Migrant Children Crossing Mexico Await Cakes From the Three Wise Men

The ordeal and innumerable dangers Latin American migrants face while crossing Mexico to reach the "American Dream" is even tougher for children, activists warned.

A large portion of the route used by migrants, mostly from Central America, to reach the U.S. is controlled by organized crime who rob, extort and kidnap hundreds of migrants every year.

If the risks of crossing Mexican territory for adults is so great, for minors travelling alone or with their families it's worse. According to UNICEF, each year about 40,000 boys and girls are repatriated from the U.S. to Mexico, and of those, 18,000 travelled alone.

The United Nations have warned about the dangers these children face as they attempt to cross the border of the United States, since they can become the victims of accidents, or be ensnared by organized crime, or be subjected to work or sexual exploitation.

A Journey of Cake

Most of the children attempting to reach the US come from poor families, and remote areas where education and basic services are sometimes restricted.

According to a report by Sin Embargo, the Central American children that visit the migrant refuge in the town of Tequisquiapan, in Querétaro, can get some relief thanks to the hope of being able to eat some cake, one of the hardest-to-get products in their countries of origin.

"Everyone knows there's always cake here, something they can't have in their countries. When they see a cake they throw a party," Martín Martínez Ríos said, founder and responsible for the shelter in Tequisquipan, quoted by Sin Embargo.

Three Wise Men for Migrant Children

In various states through which the "Migrant's Route" crosses, such as Oaxaca, Tabasco and Querétaro, people are getting ready for the Day of the Three Wise Men on January 6th.

In the case of the Tequisquipan shelter, Martín Martínez Ríos confirmed that the donations he receives include cakes, clothing and blankets for the migrants pretending to reach a better future in the U.S.

In the case of minors travelling alone or with their families, the festivity of the Three Wise Men will be sponsored thanks to the generosity of various Mexican families that will provide them with blankets, bags of supplies, water, oranges, rice and candies.

The dangers that thousands of migrants face every year in Mexican territory rise every year, to the point where priest Alejandro Solalinde Guerra, one of the most visible figures in the fight for migrant rights in Mexico, described the situation of South Americans crossing Mexico as a "holocaust", Proceso recently reported.

Martín Martínez Ríos, 53, who was also a migrant once, helps Central Americans crossing Mexico to reach the "American Dream". He's been doing it for 13 years with the help of his wife and his three daughters.