An inter-Mennonite newspaper, putting the Mennonite world together every week since 1923
Last Updated February 17, 2004
SPECIAL REPORT
Where two worlds collide:
A report from the
U.S.-Mexico border

Part 2: On January
28, a Mennonite Central Committee learning tour visited the northern Mexico town of Altar, Sonora. There, they took part in an interfaith look at the plight of thousands of Mexican migrantes who each day pass through Altar on their way to the United States. For many, it has been a journey to a place of dreams. For others, the road from Altar has led to a parched perdition in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Part 1: The border city of Nogales, Mexico is home to more than 400,000 people, many of whom have come from southern Mexico in search of jobs in American-owned factories. Though these workers can make a better wage than in places like Chiapas or Oaxaca, most of them still must live in abject poverty, even within sight of much greater wealth on the American side of the border.

© Copyright 2004, Mennonite Weekly Review, Inc. All rights reserved. For reprint information, write editor@mennoweekly.org.
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»» THE VIEW FROM THE BORDER: Strips of paper trimmed from a Mexican government report adorn a cross at a community center that ministers to migrants who pass through Altar in Sonora state. Each strip contains the name and cause of death of a person who died in the Sonoran Desert while attempting to enter the United States illegally. In recent years, more than 2,500 lives have been lost in the desert. Most die from dehydration caused by the blistering desert heat. — Robert Rhodes/MWR
»» PART 2: Originally published February 16, 2004
» ROAD TO DREAMS OR PERDITION?: Strong religious faith and a sense of community combine to help migrants passing through the Mexican town of Altar, in Sonora state. What propels more than 1,000 migrants each day to make such a harrowing journey? »» READ
» TREK THROUGH THE DESERT: Mexican migrants headed for the U.S. border bring few possessions and many concerns as they pass through the town of Altar, in Sonora state.
»» READ
» PHOTOS: VIEW a selection of photos from amid Altar's migrante community. Above at right, a detail of a tile painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe found at a community center in Altar, Mexico.
»» PART 1: Originally published February 9, 2004
» ECONOMICS AND SOCIAL JUSTICE: In the city of Nogales, Mexico, the sacrifices made by many wage earners are impossible for most Americans to grasp.
»» READ
» MILITARIZATION ON THE BORDER: The U.S.-Mexico frontier bordering Arizona's Sonoran Desert has become a low-intensity war zone, observers say. »» READ
» EDITORIAL: Dealing with border issues requires open eyes and open hearts from our churches. MC USA's immigration statement was a good start. »» READ
» PHOTOS: VIEW a selection of photos from the Nogales, Mexico, area.