A different walk in the woods

 

 

Different worlds intermingled.  While I’m out walking in my wonderland, I spot a green cross 911 flag like I’ve reported on before. 

 

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/6019444265991711286/5648731817408491733

 

First one I’ve seen at Santa Ana.

 

At the base of the flag tower is an offer of assistance to migrants crossing in from Mexico.

 

Border Patrol does everything it can to stop illegal entries but recognizes that they don’t stop everybody.  Crossing the border illegally is a perilous endeavor, and that effort can be fatal.  Hundreds die every year.  Rather than dying of exposure, a person can push the red button and help will arrive.

 

When help arrives, they’ll probably be detained after they’ve been stabilized, but at least they’ll still be alive.  My encounters with Border Patrol are incidental.  Sometimes a conversation.  Usually just a wave.  No so for everyone.  I am reminded of the encounter in the woods I recorded in 2012.

 

https://steveandjudystravelblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/illegal-encounter.html

 

It’s a long border between the U.S. and Mexico.  Different sections have different issues.  Primarily, the people risking their lives to cross and work their way through the scrub forest here, between the legal crossing points, are in search of jobs and a better life.  There could be drugs involved, but drug interdiction happens mostly at ports of entry as larger quantities can be hidden in vehicles.  Two completely different major issues going on simultaneously.  Migrants willing to risk death, drawn by the allure of a job and a better life; and drug smugglers driven by the immense profitability of satisfying demand in the U.S.  Paradoxically, in each case, we provide the attraction here in the U.S., then hunt down the people that are drawn to it.