final offering

before crossing the desert.

If you make it this far on the journey...

the promised land is within sight.

But the last steps are always the hardest.

On the other side of the wall,

you find the USA.

Prima County, Arizona.

July 30 was the last time

we heard from him.

I was at home when they called.

An aunt who lives

in Tegucigalpa told me...

that Yohan's photo

was in the newspaper.

The newspaper came

and we started to read it.

It said when it happened

but it didn't say that he'd died.

Deep down...

I always kept aside some hope...

for a lot of things.

Sadly, he died in the desert...

but not because I didn't help him.

I met him there.

He asked me where I was from,

I said Honduras and so did he.

We were very happy,

talking about our hopes.

One or two days into the journey...

we arrived at a rest area.

At that point,

he was already not feeling well.

He said he couldn't walk anymore.

His stomach was hurting.

I told him that we weren't

going to leave him...

we would stick by him

for as long as we could.

So we carried him along,

each of us took an arm.

Everyone helped him...

because we felt like he was one of us.

He was very worried.

He was thinking about his wife and children.

Then he said he was going to die...

because he felt very ill.

We walked on for three or four days.

He couldn't walk or even stand up.

That's when I felt compelled

to ask him what I should do.

He said we should keep going,

rather than stay with him...

because we might be

arrested and deported.

Hopefully, he would be okay.

I covered him with a jacket...

and left some water by his side.

It was really hard for me

when I left him by that tree.

I made that decision...

because I also have a family.

I had a little girl on the way.

He told me not to worry,

he knew we would meet again.

This is his daughter, Dayani Cristal.

He carried her name on his chest.

It was his dream to get the tattoo,

he'd wanted it for a while.

I asked if it hurt.

He said that it hurt

but it was worth it for his daughter.

The pain didn't bother him,

he said he didn't care.

It's an indescribable kind of pain...

an incomparable pain...

a wound that will never heal.

As I understand,

the United States is investing...

billions of dollars on that wall.

Why invest in something

that is inanimate?

It's a dead investment.

Why not invest in human beings?

Every day I give thanks to Him.

God may have taken him,

but he didn't want me to be alone.

Although he is dead, he is here with me.

I can bring him flowers whenever I want.

Other mothers

are still waiting for their sons...

but maybe they're not alive anymore.

The journey towards you, Lord, is life.

To set off, is to die a little.

To arrive is never truly to arrive,

until one is at rest with you.

You, Lord, experienced migration.

You took Abraham from his land...

father of all believers.

You, yourself, became a migrant

from heaven to earth.

Dilcy Yohan Sandres Martinez...

died 20 minutes by car

from the city of Tucson.

He was 29 years old.

He left behind his wife

and his three children...

Elvin, Yohancito...

and the youngest...

Dayani Cristal.

Published 24/09/2014

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