AS US ELECTION NEARS, MIGRANTS CONTEMPLATE A PERILOUS JOURNEY
Brian Osgood, Al Jazeera, 5 November 2024
TUCSON, Arizona – In the Sonoran Desert north of Tucson, Arizona, the telltale signs of migrants heading north are scattered beneath shrubby trees and in dried-out stream beds: empty jugs of water, desiccated backpacks, tattered blankets and faded pieces of clothing.
It’s difficult to say how long ago they were left behind. The harsh elements of the desert accelerate the breakdown of clothes and people.
“The conditions are extreme, during the day and the night,” said Francisco, a 30-year-old from southern Mexico who declined to share his last name. “We ran out of food and water on the third day. We drank out of green pools of water on the ground.”