With an altar of the dead they remember migrants who died on the border of Arizona and Mexico

By EFE

02 Nov 2023, 21:50 PM EDT

The migrants who have died on the Arizona border with Mexico were remembered this Thursday with an altar of the dead by activists who regret the measures taken by the United States Government to militarize the dividing line with the Latin American country.

Isabel García, director of the Arizona Human Rights CoalitionHe told EFE that this is a sad day. “We are remembering all those beings who have died needlesslyjust for the simple act of trying to enter the United States, ironically trying to save their lives or give a better life to their families,” he declared.

The altar was placed in “El Tiradito,” a historic open-air chapel in downtown Tucson.which was decorated with colorful paper flowers, sweets, the traditional bread of the dead and drinks.

Orlando Bautistaone of the volunteers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) who helped place the altar, He explained to EFE that water was placed in memory of those who died due to the high temperatures of the desert.

Recently, the United Nations International Organization for Migration declared Mexico’s border with the United States the deadliest in the world between two countries that are not at war.

In 2022 alone, that organization reported at least 686 dead or missing migrants on the border. The figure includes 184 migrants killed from January to September of this year on the Arizona border, of which 150 were classified by the Pima County Medical Examiner’s Office as unknown.

“We want to honor the memory of all these peoplewhose families may never know what happened to their loved ones,” García lamented.

According to migrant advocates, it is estimated that since the 1990s and to date some 8,000 migrants have died or been reported missing along the border between the United States and Mexico.

“All of these people have been victims of our failed immigration policies. and our mistaken desire to militarize the border,” stressed the activist.

He added that “for years” in the US it has not mattered which party runs the country. “The response has always been more militarization, and this has unfortunately been the terrible result,” he said.